Kelli Baxstrom
Kelli joined the Landslide Hazards Program as a Geologist in January, 2020. She uses remote sensing and installs monitoring equipment to support hazards research for landslides.
Kelli supports a wide variety of research related to understanding and quantifying landslide hazards, including field mapping, installation of hydrologic monitoring stations, and remote mapping of landslide events.
Before Kelli came to the USGS, she worked for the National Park Service.
Professional Experience
2020-Present Geologist, USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, Golden, CO
2019 - Interpretive Ranger, Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
Education and Certifications
Ohio University, MS, 2019, Geological Sciences
The College of Wooster, BA, 2016, Geology
The College of Wooster, BA, 2016, Religious Studies
Science and Products
Puerto Rico Landslide Monitoring Network
The USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez installed instruments to monitor hillslope hydrological conditions in fifteen municipalities in mountainous regions across Puerto Rico.
Filter Total Items: 16
Results from dynamic cone penetration testing of soils at hydrologic monitoring sites across Puerto Rico Results from dynamic cone penetration testing of soils at hydrologic monitoring sites across Puerto Rico
A Smart Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) system allows for the partially automated collection of cone penetrometer data (CPT) to determine mechanical properties of soil along a vertical profile. A smart DCP system was used to collect soil penetration-with-depth values at 19 sites across the mountainous regions of Puerto Rico. The 19 sites were co-located at the United States Geological...
Hillslope hydrological monitoring data in Puerto Rico, October 2021 to September 2025 Hillslope hydrological monitoring data in Puerto Rico, October 2021 to September 2025
This data release includes time-series data from 18 monitoring stations installed in Puerto Rico following Hurricane María in 2017, which led to over 70,000 landslides across the island (Hughes and others, 2017). The first two stations were installed in July of 2018 (Smith and others, 2020) to investigate subsurface hydrologic response to rainfall and develop a quantitative link between...
Preliminary Landslide Hazard Estimate Maps for the 2024 Hurricane Helene Landslide Emergency Response Preliminary Landslide Hazard Estimate Maps for the 2024 Hurricane Helene Landslide Emergency Response
This data release includes relative landslide hazard estimate maps for the southern Appalachian Mountains affected by Hurricane Helene (September 26-27, 2024) and the heavy rainfall that preceded it (September 23-26, 2024). The two modeling approaches used were adapted from existing models and were run in early October 2024 using initial precipitation estimates to produce rapid event...
Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure associated with the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure associated with the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
The M9.2 1964 Great Alaska earthquake is the second-largest earthquake in the historical record, the largest in North America, and involved nearly five minutes of shaking (Brocher and others, 2014). The earthquake initiated in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, about 12 km below northern Prince William Sound. The rupture length was about 700 km and generated deep and shallow...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2022) Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2022)
Multiple subaerial landslides adjacent to Prince William Sound, Alaska (for example, Dai and others, 2020; Higman and others, 2023; Schaefer and others, 2024) pose a threat to the public because of their potential to generate ocean waves (Barnhart and others, 2021, 2022; Dai and others, 2020) that could affect towns and marine activities. One bedrock landslide on the west side of Barry...
Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread landsliding in Puerto Rico. Published landslide inventories from Hurricane Maria (Bessette-Kirton and others, 2019; Baxstrom and others, 2021a, 2021b; Einbund and others, 2021a, 2021b) provided detailed mapping, including 2919 locations of headscarp points, travel distance lines, source areas, and landslide-affected areas (combined source and...
Preliminary field report of landslide hazards following Hurricane Helene Preliminary field report of landslide hazards following Hurricane Helene
Executive Summary This report reflects our knowledge regarding the widespread landslide activity associated with Hurricane Helene observed during the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) mission assignment to North Carolina in October 2024. The material in this report was originally prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under mission assignment DR-4827-NC. The data and...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Sara K. McBride, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen L. Slaughter, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom, Steven Sobieszczyk, Anna Stull
Earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventory associated with the M7.1 2018 Southcentral Alaska earthquake Earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventory associated with the M7.1 2018 Southcentral Alaska earthquake
The 30 November 2018, magnitude (Mw) 7.1 earthquake in Southcentral Alaska triggered substantial landslides, liquefaction, and ground cracking throughout the region, resulting in widespread geotechnical damage to buildings and infrastructure. Despite a challenging reconnaissance and remote-sensing environment, we constructed a detailed digital inventory of ground failure associated with...
Authors
Sabrina N. Martinez, Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Sonia Ellison, Lauren N. Schaefer, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska
Our warming climate is adversely affecting cryospheric landscapes via glacial retreat, permafrost degradation, and associated slope destabilization. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, the rapid retreat of Barry Glacier has destabilized the slopes flanking the glacier, resulting in numerous landslides. The largest of these landslides (∼500 Mm3 in volume) is more than 2 km wide and has the...
Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Jeffrey A. Coe, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Brian D. Collins, Dennis M. Staley, Michael E. West, Ezgi Karasozen, Charles Prentice-James Miles, Gabriel J. Wolken, Ronald P. Daanan, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
Geologic controls of slow-moving landslides near the U.S. West Coast Geologic controls of slow-moving landslides near the U.S. West Coast
Slow-moving landslides, often with nearly imperceptible creeping motion, are an important landscape shaper and a dangerous natural hazard across the globe, yet their spatial distribution and geologic controls are still poorly known owing to a paucity of detailed, large-area observations. Here, we use interferometry of L-band satellite radar images to reveal 617 spatially large (4 × 104...
Authors
Yuankun Xu, William H. Schulz, Zhong Lu, Jinwook Kim, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
Science and Products
Puerto Rico Landslide Monitoring Network
The USGS and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez installed instruments to monitor hillslope hydrological conditions in fifteen municipalities in mountainous regions across Puerto Rico.
Filter Total Items: 16
Results from dynamic cone penetration testing of soils at hydrologic monitoring sites across Puerto Rico Results from dynamic cone penetration testing of soils at hydrologic monitoring sites across Puerto Rico
A Smart Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) system allows for the partially automated collection of cone penetrometer data (CPT) to determine mechanical properties of soil along a vertical profile. A smart DCP system was used to collect soil penetration-with-depth values at 19 sites across the mountainous regions of Puerto Rico. The 19 sites were co-located at the United States Geological...
Hillslope hydrological monitoring data in Puerto Rico, October 2021 to September 2025 Hillslope hydrological monitoring data in Puerto Rico, October 2021 to September 2025
This data release includes time-series data from 18 monitoring stations installed in Puerto Rico following Hurricane María in 2017, which led to over 70,000 landslides across the island (Hughes and others, 2017). The first two stations were installed in July of 2018 (Smith and others, 2020) to investigate subsurface hydrologic response to rainfall and develop a quantitative link between...
Preliminary Landslide Hazard Estimate Maps for the 2024 Hurricane Helene Landslide Emergency Response Preliminary Landslide Hazard Estimate Maps for the 2024 Hurricane Helene Landslide Emergency Response
This data release includes relative landslide hazard estimate maps for the southern Appalachian Mountains affected by Hurricane Helene (September 26-27, 2024) and the heavy rainfall that preceded it (September 23-26, 2024). The two modeling approaches used were adapted from existing models and were run in early October 2024 using initial precipitation estimates to produce rapid event...
Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure associated with the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Earthquake-Triggered Ground Failure associated with the M9.2 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
The M9.2 1964 Great Alaska earthquake is the second-largest earthquake in the historical record, the largest in North America, and involved nearly five minutes of shaking (Brocher and others, 2014). The earthquake initiated in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, about 12 km below northern Prince William Sound. The rupture length was about 700 km and generated deep and shallow...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2022) Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2022)
Multiple subaerial landslides adjacent to Prince William Sound, Alaska (for example, Dai and others, 2020; Higman and others, 2023; Schaefer and others, 2024) pose a threat to the public because of their potential to generate ocean waves (Barnhart and others, 2021, 2022; Dai and others, 2020) that could affect towns and marine activities. One bedrock landslide on the west side of Barry...
Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria's Most Mobile (MMM) landslides in nine study areas in the Lares, Naranjito and Utuado Municipalities, Puerto Rico
In 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread landsliding in Puerto Rico. Published landslide inventories from Hurricane Maria (Bessette-Kirton and others, 2019; Baxstrom and others, 2021a, 2021b; Einbund and others, 2021a, 2021b) provided detailed mapping, including 2919 locations of headscarp points, travel distance lines, source areas, and landslide-affected areas (combined source and...
Preliminary field report of landslide hazards following Hurricane Helene Preliminary field report of landslide hazards following Hurricane Helene
Executive Summary This report reflects our knowledge regarding the widespread landslide activity associated with Hurricane Helene observed during the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) mission assignment to North Carolina in October 2024. The material in this report was originally prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under mission assignment DR-4827-NC. The data and...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Sara K. McBride, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen L. Slaughter, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom, Steven Sobieszczyk, Anna Stull
Earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventory associated with the M7.1 2018 Southcentral Alaska earthquake Earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventory associated with the M7.1 2018 Southcentral Alaska earthquake
The 30 November 2018, magnitude (Mw) 7.1 earthquake in Southcentral Alaska triggered substantial landslides, liquefaction, and ground cracking throughout the region, resulting in widespread geotechnical damage to buildings and infrastructure. Despite a challenging reconnaissance and remote-sensing environment, we constructed a detailed digital inventory of ground failure associated with...
Authors
Sabrina N. Martinez, Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Sonia Ellison, Lauren N. Schaefer, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska
Our warming climate is adversely affecting cryospheric landscapes via glacial retreat, permafrost degradation, and associated slope destabilization. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, the rapid retreat of Barry Glacier has destabilized the slopes flanking the glacier, resulting in numerous landslides. The largest of these landslides (∼500 Mm3 in volume) is more than 2 km wide and has the...
Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Jeffrey A. Coe, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Brian D. Collins, Dennis M. Staley, Michael E. West, Ezgi Karasozen, Charles Prentice-James Miles, Gabriel J. Wolken, Ronald P. Daanan, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom
Geologic controls of slow-moving landslides near the U.S. West Coast Geologic controls of slow-moving landslides near the U.S. West Coast
Slow-moving landslides, often with nearly imperceptible creeping motion, are an important landscape shaper and a dangerous natural hazard across the globe, yet their spatial distribution and geologic controls are still poorly known owing to a paucity of detailed, large-area observations. Here, we use interferometry of L-band satellite radar images to reveal 617 spatially large (4 × 104...
Authors
Yuankun Xu, William H. Schulz, Zhong Lu, Jinwook Kim, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom