Mark Reid is a research hydrologist for California Volcano Observatory.
Science and Products
U.S. Highway 50, California
The Highway 50 landslide monitoring system uses data acquisition systems and radio telemetry developed by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program to operate in remote, hazardous sites with limited power. In many landslides, infiltration of rainfall or rapid snowmelt increases groundwater pressures. These elevated pressures can, in turn, trigger landslide movement.
Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria induced about 70,000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA (Hughes and others, 2019). Data in this project pertain to two areas situated in Puerto Rico’s rugged Cordillera Central range. Combined, these areas account for more than half of the hurricane-induced landslides. One of these areas encloses two neighboring municipalities, Lares Municipio, and Utuado Municipio, and the sec
GPS monitoring data from spider units on the post-disaster 2014 Oso landslide, Snohomish County, Washington
Data in this release record ground-surface positions obtained during post-disaster emergency response following the 2014 catastrophic Oso (SR 530) landslide, Snohomish County, Washington. Global Positioning System (GPS) data were collected using three USGS GPS-seismometer spider units deployed adjacent to (OSO1), upslope of (OSO2), and on (OSO3) the landslide (see image for locations) for about fi
Data from ring shear strength testing of glaciolacustrine silty clay from the 2014, Oso, Washington landslide
We performed ring shear strength testing of three specimens from a glaciolacustrine silty clay unit involved in a large landslide that occurred March 22, 2014 near the town of Oso, Washington. Ring shear tests utilized apparatus DPRI-5 at Kyoto University, Japan and test results are presented herein. We refer to the specimens as the clay, clayey silt, and silt. Some tests were performed under cont
Filter Total Items: 35
Hazard analysis of landslides triggered by Typhoon Chata’an on July 2, 2002, in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia
More than 250 landslides were triggered across the eastern volcanic islands of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia by torrential rainfall from tropical storm Chata’an on July 2, 2002. Landslides triggered during nearly 20 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours caused 43 fatalities and the destruction or damage of 231 structures, including homes, schools, community centers, and medi
Authors
Edwin L. Harp, Mark E. Reid, John A. Michael
When hazard avoidance is not an option: Lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide, USA
On 22 March 2014, a massive, catastrophic landslide occurred near Oso, Washington, USA, sweeping more than 1 km across the adjacent valley flats and killing 43 people. For the following 5 weeks, hundreds of workers engaged in an exhaustive search, rescue, and recovery effort directly in the landslide runout path. These workers could not avoid the risks posed by additional large-scale slope collaps
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Jonathan W. Godt, Richard G LaHusen, Stephen L Slaughter, Thomas C. Badger, Brian D. Collins, William Schulz, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, Edwin L Harp, Kevin M. Schmidt, Richard M. Iverson, Joel B. Smith, Ralph Haugerud, David L. George
Progress and lessons learned from responses to landslide disasters
Landslides have the incredible power to transform landscapes and also, tragically, to cause disastrous societal impacts. Whereas the mechanics and effects of many landslide disasters have been analyzed in detail, the means by which landslide experts respond to these events has garnered much less attention. Herein, we evaluate nine landslide response case histories conducted by the U.S. Geological
Authors
Brian D. Collins, Mark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Jason W. Kean, Rex L. Baum, Randall W. Jibson, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen Slaughter, Greg M. Stock
Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter of channel length. We partitioned the rates into two growth mechanisms, aggregation of multiple
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide
The dynamics of slow landslide motion can predispose oversteepened and extended slide regions to debris-flow initiation. For more than 20 years, our real-time monitoring, combined with repeat high-precision GPS surveys, of the Cleveland Corral landslide complex, California, USA, reveals that debris flows initiate from slow-moving kinematic elements of this complex. Different slide elements move in
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Dianne L. Brien
Enhanced landslide mobility by basal liquefaction: the 2014 SR530 (Oso), Washington landslide
Landslide mobility can vastly amplify the consequences of slope failure. As a compelling example, the March 22, 2014 landslide near Oso, Washington (USA) was particularly devastating, traveling across a 1-km+ wide river valley, killing 43 people, destroying dozens of homes, and temporarily closing a well-traveled highway. To resolve causes for the landslide’s behavior and mobility, we conducted d
Authors
Brian D. Collins, Mark E. Reid
When volcanoes fall down—Catastrophic collapse and debris avalanches
Despite their seeming permanence, volcanoes are prone to catastrophic collapse that can affect vast areas in a matter of minutes. Large collapses begin as gigantic landslides that quickly transform to debris avalanches—chaotically tumbling masses of rock debris that can sweep downslope at extremely high velocities, inundating areas far beyond the volcano. Rapid burial by the debris avalanches them
Authors
Lee Siebert, Mark E. Reid, James W. Vallance, Thomas C. Pierson
Characterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo
Authors
Jonathan Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Mark E. Reid, Kevin M. Schmidt, Joshua B. Logan
Combining multiphase groundwater flow and slope stability models to assess stratovolcano flank collapse in the Cascade Range
Hydrothermal alteration can create low‐permeability zones, potentially resulting in elevated pore‐fluid pressures, within a volcanic edifice. Strength reduction by rock alteration and high pore‐fluid pressures have been suggested as a mechanism for edifice flank instability. Here we combine numerical models of multiphase heat transport and groundwater flow with a slope‐stability code that incorpor
Authors
Jessica L. Ball, Joshua M. Taron, Mark E. Reid, Shaul Hurwitz, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian
Control of landslide volume and hazard by glacial stratigraphic architecture, Northwest Washington state, USA
Landslide volumes span many orders of magnitude, but large-volume slides tend to travel
farther and consequently can pose a greater hazard. In northwest Washington State, USA, a
landscape abounding with landslides big and small, the recent occurrence of the large-volume
and tragically deadly State Route 530 (Oso) landslide is a stark reminder of the hazards
associated with glacial terraces lining
Authors
Jonathan Perkins, Mark E. Reid, Kevin M. Schmidt
By
Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Landslide Hazards Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Forecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Many debris flows increase in volume as they travel downstream, enhancing their mobility and hazard. Volumetric growth can result from diverse physical processes, such as channel sediment entrainment, stream bank collapse, adjacent landsliding, hillslope erosion and rilling, and coalescence of multiple debris flows; incorporating these varied phenomena into physics-based debris-flow models is chal
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dianne Brien
Using monitoring and modeling to define the hazard posed by the reactivated Ferguson rock slide, Merced Canyon, California
Rapid onset natural disasters such as large landslides create a need for scientific information about the event, which is vital to ensuring public safety, restoring infrastructure, preventing additional damage, and resuming normal economic activity. At the same time, there is limited data available upon which to base reliable scientific responses. Monitoring movement and modeling runout are mechan
Authors
Jerome V. De Graff, Alan J. Gallegos, Mark E. Reid, Richard G. Lahusen, Roger P. Denlinger
Science and Products
- Science
U.S. Highway 50, California
The Highway 50 landslide monitoring system uses data acquisition systems and radio telemetry developed by the USGS Volcano Hazards Program to operate in remote, hazardous sites with limited power. In many landslides, infiltration of rainfall or rapid snowmelt increases groundwater pressures. These elevated pressures can, in turn, trigger landslide movement. - Data
Model input and output data covering Lares Municipio, Utuado Municipio, and Naranjito Municipio, Puerto Rico, for landslide initiation susceptibility assessment after Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria induced about 70,000 landslides throughout Puerto Rico, USA (Hughes and others, 2019). Data in this project pertain to two areas situated in Puerto Rico’s rugged Cordillera Central range. Combined, these areas account for more than half of the hurricane-induced landslides. One of these areas encloses two neighboring municipalities, Lares Municipio, and Utuado Municipio, and the secGPS monitoring data from spider units on the post-disaster 2014 Oso landslide, Snohomish County, Washington
Data in this release record ground-surface positions obtained during post-disaster emergency response following the 2014 catastrophic Oso (SR 530) landslide, Snohomish County, Washington. Global Positioning System (GPS) data were collected using three USGS GPS-seismometer spider units deployed adjacent to (OSO1), upslope of (OSO2), and on (OSO3) the landslide (see image for locations) for about fiData from ring shear strength testing of glaciolacustrine silty clay from the 2014, Oso, Washington landslide
We performed ring shear strength testing of three specimens from a glaciolacustrine silty clay unit involved in a large landslide that occurred March 22, 2014 near the town of Oso, Washington. Ring shear tests utilized apparatus DPRI-5 at Kyoto University, Japan and test results are presented herein. We refer to the specimens as the clay, clayey silt, and silt. Some tests were performed under cont - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 35
Hazard analysis of landslides triggered by Typhoon Chata’an on July 2, 2002, in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia
More than 250 landslides were triggered across the eastern volcanic islands of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia by torrential rainfall from tropical storm Chata’an on July 2, 2002. Landslides triggered during nearly 20 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours caused 43 fatalities and the destruction or damage of 231 structures, including homes, schools, community centers, and mediAuthorsEdwin L. Harp, Mark E. Reid, John A. MichaelWhen hazard avoidance is not an option: Lessons learned from monitoring the postdisaster Oso landslide, USA
On 22 March 2014, a massive, catastrophic landslide occurred near Oso, Washington, USA, sweeping more than 1 km across the adjacent valley flats and killing 43 people. For the following 5 weeks, hundreds of workers engaged in an exhaustive search, rescue, and recovery effort directly in the landslide runout path. These workers could not avoid the risks posed by additional large-scale slope collapsAuthorsMark E. Reid, Jonathan W. Godt, Richard G LaHusen, Stephen L Slaughter, Thomas C. Badger, Brian D. Collins, William Schulz, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, Edwin L Harp, Kevin M. Schmidt, Richard M. Iverson, Joel B. Smith, Ralph Haugerud, David L. GeorgeProgress and lessons learned from responses to landslide disasters
Landslides have the incredible power to transform landscapes and also, tragically, to cause disastrous societal impacts. Whereas the mechanics and effects of many landslide disasters have been analyzed in detail, the means by which landslide experts respond to these events has garnered much less attention. Herein, we evaluate nine landslide response case histories conducted by the U.S. GeologicalAuthorsBrian D. Collins, Mark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Jason W. Kean, Rex L. Baum, Randall W. Jibson, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen Slaughter, Greg M. StockDebris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter of channel length. We partitioned the rates into two growth mechanisms, aggregation of multipleAuthorsJeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. ReidDebris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide
The dynamics of slow landslide motion can predispose oversteepened and extended slide regions to debris-flow initiation. For more than 20 years, our real-time monitoring, combined with repeat high-precision GPS surveys, of the Cleveland Corral landslide complex, California, USA, reveals that debris flows initiate from slow-moving kinematic elements of this complex. Different slide elements move inAuthorsMark E. Reid, Dianne L. BrienEnhanced landslide mobility by basal liquefaction: the 2014 SR530 (Oso), Washington landslide
Landslide mobility can vastly amplify the consequences of slope failure. As a compelling example, the March 22, 2014 landslide near Oso, Washington (USA) was particularly devastating, traveling across a 1-km+ wide river valley, killing 43 people, destroying dozens of homes, and temporarily closing a well-traveled highway. To resolve causes for the landslide’s behavior and mobility, we conducted dAuthorsBrian D. Collins, Mark E. ReidWhen volcanoes fall down—Catastrophic collapse and debris avalanches
Despite their seeming permanence, volcanoes are prone to catastrophic collapse that can affect vast areas in a matter of minutes. Large collapses begin as gigantic landslides that quickly transform to debris avalanches—chaotically tumbling masses of rock debris that can sweep downslope at extremely high velocities, inundating areas far beyond the volcano. Rapid burial by the debris avalanches themAuthorsLee Siebert, Mark E. Reid, James W. Vallance, Thomas C. PiersonCharacterizing the catastrophic 2017 Mud Creek Landslide, California, using repeat Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry
Along the rugged coast of Big Sur, California, the Mud Creek landslide failed catastrophically on May 20, 2017 and destroyed over 400 m of scenic California State Highway 1. We collected structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry data using airborne platforms that, when combined with existing airborne lidar data, revealed that the area exhibited significant topographic change and displacement befo
AuthorsJonathan Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Mark E. Reid, Kevin M. Schmidt, Joshua B. LoganCombining multiphase groundwater flow and slope stability models to assess stratovolcano flank collapse in the Cascade Range
Hydrothermal alteration can create low‐permeability zones, potentially resulting in elevated pore‐fluid pressures, within a volcanic edifice. Strength reduction by rock alteration and high pore‐fluid pressures have been suggested as a mechanism for edifice flank instability. Here we combine numerical models of multiphase heat transport and groundwater flow with a slope‐stability code that incorporAuthorsJessica L. Ball, Joshua M. Taron, Mark E. Reid, Shaul Hurwitz, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. BedrosianControl of landslide volume and hazard by glacial stratigraphic architecture, Northwest Washington state, USA
Landslide volumes span many orders of magnitude, but large-volume slides tend to travel farther and consequently can pose a greater hazard. In northwest Washington State, USA, a landscape abounding with landslides big and small, the recent occurrence of the large-volume and tragically deadly State Route 530 (Oso) landslide is a stark reminder of the hazards associated with glacial terraces liningAuthorsJonathan Perkins, Mark E. Reid, Kevin M. SchmidtByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Landslide Hazards Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science CenterForecasting inundation from debris flows that grow during travel, with application to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Many debris flows increase in volume as they travel downstream, enhancing their mobility and hazard. Volumetric growth can result from diverse physical processes, such as channel sediment entrainment, stream bank collapse, adjacent landsliding, hillslope erosion and rilling, and coalescence of multiple debris flows; incorporating these varied phenomena into physics-based debris-flow models is chalAuthorsMark E. Reid, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dianne BrienUsing monitoring and modeling to define the hazard posed by the reactivated Ferguson rock slide, Merced Canyon, California
Rapid onset natural disasters such as large landslides create a need for scientific information about the event, which is vital to ensuring public safety, restoring infrastructure, preventing additional damage, and resuming normal economic activity. At the same time, there is limited data available upon which to base reliable scientific responses. Monitoring movement and modeling runout are mechanAuthorsJerome V. De Graff, Alan J. Gallegos, Mark E. Reid, Richard G. Lahusen, Roger P. Denlinger