Nathan J Wood, Ph.D.
Nathan Wood is a supervisory research geographer with the USGS Western Geographic Science Center.
He supervises the WGSC Hazard Vulnerability Team that specializes in societal-vulnerability science, geospatial modeling, and web mapping applications. He has conducted research and written extensively on community vulnerability to natural hazards, such as asset exposure, demographic sensitivity, and pedestrian evacuation modeling. He has done work related to tsunami threats in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska, American Samoa, and Guam; volcanic hazards in Washington and California; and coastal hazards in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. He also works with natural scientists to model and create national-scale hazard maps, including landslide, sinkhole, and Valley Fever susceptibility. He is a co-leader of a project characterizing multi-hazard risk for the U.S. Department of the Interior. He is a USGS representative for the Coordinating Committee of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.
Professional Experience
2014 – Current: Supervisory Research Geographer, USGS Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC)
2001 – 2014: Research Geographer, USGS WGSC
1999-2001: Project Manager, Extension Sea Grant, Oregon State University
1998-1999: Instructor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Geography, Oregon State University, 2002
M.S. Marine Science, University of South Florida, 1996
B.S. Geology, Duke University, 1993
Science and Products
Community disruptions and business costs for distant tsunami evacuations using maximum versus scenario-based zones
Influence of road network and population demand assumptions in evacuation modeling for distant tsunamis
Community exposure to potential climate-driven changes to coastal-inundation hazards for six communities in Essex County, Massachusetts
Household evacuation characteristics in American Samoa during the 2009 Samoa Islands tsunami
Pedestrian flow-path modeling to support tsunami evacuation and disaster relief planning in the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Community exposure to tsunami hazards in Hawai‘i
Beat-the-wave evacuation mapping for tsunami hazards in Seaside, Oregon, USA
Intra-community implications of implementing multiple tsunami-evacuation zones in Alameda, California
Community clusters of tsunami vulnerability in the US Pacific Northwest
Variations in community exposure to lahar hazards from multiple volcanoes in Washington State (USA)
Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges
Getting out of harm's way - evacuation from tsunamis
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Community disruptions and business costs for distant tsunami evacuations using maximum versus scenario-based zones
Well-executed evacuations are key to minimizing loss of life from tsunamis, yet they also disrupt communities and business productivity in the process. Most coastal communities implement evacuations based on a previously delineated maximum-inundation zone that integrates zones from multiple tsunami sources. To support consistent evacuation planning that protects lives but attempts to minimize commAuthorsNathan J. Wood, Rick I. Wilson, Jamie L. Ratliff, Jeff Peters, Ed MacMullan, Tessa Krebs, Kimberley Shoaf, Kevin MillerInfluence of road network and population demand assumptions in evacuation modeling for distant tsunamis
Tsunami evacuation planning in coastal communities is typically focused on local events where at-risk individuals must move on foot in a matter of minutes to safety. Less attention has been placed on distant tsunamis, where evacuations unfold over several hours, are often dominated by vehicle use and are managed by public safety officials. Traditional traffic simulation models focus on estimatingAuthorsKevin Henry, Nathan J. Wood, Tim G. FrazierCommunity exposure to potential climate-driven changes to coastal-inundation hazards for six communities in Essex County, Massachusetts
IntroductionUnderstanding if and how community exposure to coastal hazards may change over time is crucial information for coastal managers tasked with developing climate adaptation plans. This report summarizes estimates of population and asset exposure to coastal-inundation hazards associated with sea-level-rise and storm scenarios in six coastal communities of the Great Marsh region of Essex CoAuthorsNina Abdollahian, Jamie L. Ratliff, Nathan J. WoodHousehold evacuation characteristics in American Samoa during the 2009 Samoa Islands tsunami
Tsunamis represent significant threats to human life and development in coastal communities. This quantitative study examines the influence of household characteristics on evacuation actions taken by 211 respondents in American Samoa who were at their homes during the 29 September 2009 Mw 8.1 Samoa Islands earthquake and tsunami disaster. Multiple logistic regression analysis of survey data was usAuthorsEmma J. I. Apatu, Chris E. Gregg, Nathan J. Wood, Liang WangPedestrian flow-path modeling to support tsunami evacuation and disaster relief planning in the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Successful evacuations are critical to saving lives from future tsunamis. Pedestrian-evacuation modeling related to tsunami hazards primarily has focused on identifying areas and the number of people in these areas where successful evacuations are unlikely. Less attention has been paid to identifying evacuation pathways and population demand at assembly areas for at-risk individuals that may haveAuthorsNathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Mathew Schmidtlein, John Schelling, T. FrazierCommunity exposure to tsunami hazards in Hawai‘i
Hawai‘i has experienced numerous destructive tsunamis and the potential for future inundation has been described over the years using various historical events and scenarios. To support tsunami preparedness and risk-reduction planning in Hawai‘i, this study documents the variations among 91 coastal communities and 4 counties in the amounts, types, and percentages of developed land, residents, emplAuthorsJamie L. Jones, Matthew R. Jamieson, Nathan J. WoodBeat-the-wave evacuation mapping for tsunami hazards in Seaside, Oregon, USA
Previous pedestrian evacuation modeling for tsunamis has not considered variable wave arrival times or critical junctures (e.g., bridges), nor does it effectively communicate multiple evacuee travel speeds. We summarize an approach that identifies evacuation corridors, recognizes variable wave arrival times, and produces a map of minimum pedestrian travel speeds to reach safety, termed a “beat-theAuthorsGeorge R. Priest, Laura Stimely, Nathan J. Wood, Ian Madin, Rudie WatzigIntra-community implications of implementing multiple tsunami-evacuation zones in Alameda, California
Tsunami-evacuation planning in coastal communities is typically based on maximum evacuation zones for a single scenario or a composite of sources; however, this approach may over-evacuate a community and overly disrupt the local economy and strain emergency-service resources. To minimize the potential for future over-evacuations, multiple evacuation zones based on arrival time and inundation extenAuthorsJeff Peters, Nathan J. Wood, Rick Wilson, Kevin MillerCommunity clusters of tsunami vulnerability in the US Pacific Northwest
Many coastal communities throughout the world are threatened by local (or near-field) tsunamis that could inundate low-lying areas in a matter of minutes after generation. Although the hazard and sustainability literature often frames vulnerability conceptually as a multidimensional issue involving exposure, sensitivity, and resilience to a hazard, assessments often focus on one element or do notAuthorsNathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Seth Spielman, Mathew C. SchmidtleinVariations in community exposure to lahar hazards from multiple volcanoes in Washington State (USA)
Understanding how communities are vulnerable to lahar hazards provides critical input for effective design and implementation of volcano hazard preparedness and mitigation strategies. Past vulnerability assessments have focused largely on hazards posed by a single volcano, even though communities and officials in many parts of the world must plan for and contend with hazards associated with multipAuthorsAngela K. Diefenbach, Nathan J. Wood, John W. EwertGlobal change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges
National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the United States play an important role in the adaptation of social-ecological systems to climate change, land-use change, and other global-change processes. Coastal refuges are already experiencing threats from sea-level rise and other change processes that are largely beyond their ability to influence, while at the same time facing tighter budgets and reducedAuthorsFred A. Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, Gerard McMahon, Raye Nilius, Mike Bryant, Dave Case, Julien Martin, Nathan J. Wood, Laura TaylorGetting out of harm's way - evacuation from tsunamis
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have developed a new mapping tool, the Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst, for use by researchers and emergency managers to estimate how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a tsunami-hazard zone. The ArcGIS software extension, released in September 2014, allows the user to create maps showing travel times out of hazard zones and to detAuthorsJeanne M. Jones, Nathan J. Wood, Leslie C. Gordon - Web Tools
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