Nikita N Avdievitch
Nikita Avdievitch joined the USGS Landslide Hazards Program as a geologist in March 2020.
Nikita uses a variety of geospatial tools to better understand landslide and rockfall hazard, particularly in post-glacial and coastal environments.
Professional Experience
Geologist, USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, Golden, CO (2020 - Present)
Cartographic Technician, Denali National Park and Preserve, AK (2019)
Physical Science Technician, Yosemite National Park, CA (2018- 2019)
Geologist, USGS Earthquake Science Center, Menlo Park, CA (2014)
Education and Certifications
M.S., Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany (2017)
B.A., Geology, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN (2013)
Science and Products
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2023)
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...
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...
Imagery and digital surface model for the Slumgullion landslide, Lake City, Colorado, June 3, 2024
This dataset contains a point cloud (Slumgullion_PointCloud.laz), 1-meter digital surface model (Slumgullion_DSM.tif), and orthoimagery (0.1-meter resolution) (Slumgullion_Ortho.tif) of the active portion of the Slumgullion landslide in Lake City, Colorado. The Slumgullion landslide is a translational slide with a continuously moving, active portion and an inactive portion. 896 photos...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska from the summers of 2021 and 2022
Subaerial and submarine landslides adjacent to, and within, Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), Alaska pose a threat to the public because of their potential to generate ocean waves that could impact marine activities. Although historical records of tsunamis generated by landslides in GBNPP are uncommon, there are records that document the destructive power of at...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in northwest Prince William Sound, Alaska from the summer of 2021
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 (Dai and others, 2020; Barnhart and others, 2021; Barnhart and others, 2022) that could impact towns and marine activities. One bedrock landslide on the...
Merged topography and bathymetry, western Prince William Sound
This work integrated multiple topographic and bathymetric data sources to generate a merged topobathymetric map of western Prince William Sound. We converted all data sources to NAD 83 UTM Zone 6 N and mean higher high water (MHHW) before compiling. In Barry Arm, north of Port Wells, we used a digital terrain model (DTM) derived from subaerial light detection and ranging (lidar) data...
Digital compilation of historical ice terminus positions of tidewater glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
In coastal subarctic environments such as the fjords of Southeast Alaska, tidewater glaciers can control local hydrology, climatic patterns, ecology, and geologic hazards like landslides and consequent tsunami waves. Documenting and studying glacial retreat in fjords can help scientists understand the dynamic systems that are intrinsically tied to glacial ice processes and forecast...
Inventory map of submarine and subaerial-to-submarine landslide features in Barry Arm Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Documenting and assessing submarine or subaerial-to-submarine landslides is critical for understanding the history of slope failures and related tsunami impacts in rapidly deglaciating fjord environments. The discovery of the ~500-million-cubic-meter slow-moving subaerial Barry Arm Landslide in northwest Prince William Sound, Alaska (Dai and others, 2020) highlights the need to better...
Slow-moving landslides and subsiding fan deltas mapped from Sentinel-1 InSAR in the Glacier Bay region, Alaska and British Columbia, 2018-2020
This data release contains four GIS shapefiles, one Google Earth kmz file, and five metadata files that summarize results from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analyses in the Glacier Bay region of Alaska and British Columbia. The principal shapefile (Moving_Ground) and the kmz file (GBRegionMovingGround) contain polygons delineating slow-moving (0.5-6 cm/year in the...
Simulated inundation extent and depth in Harriman Fjord and Barry Arm, western Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting from the hypothetical rapid motion of landslides into Barry Arm Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Summary This data release contains postprocessed model output from a simulation of hypothetical rapid motion of landslides, subsequent wave generation, and wave propagation. A simulated displacement wave was generated by rapid motion of unstable material into Barry Arm fjord. We consider the wave propagation in Harriman Fjord and Barry Arm, western Prince William Sound (area of interest...
Inventory map of submarine and subaerial-to-submarine landslides in Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Mass-wasting events that displace water, whether they initiate from underwater sources (submarine landslides) or subaerial sources (subaerial-to-submarine landslides), have the potential to cause tsunami waves that can pose a significant threat to human life and infrastructure in coastal areas (for example towns, cruise ships, bridges, oil platforms, and communication lines). Sheltered...
Fractures, scarps, faults, and landslides mapped using LiDAR, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
This map of fractures, scarps, faults, and landslides was completed to identify areas in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve that may present a landslide-generated tsunami hazard. To address the potential of landslide and tsunami hazards in the park, the National Park Service (NPS) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) partnered to conduct a multi-year hazard assessment of Glacier Bay...
Authors
Chad Hults, Jeffrey A. Coe, Nikita N. Avdievitch
Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia
The Glacier Bay area in southeastern Alaska and British Columbia, encompassing Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, has experienced rapid glacier retreat since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-1800s. The impact that rapid deglaciation has had on the slope stability of valley walls and on the sedimentation of fans and deltas adjacent to fjords and inlets is an ongoing research...
Authors
Jinwook Kim, Jeffrey A. Coe, Zhong Lu, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Chad Hults
Submarine landslide susceptibility mapping in recently deglaciated terrain, Glacier Bay, Alaska
Submarine mass wasting events have damaged underwater structures and propagated waves that have inundated towns and affected human populations in nearby coastal areas. Susceptibility to submarine landslides can be pronounced in degrading cryospheric environments, where existing glaciers can provide high volumes of sediment, while cycles of glaciation and ice-loss can damage and...
Authors
Nikita N. Avdievitch, Jeffrey A. Coe
Non-USGS Publications**
Guerin, A., Stock, G.M., Radue, M.J., Jaboyedoff, M., Collins, B.D., Matasci, B., Avdievitch, N. and Derron, M.H., 2020. Quantifying 40 years of rockfall activity in Yosemite Valley with historical Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning. Geomorphology, 356, p.107069.
Avdievitch, N.N., Ehlers, T.A. and Glotzbach, C., 2018. Slow long‐term exhumation of the West Central Andean plate boundary, Chile. Tectonics, 37(7), pp.2243-2267.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Prince William Sound, Alaska (2023)
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...
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...
Imagery and digital surface model for the Slumgullion landslide, Lake City, Colorado, June 3, 2024
This dataset contains a point cloud (Slumgullion_PointCloud.laz), 1-meter digital surface model (Slumgullion_DSM.tif), and orthoimagery (0.1-meter resolution) (Slumgullion_Ortho.tif) of the active portion of the Slumgullion landslide in Lake City, Colorado. The Slumgullion landslide is a translational slide with a continuously moving, active portion and an inactive portion. 896 photos...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska from the summers of 2021 and 2022
Subaerial and submarine landslides adjacent to, and within, Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), Alaska pose a threat to the public because of their potential to generate ocean waves that could impact marine activities. Although historical records of tsunamis generated by landslides in GBNPP are uncommon, there are records that document the destructive power of at...
Rock mass quality and structural geology observations in northwest Prince William Sound, Alaska from the summer of 2021
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 (Dai and others, 2020; Barnhart and others, 2021; Barnhart and others, 2022) that could impact towns and marine activities. One bedrock landslide on the...
Merged topography and bathymetry, western Prince William Sound
This work integrated multiple topographic and bathymetric data sources to generate a merged topobathymetric map of western Prince William Sound. We converted all data sources to NAD 83 UTM Zone 6 N and mean higher high water (MHHW) before compiling. In Barry Arm, north of Port Wells, we used a digital terrain model (DTM) derived from subaerial light detection and ranging (lidar) data...
Digital compilation of historical ice terminus positions of tidewater glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
In coastal subarctic environments such as the fjords of Southeast Alaska, tidewater glaciers can control local hydrology, climatic patterns, ecology, and geologic hazards like landslides and consequent tsunami waves. Documenting and studying glacial retreat in fjords can help scientists understand the dynamic systems that are intrinsically tied to glacial ice processes and forecast...
Inventory map of submarine and subaerial-to-submarine landslide features in Barry Arm Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Documenting and assessing submarine or subaerial-to-submarine landslides is critical for understanding the history of slope failures and related tsunami impacts in rapidly deglaciating fjord environments. The discovery of the ~500-million-cubic-meter slow-moving subaerial Barry Arm Landslide in northwest Prince William Sound, Alaska (Dai and others, 2020) highlights the need to better...
Slow-moving landslides and subsiding fan deltas mapped from Sentinel-1 InSAR in the Glacier Bay region, Alaska and British Columbia, 2018-2020
This data release contains four GIS shapefiles, one Google Earth kmz file, and five metadata files that summarize results from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analyses in the Glacier Bay region of Alaska and British Columbia. The principal shapefile (Moving_Ground) and the kmz file (GBRegionMovingGround) contain polygons delineating slow-moving (0.5-6 cm/year in the...
Simulated inundation extent and depth in Harriman Fjord and Barry Arm, western Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting from the hypothetical rapid motion of landslides into Barry Arm Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Summary This data release contains postprocessed model output from a simulation of hypothetical rapid motion of landslides, subsequent wave generation, and wave propagation. A simulated displacement wave was generated by rapid motion of unstable material into Barry Arm fjord. We consider the wave propagation in Harriman Fjord and Barry Arm, western Prince William Sound (area of interest...
Inventory map of submarine and subaerial-to-submarine landslides in Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Mass-wasting events that displace water, whether they initiate from underwater sources (submarine landslides) or subaerial sources (subaerial-to-submarine landslides), have the potential to cause tsunami waves that can pose a significant threat to human life and infrastructure in coastal areas (for example towns, cruise ships, bridges, oil platforms, and communication lines). Sheltered...
Fractures, scarps, faults, and landslides mapped using LiDAR, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
This map of fractures, scarps, faults, and landslides was completed to identify areas in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve that may present a landslide-generated tsunami hazard. To address the potential of landslide and tsunami hazards in the park, the National Park Service (NPS) and the US Geological Survey (USGS) partnered to conduct a multi-year hazard assessment of Glacier Bay...
Authors
Chad Hults, Jeffrey A. Coe, Nikita N. Avdievitch
Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia
The Glacier Bay area in southeastern Alaska and British Columbia, encompassing Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, has experienced rapid glacier retreat since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-1800s. The impact that rapid deglaciation has had on the slope stability of valley walls and on the sedimentation of fans and deltas adjacent to fjords and inlets is an ongoing research...
Authors
Jinwook Kim, Jeffrey A. Coe, Zhong Lu, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Chad Hults
Submarine landslide susceptibility mapping in recently deglaciated terrain, Glacier Bay, Alaska
Submarine mass wasting events have damaged underwater structures and propagated waves that have inundated towns and affected human populations in nearby coastal areas. Susceptibility to submarine landslides can be pronounced in degrading cryospheric environments, where existing glaciers can provide high volumes of sediment, while cycles of glaciation and ice-loss can damage and...
Authors
Nikita N. Avdievitch, Jeffrey A. Coe
Non-USGS Publications**
Guerin, A., Stock, G.M., Radue, M.J., Jaboyedoff, M., Collins, B.D., Matasci, B., Avdievitch, N. and Derron, M.H., 2020. Quantifying 40 years of rockfall activity in Yosemite Valley with historical Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning. Geomorphology, 356, p.107069.
Avdievitch, N.N., Ehlers, T.A. and Glotzbach, C., 2018. Slow long‐term exhumation of the West Central Andean plate boundary, Chile. Tectonics, 37(7), pp.2243-2267.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.