Richard M. Iverson
My USGS career has focused mostly on evaluating and modeling the dynamics and hazards of landslides and debris flows, with a secondary focus on the dynamics of volcanic extrusions. Part of my work involved design, development, and utilization of the USGS debris-flow flume, a unique, large-scale experimental facility at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Blue River, Oregon.
Career Highlights
A written account of some career highlights was published in 2020 in Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists. An oral history interview recounting some of my career highlights is archived at Oregon State University.
Professional Experience
Senior Research Hydrologist, USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
Adjunct Professor, University of Washington and Portland State University
Education and Certifications
Stanford University, Ph.D., 1984, Applied Earth Sciences
Stanford University, M.S., 1981, Hydrology
Stanford University, M.S., 1980, Applied Earth Sciences
Iowa State University, B.S., 1977, Geology major, Mathematics and Physics minors
Honors and Awards
Fellow, American Geophysical Union (AGU) and Geological Society of America (GSA)
E.B. Burwell Award, GSA, 1991
Kirk Bryan Award, GSA, 2001
Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer, GSA, 2005
Langbein Lecturer, AGU, 2006
U.S. Department of the Interior Distinguished Service Award, 2019
Science and Products
My research career, including information about the debris flow experimental flume facility, is docuymented in this memoir.
Landslide disparities, flume discoveries, and Oso despair
Controls on the breach geometry and flood hydrograph during overtopping of non-cohesive earthen dams
Landslide mobility and hazards: implications of the 2014 Oso disaster
Entrainment of bed material by Earth-surface mass flows: review and reformulation of depth-integrated theory
A depth-averaged debris-flow model that includes the effects of evolving dilatancy. I. Physical basis
Debris flows: Behavior and hazard assessment
A depth-averaged debris-flow model that includes the effects of evolving dilatancy: II. Numerical predictions and experimental tests.
Discussion: Numerical study on the entrainment of bed material into rapid landslides
Elementary theory of bed-sediment entrainment by debris flows and avalanches
Grain-size segregation and levee formation in geophysical mass flows
Mechanics of debris flows and rock avalanches: Chapter 43
Entrainment of bed sediment by debris flows: results from large-scale experiments
A two-phase debris-flow model that includes coupled evolution of volume fractions, granular dilatancy, and pore-fluid pressure
Non-USGS Publications**
**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
My research career, including information about the debris flow experimental flume facility, is docuymented in this memoir.
Landslide disparities, flume discoveries, and Oso despair
Controls on the breach geometry and flood hydrograph during overtopping of non-cohesive earthen dams
Landslide mobility and hazards: implications of the 2014 Oso disaster
Entrainment of bed material by Earth-surface mass flows: review and reformulation of depth-integrated theory
A depth-averaged debris-flow model that includes the effects of evolving dilatancy. I. Physical basis
Debris flows: Behavior and hazard assessment
A depth-averaged debris-flow model that includes the effects of evolving dilatancy: II. Numerical predictions and experimental tests.
Discussion: Numerical study on the entrainment of bed material into rapid landslides
Elementary theory of bed-sediment entrainment by debris flows and avalanches
Grain-size segregation and levee formation in geophysical mass flows
Mechanics of debris flows and rock avalanches: Chapter 43
Entrainment of bed sediment by debris flows: results from large-scale experiments
A two-phase debris-flow model that includes coupled evolution of volume fractions, granular dilatancy, and pore-fluid pressure
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.