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
Frictional properties of the Mount St. Helens gouge
Book review of Avalanche Dynamics by Shiva P. Pudasaini and Kolumban Hutter. Springer: Berlin-Heidelberg, 2007. 602 pages, 225 figures, 15 tables
An exact solution for ideal dam-break floods on steep slopes
Video documentation of experiments at the USGS debris-flow flume 1992–2017
Dynamics of seismogenic volcanic extrusion at Mount St Helens in 2004-05
Forecasting runout of rock and debris avalanches
Regulation of landslide motion by dilatancy and pore pressure feedback
Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 2. Experimental tests
Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 1. Theory and computation
Comment on “Piezometric response in shallow bedrock at CB1: Implications for runoff generation and landsliding” by David R. Montgomery, William E. Dietrich, and John T. Heffner
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
Frictional properties of the Mount St. Helens gouge
Book review of Avalanche Dynamics by Shiva P. Pudasaini and Kolumban Hutter. Springer: Berlin-Heidelberg, 2007. 602 pages, 225 figures, 15 tables
An exact solution for ideal dam-break floods on steep slopes
Video documentation of experiments at the USGS debris-flow flume 1992–2017
Dynamics of seismogenic volcanic extrusion at Mount St Helens in 2004-05
Forecasting runout of rock and debris avalanches
Regulation of landslide motion by dilatancy and pore pressure feedback
Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 2. Experimental tests
Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 1. Theory and computation
Comment on “Piezometric response in shallow bedrock at CB1: Implications for runoff generation and landsliding” by David R. Montgomery, William E. Dietrich, and John T. Heffner
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.