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
Geotechnical properties of debris-flow sediments and slurries
Debris-flow initiation experiments using diverse hydrologic triggers
Automated, reproducible delineation of zones at risk from inundation by large volcanic debris flows
Evaluation of viscoplastic slope movement based on triaxial tests
Can magma-injection and groundwater forces cause massive landslides on Hawaiian volcanoes?
Volcano hazards in the Mount Adams region, Washington
Differential equations governing slip-induced pore-pressure fluctuations in a water-saturated granular medium
Friction in debris flows: inferences from large-scale flume experiments
Gravity-driven groundwater flow and slope failure potential: 2. Effects of slope morphology, material properties, and hydraulic heterogeneity
Gravity-driven groundwater flow and slope failure potential: 1. Elastic effective-stress model
Spatial and temporal distribution of shallow landsliding during intense rainfall, southeastern Oahu, Hawaii
Sensitivity of stability analyses to groundwater data
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
- Data
- Publications
My research career, including information about the debris flow experimental flume facility, is docuymented in this memoir.
Landslide disparities, flume discoveries, and Oso despair
Landslide dynamics is the branch of science that seeks to understand the motion of landslides by applying Newton's laws. This memoir focusses on a 40‐year effort to understand motion of highly mobile—and highly lethal—landslides such as debris avalanches and debris flows. A major component of this work entailed development and operation of the U.S. Geological Survey debris flow flume, a unique, laAuthorsRichard M. IversonFilter Total Items: 118Geotechnical properties of debris-flow sediments and slurries
Measurements of geotechnical properties of various poorly sorted debris-flow sediments and slurries (??? 32 mm diameter) emphasize their granular nature, and reveal that properties of slurries can differ significantly from those of compacted sediments. Measurements show that: (1) cohesion probably offers little resistance to shear in most debris flows under low confining stresses normally found inAuthorsJ. J. Major, R. M. Iverson, D.F. McTigue, S. Macias, B.K. FiedorowiczDebris-flow initiation experiments using diverse hydrologic triggers
Controlled debris-flow initiation experiments focused on three hydrologic conditions that can trigger slope failure: localized ground-water inflow; prolonged moderate-intensity rainfall; and high-intensity rainfall. Detailed monitoring of slope hydrology and deformation provided exceptionally complete data on conditions preceding and accompanying slope failure and debris-flow mobilization. Ground-AuthorsMark E. Reid, Richard G. LaHusen, Richard M. IversonAutomated, reproducible delineation of zones at risk from inundation by large volcanic debris flows
Large debris flows can pose hazards to people and property downstream from volcanoes. We have developed a rapid, reproducible, objective, and inexpensive method to delineate distal debris-flow hazard zones. Our method employs the results of scaling and statistical analyses of the geometry of volcanic debris flows (lahars) to predict inundated valley cross-sectional areas (A) and planimetric areasAuthorsSteve P. Schilling, Richard M. IversonEvaluation of viscoplastic slope movement based on triaxial tests
Viscoplastic soil parameters are used in a nonlinear viscoplastic constitutive model to predict time-dependent displacement of slow-moving landslides. The viscoplastic material parameters are determined by a novel method that uses a standard triaxial apparatus. This method employs data obtained from consolidated drained triaxial tests and consolidated drained stress-controlled strain-rate tests. TAuthorsWylie W. -H. Wong, Carlton L. Ho, Richard M. Iverson, Cynthia HovindCan magma-injection and groundwater forces cause massive landslides on Hawaiian volcanoes?
Landslides with volumes exceeding 1000 km3 have occurred on the flanks of Hawaiian volcanoes. Because the flanks typically slope seaward no more than 12 °, the mechanics of slope failure are problematic. Limit-equilibrium analyses of wedge-shaped slices of the volcano flanks show that magma injection at prospective headscarps might trigger the landslides, but only under very restrictive conditionsAuthorsR. M. IversonVolcano hazards in the Mount Adams region, Washington
No abstract available.AuthorsW. E. Scott, R. M. Iverson, J. W. Vallance, Wes HildrethDifferential equations governing slip-induced pore-pressure fluctuations in a water-saturated granular medium
Macroscopic frictional slip in water-saturated granular media occurs commonly during landsliding, surface faulting, and intense bedload transport. A mathematical model of dynamic pore-pressure fluctuations that accompany and influence such sliding is derived here by both inductive and deductive methods. The inductive derivation shows how the governing differential equations represent the physics oAuthorsR. M. IversonFriction in debris flows: inferences from large-scale flume experiments
A recently constructed flume, 95 m long and 2 m wide, permits systematic experimentation with unsteady, nonuniform flows of poorly sorted geological debris. Preliminary experiments with water-saturated mixtures of sand and gravel show that they flow in a manner consistent with Coulomb frictional behavior. The Coulomb flow model of Savage and Hutter (1989, 1991), modified to include quasi-static poAuthorsRichard M. Iverson, Richard G. LaHusenGravity-driven groundwater flow and slope failure potential: 2. Effects of slope morphology, material properties, and hydraulic heterogeneity
Hillslope morphology, material properties, and hydraulic heterogeneities influence the role of groundwater flow in provoking slope instability. We evaluate these influences quantitatively by employing the elastic effective stress model and Coulomb failure potential concept described in our companion paper (Iverson and Reid, this issue). Sensitivity analyses show that of four dimensionless quantitiAuthorsMark E. Reid, Richard M. IversonGravity-driven groundwater flow and slope failure potential: 1. Elastic effective-stress model
Hilly or mountainous topography influences gravity-driven groundwater flow and the consequent distribution of effective stress in shallow subsurface environments. Effective stress, in turn, influences the potential for slope failure. To evaluate these influences, we formulate a two-dimensional, steady state, poroelastic model. The governing equations incorporate groundwater effects as body forces,AuthorsRichard M. Iverson, Mark E. ReidSpatial and temporal distribution of shallow landsliding during intense rainfall, southeastern Oahu, Hawaii
No abstract available.AuthorsThomas C. Pierson, Richard M. Iverson, Stephen D. EllenSensitivity of stability analyses to groundwater data
No abstract available.AuthorsRichard M. IversonNon-USGS Publications**
Iverson, R.M., 1980, Processes of accelerated pluvial erosion on desert hillslopes modified by vehicular traffic: Earth Surface Processes, v. 5, no. 4, p. 369‑388.Iverson, R.M., Hinckley, B.S., Webb, R.H., and Hallet, B., 1981, Physical effects of vehicular disturbances on arid landscapes: Science, v. 212, no. 4497, p. 915‑917.Hinckley, B.S., Iverson, R.M., and Hallet, B., 1983, Accelerated water erosion in ORV‑use areas: Environmental Effects of Off-road Vehicles: Impacts and Management in Arid Regions, R.H. Webb and H.G. Wilshire, eds., Springer‑Verlag, New York, p. 81‑94.Elvidge, C.D., and Iverson, R.M., 1983, Regeneration of desert pavement and desert varnish: Environmental Effects of Off-road Vehicles: Impacts and Management in Arid regions, R.H. Webb and H.G. Wilshire, eds., Springer‑Verlag, New York, p. 225‑241.Iverson, R.M., 1983, Discussion of "A model for creeping flow in landslides" by W.Z. Savage and A.F. Chleborad: Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists, v. 20, no. 4, p. 455‑459.**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.
- Multimedia