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Roger Patrick Denlinger, Ph.D.

My interests are in the physics of volcanoes; the processes that cause the changes that we measure and phenomena we see. This includes the mechanisms of magma transport, volcanic structure and magma storage, and during eruptions the transport of ash in the atmosphere. I use numerical methods, including artificial intelligence, to model data, and Bayesian methods to constrain the models with data.

I have been a Geophysicist with the Cascades Volcano Observatory since 1996. My major accomplishments are as follows:

  • Constructed a model for shallow water flow, modeled floods throughout western US
  • Showed that a 2d shallow water model effectively modeled two millennial floods on the Verde River, Arizona, effectively verifying the three-dimensional variation of stage to give unique discharge of nearly 3200 cubic meters per second.  This discharge was verified by flow through a dam immediately downstream.
  • Constructed a dambreak model for the Pakistan Army to mitigate the Haittian landslide dam that had just buried 2 entire villages. Modeling determined how much to downcut the landslide to preserve infrastructure downstream. The cut was made and the resulting flow matched the prediction of my model. For this work Dan O'Connell and I received recognition from the Pakistan Army.
  • Constructed a shallow flow model for debris flows and avalanches to model USGS flume data.
  • Co-construction of Ash3d, an ash transport program, along with Hans Schwaiger (USGS) and Larry Mastin (USGS). Used Bayesian methods to refine forecasts of ash clouds.
  • Used gravity and seismic data to quantify gravitational component, verify existing volcano-tectonic features, and illustrate the deep structure cradling magma and mush in the volcano.

Past Appointments

  • NRC postdoctoral Fellow 1979
  • Submersible work with US Navy, 1986-1989
  • Geophysicist, adjunct, Oceanography Dept, University of Washington, 1986-1999
  • Visiting Scientist, Meteorological Office, Exeter, England, 2016
     

Professional Experience

  • Groundwater Flow and Subsidence, 1980-1982

  • Volcano Deformation and Geophysics, 1981-1986
            Established magnetization and cooling rate of Mount Saint Helens growing dome.

  • Seafloor Volcanism, Deformation, and Thermal History, 1986-1992
            Member of team that discovered SeaCliff hydrothermal field within Escanabah Trough.
            Corrected the thermal structure of oceanic lithosphere to account for phase changes during cooling.

  • Deformation Chief, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, 1992 - 1996
            Established GPS/GNSS network on south flank of Kilauea volcano.
            Measured large, episodic monthly changes in rate of south flank movement on Kilauea volcano.
            Established that the south flank of Kilauea volcano had a landslide structure.

     

  • WORKSHOPS and REVIEW PANELS

  • Workshop that formed the RIDGE consortium of academia and government to study the ocean floor, 1988

  • Institute of Volcanic Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1990-1992

  • Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Workshop, SAR Interferometry and Surface Change Detection, 1994

  • USGS NEHRP Review panel for Pacific Northwest, 1994, 1995, 2002

  • USGS Multidisciplinary Workshop to assess “A unified approach toward probabilistic risk assessment for earthquakes, floods, landslides, and volcanoes” within the USGS, Golden, CO, November 16-17, 1999. Funded by the USGS Urban Hazards Initiative.

  • USGS Working Group to assess research directions to improve methods to solve advection-diffusion equations, Denver, CO, August 1999

  • Member International Committee to organize and plan mathematical workshops on granular flow.

  • GEOPRISMS working group funded for active and passive Mount St. Helens seismic experiments.

     

  • CHAIR POSITIONS

  • RIDGE Panel to plan and assemble a proposal to Congress to establish RIDGE Program, 1988

  • USGS Research Evaluation Panel, Volcano Hazards Team, 1995

  • 1st Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference Panel, “Formulation and use of flood models within and outside the Federal government”, Las Vegas, NV, April 1998

     

  • EXPERT CONSULTANT

  • Seismo-tectonic program, US Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, CO, 1996-2012

  • Ferguson rockslide, Merced River Canyon, US Forest Service, 2005-2012

  • Avalanche and debris flow program, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland, 2005-2012

  • Hattian landslide dambreak, General Tahir Hayat, Pakistan Army, Pakistan, 2005-2009

Education and Certifications

  • PhD, Geophysics, Stanford University 1979

  • MS, Geophysics, Stanford University, 1977

  • BS, Geology, CSU Hayward, 1974

  • BA, Physics, CSU Hayward, 1973

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Member, American Geophysical Union

  • Member, Geological Society of America

  • Past memberships in Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Seismological Society of America

Honors and Awards

  • Special Service Award, US Geological Survey, for work on granular flows

Abstracts and Presentations

  • 1992   keynote speaker   Penrose Conference on “Water-Volcano Interaction”, Warm Springs, OR

  • 1999   keynote speaker    UNAVCO Volcano Geodesy Workshop, International NAVSTAR Consortium, Jackson Hole, WY

  • 2003   keynote speaker    Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences Workshop, Bristol, England

  • 2012   keynote speaker    IUGG, International Congress for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Beijing, China

  • 2018   keynote speaker  Denver Geophysical Society, Denver, Colorado

Science and Products

No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 34

Summary of preliminary 2D inundation modeling for three Hattian landslide dam breach scenarios

On October 8, 2005, a M 7.6 earthquake near Muzafarrabad, Pakistan, triggered a landslide that dammed the Karli River and one of its tributaries about 4 km upstream of the confluence of the Karli and Jhelum rivers near the town of Hattian Bala. The smaller dam on the tributary of the Karli River has been artificially breached and is no longer a hazard. When the larger dammed lake on the Karli Rive
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, Daniel R.H. O'Connell, Matt Jones
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 1. Theory and computation

To establish a theoretical basis for predicting and interpreting the behavior of rapid mass movements on Earth's surface, we develop and test a new computational model for gravity-driven motion of granular avalanches across irregular, three-dimensional (3-D) terrain. The principles embodied in the model are simple and few: continuum mass and momentum conservation and intergranular stress generatio
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, Richard M. Iverson
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 2. Experimental tests

Scaling considerations indicate that miniature experiments can be used to test models of granular avalanches in which the effects of intergranular fluid and cohesion are negligible. To test predictions of a granular avalanche model described in a companion paper, we performed bench top experiments involving avalanches of dry sand across irregular basal topography that mimicked the complexity of na
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Matthew Logan, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Determination of specific yield and water-table changes using temporal microgravity surveys collected during the second injection, storage, and recovery test at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, November 1996 through April 1997

To evaluate the feasibility of artificially recharging the ground-water system in the Lancaster area of the Antelope Valley, California, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, conducted a series of injection, storage, and recovery tests between September 1995 and September 1998. A key compone
Authors
James F. Howle, Steven P. Phillips, Roger P. Denlinger, Loren F. Metzger

Mechanics of debris flows and debris-laden flash floods

A new mathematical model developed to predict behavior of debris flows and avalanches also holds promise for predicting behavior of debris-laden flash floods. The model assumes that debris flows behave as mixtures of interacting Newtonian fluids and Coulomb solids. Solid and fluid constituents obey three-dimensional mass and momentum balances, which are summed and depth-integrated to yield equatio
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Intermediate‐depth intraslab earthquakes and arc volcanism as physical expressions of crustal and uppermost mantle metamorphism in subducting slabs

We elaborate on the well-known spatial association between axc volcanoes and Wadati Benioff zones and explore in detail their genetic relationships as dual physical expressions of slab metamorphism of the oceanic crust and uppermost mantle. At hypocentral depths less than 200 km intra slab Wadati-Benioff earthquakes tend to occur near the top surfaces of slabs. Subduction of very young lithosphere
Authors
Stephen H. Kirby, E. Robert Engdahl, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Earthquake Science Center

Major off-axis hydrothermal activity on the northern Gorda Ridge

The first hydrothermal field on the northern Gorda Ridge, the Sea Cliff hydrothermal field, was discovered and geologic controls of hydrothermal activity in the rift valley were investigated on a dive series using the DSV Sea Cliff. The Sea Cliff hydrothermal field was discovered where predicted at the intersection of axis-oblique and axis-parallel faults at the south end of a linear ridge at mid-
Authors
Peter A. Rona, Roger P. Denlinger, M. R. Fisk, K. J. Howard, G. L. Taghon, Kim D. Klitgord, James S. McClain, G. R. McMurray, J. C. Wiltshire
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A mechanical model for lava domes that includes a mechanism for eruptive growth

No abstract available.
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Evidence from gravity data for an intrusive complex beneath Mount St. Helens

On the basis of gravity data, aided by aeromagnetic, magnetotelluric, side-looking radar, and geologic information, we tentatively identify a large, shallow intrusive complex beneath Mount St. Helens. The complex is roughly 5–6 km thick and has apparently intruded a buried and compressed Mesozoic forearc sedimentary sequence. The lateral extent of the intrusive complex is uncertain, and we give th
Authors
David L. Williams, Gerda Abrams, Carol A. Finn, Daniel Dzurisin, Daniel J. Johnson, Roger P. Denlinger

The physics of debris flows — A conceptual assessment

Debris flows exhibit conspicuous dynamic interactions among their solid and fluid constituents. Key features of the interactions are neglected in traditional theories that treat debris flows as viscoplastic continua or as uniformly dispersed grain flows, but improved understanding of grain-grain and fluid-grain interactions has emerged from recent experimental and theoretical research. Grain-flow
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Science and Products

No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 34

Summary of preliminary 2D inundation modeling for three Hattian landslide dam breach scenarios

On October 8, 2005, a M 7.6 earthquake near Muzafarrabad, Pakistan, triggered a landslide that dammed the Karli River and one of its tributaries about 4 km upstream of the confluence of the Karli and Jhelum rivers near the town of Hattian Bala. The smaller dam on the tributary of the Karli River has been artificially breached and is no longer a hazard. When the larger dammed lake on the Karli Rive
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, Daniel R.H. O'Connell, Matt Jones
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center

Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 1. Theory and computation

To establish a theoretical basis for predicting and interpreting the behavior of rapid mass movements on Earth's surface, we develop and test a new computational model for gravity-driven motion of granular avalanches across irregular, three-dimensional (3-D) terrain. The principles embodied in the model are simple and few: continuum mass and momentum conservation and intergranular stress generatio
Authors
Roger P. Denlinger, Richard M. Iverson
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Granular avalanches across irregular three-dimensional terrain: 2. Experimental tests

Scaling considerations indicate that miniature experiments can be used to test models of granular avalanches in which the effects of intergranular fluid and cohesion are negligible. To test predictions of a granular avalanche model described in a companion paper, we performed bench top experiments involving avalanches of dry sand across irregular basal topography that mimicked the complexity of na
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Matthew Logan, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Determination of specific yield and water-table changes using temporal microgravity surveys collected during the second injection, storage, and recovery test at Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California, November 1996 through April 1997

To evaluate the feasibility of artificially recharging the ground-water system in the Lancaster area of the Antelope Valley, California, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, conducted a series of injection, storage, and recovery tests between September 1995 and September 1998. A key compone
Authors
James F. Howle, Steven P. Phillips, Roger P. Denlinger, Loren F. Metzger

Mechanics of debris flows and debris-laden flash floods

A new mathematical model developed to predict behavior of debris flows and avalanches also holds promise for predicting behavior of debris-laden flash floods. The model assumes that debris flows behave as mixtures of interacting Newtonian fluids and Coulomb solids. Solid and fluid constituents obey three-dimensional mass and momentum balances, which are summed and depth-integrated to yield equatio
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

Intermediate‐depth intraslab earthquakes and arc volcanism as physical expressions of crustal and uppermost mantle metamorphism in subducting slabs

We elaborate on the well-known spatial association between axc volcanoes and Wadati Benioff zones and explore in detail their genetic relationships as dual physical expressions of slab metamorphism of the oceanic crust and uppermost mantle. At hypocentral depths less than 200 km intra slab Wadati-Benioff earthquakes tend to occur near the top surfaces of slabs. Subduction of very young lithosphere
Authors
Stephen H. Kirby, E. Robert Engdahl, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Earthquake Science Center

Major off-axis hydrothermal activity on the northern Gorda Ridge

The first hydrothermal field on the northern Gorda Ridge, the Sea Cliff hydrothermal field, was discovered and geologic controls of hydrothermal activity in the rift valley were investigated on a dive series using the DSV Sea Cliff. The Sea Cliff hydrothermal field was discovered where predicted at the intersection of axis-oblique and axis-parallel faults at the south end of a linear ridge at mid-
Authors
Peter A. Rona, Roger P. Denlinger, M. R. Fisk, K. J. Howard, G. L. Taghon, Kim D. Klitgord, James S. McClain, G. R. McMurray, J. C. Wiltshire
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A mechanical model for lava domes that includes a mechanism for eruptive growth

No abstract available.
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Evidence from gravity data for an intrusive complex beneath Mount St. Helens

On the basis of gravity data, aided by aeromagnetic, magnetotelluric, side-looking radar, and geologic information, we tentatively identify a large, shallow intrusive complex beneath Mount St. Helens. The complex is roughly 5–6 km thick and has apparently intruded a buried and compressed Mesozoic forearc sedimentary sequence. The lateral extent of the intrusive complex is uncertain, and we give th
Authors
David L. Williams, Gerda Abrams, Carol A. Finn, Daniel Dzurisin, Daniel J. Johnson, Roger P. Denlinger

The physics of debris flows — A conceptual assessment

Debris flows exhibit conspicuous dynamic interactions among their solid and fluid constituents. Key features of the interactions are neglected in traditional theories that treat debris flows as viscoplastic continua or as uniformly dispersed grain flows, but improved understanding of grain-grain and fluid-grain interactions has emerged from recent experimental and theoretical research. Grain-flow
Authors
Richard M. Iverson, Roger P. Denlinger
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center, Cascades Volcano Observatory

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government