A5060626300- Landslides and related hazards
- Soil and Unsaturated Flow
- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Groundwater flow and contamination studies
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Tree Root and Stability Studies
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
- Climate change and permafrost
- Geotechnical Engineering and Analysis
- Seismology and Earthquake Studies
- Hydrological Forecasting Using AI
- Reservoir Engineering and Simulation Methods
- Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
- Dam Engineering and Safety
- Computational Physics and Python Applications
- Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods
- Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
- Hydraulic flow and structures
- Geological Modeling and Analysis
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Geotechnical and Geomechanical Engineering
United States Geological Survey
2016-2025
Geologic Hazards Science Center
2016-2025
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
2023-2025
University of Potsdam
2023
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
2023
ORCID
2019
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2014-2015
Stanford University
2006-2013
Abstract. Although rainfall-triggered landslides are initiated by subsurface hydro-mechanical processes related to the loading, weakening, and eventual failure of slope materials, most landslide early warning systems (LEWSs) have relied solely on rainfall event information. In previous decades, several studies demonstrated value integrating proxies for hydrologic information improve rainfall-based forecasting shallow landslides. More recently, broader access commercial sensors telemetry...
Abstract Detailed information about landslide occurrence is the foundation for advancing process understanding, susceptibility mapping, and risk reduction. Despite recent revolution in digital elevation data remote sensing technologies, mapping remains resource intensive. Consequently, a modern, comprehensive map of across United States (USA) has not been compiled. As first step toward this goal, we present national-scale compilation existing, publicly available inventories. This geodatabase...
Consistent relations between shallow landslide initiation and associated rainfall characteristics remain difficult to identify, due largely the complex hydrological geological processes causing slopes be predisposed failure those that subsequently trigger failures. Considering importance of hillslope hydrology for rainfall-induced landsliding, we develop test a method identifying hybrid hydro-meteorological thresholds assess potential. We outline series steps using inventory in combination...
Abstract More than 1100 debris flows were mobilized from shallow landslides during a rainstorm 9 to 13 September 2013 in the Colorado Front Range, with vast majority initiating on sparsely vegetated, south facing terrain. To investigate physical processes responsible for observed aspect control, we made measurements of soil properties densely forested north hillslope and grassland‐dominated Range performed numerical modeling transient changes pore water pressure throughout rainstorm. Using...
Abstract Elevated soil moisture and heavy precipitation contribute to landslides worldwide. These environmental variables are now being resolved with satellites at spatiotemporal scales that could offer new perspectives on the development of landslide warning systems. However, application these data hydrometeorological thresholds (which account for antecedent rainfall) first needs be evaluated respect proven, direct measurement‐based use rain gages in situ sensors. Here we compare...
Abstract. Slope units are terrain partitions bounded by drainage and divide lines. In landslide modeling, including susceptibility modeling event-specific of occurrence, slope provide several advantages over gridded units, such as better capturing geometry, improved incorporation geospatial landslide-occurrence data in different formats (e.g., point polygon), accommodating the varying accuracy precision inventories. However, use regional (> 100 km2) studies remains limited due, part, to...
Data-driven models widely used for assessing landslide susceptibility are severely limited by the and environmental data needed to create them. They rely on inventories of past locations, which difficult collect often nonrepresentative. Furthermore, maps most in regions without means assemble an inventory. To overcome these challenges, we develop a method shallow based probabilistic morphometric analysis landscape's topography, rather than characteristics landslides. The model assumes that...
Abstract Distributed hydrologic models capable of simulating fully‐coupled surface water and groundwater flow are increasingly used to examine problems in the sciences. Several techniques currently available couple subsurface; two most frequently employed approaches first‐order exchange coefficients (a.k.a., conductance method) enforced continuity pressure flux at surface‐subsurface boundary condition. The effort reported here examines parameter sensitivity simulated response for a...
Key Points Development of a quantitative Dunne diagram is presented Relative rates infiltration versus lateral drainage controls runoff Unsaturated storage dynamics are critical for evaluating
Abstract Most regional landslide warning systems utilize empirically derived rainfall thresholds that are difficult to improve without recalibration additional events. To address this limitation, we explored the use of synthetic generate thousands possible storm patterns and coupled them with a physics‐based hydrology slope stability model for various antecedent soil saturation scenarios analyze pore water pressure factor safety metrics. We used these metrics two‐tiered alert can be employed...
Abstract Landslide susceptibility maps indicate the spatial distribution of landslide likelihood. Modeling over large or diverse terrains remains a challenge due to sparsity data (mapped extent known landslides) and variability in triggering conditions. Several different sampling strategies locations used train model are mitigate this challenge. However, our knowledge, no study has systematically evaluated how alter model's predictor effects (i.e., value influences output) critical...
Two emerging and important disciplines within the large science of hydrology are hydroecology (Eagleson, 2002; Rodriguez-Iturbe Porporato, 2004) hydrogeomorphology (Sidle Onda, 2004), each requiring an integrated understanding hydrologic response at surface variably saturated subsurface. Obviously, most useful tool for ecological or geomorphic processes a given hydrologically driven system is careful observation via detailed field measurements/experiments (e.g. Montgomery et al., Loheide...
Hydraulic hysteresis, including capillary soil water retention (SWR), air entrapment SWR, and hydraulic conductivity, is a common phenomenon in unsaturated soils. However, the influence of hysteresis on suction stress, subsequently slope stability, generally ignored. This paper examines each these three types stability using an infinite analysis under steady infiltration conditions. First, hypothetical slopes for representative silty sandy soils are examined. Then monitored hillslope San...
Abstract Soils in post‐wildfire environments are often characterized by a low infiltration capacity with high degree of spatial heterogeneity relative to unburned areas. Debris flows frequently initiated run‐off recently burned steeplands, making it critical develop and test methods for incorporating variability into hydrologic models. We use Monte Carlo simulations generation over soil spatially heterogenous saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K s ) derive an expression aerially averaged...
Abstract Shallow aquifers are an important source of water resources and provide base flow to streams; yet actual rates groundwater recharge difficult estimate. While climate change is predicted increase the frequency magnitude extreme precipitation events, resulting impact on remains poorly understood. We quantify empirical relations between characteristics episodic for a wide variety geographic land use types across North Carolina. extract storm duration, magnitude, average rate, hourly...
Abstract Landslides typically alter hillslope topography, but may also change the hydrologic connectivity and subsurface water‐storage dynamics. In settings where mobile materials are not completely evacuated from steep slopes, influences of landslide disturbances on hydrology susceptibility to subsequent failures remain poorly characterized. Since landslides often recur at site previous failures, we examine differences between a stable vegetated (VH) recent (LS). These neighboring...
Abstract This special issue is the result of several fruitful conference sessions on disturbance hydrology, which started at 2013 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco and have continued every year since. The stimulating presentations discussions surrounding those focused understanding both disruption hydrologic functioning following discrete disturbances, as well subsequent recovery or change within affected watershed system. Whereas some disturbances are directly linked to anthropogenic...
On the 4th and 5th of March 2005, about 100 rainfall-induced landslides occurred along volcanic slopes Camaldoli Hill in Naples, Italy. These started as soil slips upper substratum incoherent welded volcaniclastic deposits, then evolved downslope according to debris avalanche flow mechanisms. This specific case slope instability on complex deposits remains poorly characterized understood, although similar shallow landsliding phenomena have largely been studied other peri-volcanic areas...
Abstract Clay minerals dominate the soil colloidal fraction and its specific surface area. Differences among clay mineral types significantly influence their effects on hydrological mechanical behavior. Presently, content is used to parameterize hydraulic properties (SHMP) for land models while disregarding type of mineral. This undifferentiated use leads inconsistent parameterization, particularly between tropical temperate soils, as shown herein. We capitalize recent global maps that...