Publications

Recent advances in remote sensing of rainfall provide more detailed temporal and spatial data on rainfall distribution. Four case studies of abundant debris flows over relatively small areas triggered during intense rainstorms are examined noting the potential for using remotely sensed rainfall data for landslide hazard analysis. Three examples with rainfall estimates from National Weather Service

Debris-flow initiation processes on hillslopes recently burned by wildfire differ from those generally recognized on unburned, vegetated hillslopes. These differences result from fire-induced changes in the hydrologic response to rainfall events. In this study, detailed field and aerial photographic mapping, observations, and measurements of debris-flow events from three sites in the western U.S.

We have used stratigraphic and historic records of debris-flows to estimate mean recurrence intervals of past debris-flow events on 19 fans along the Interstate 70 highway corridor in the Front Range of Colorado. Estimated mean recurrence intervals were used in the Poisson probability model to estimate the probability of future debris-flow events on the fans. Mean recurrence intervals range from 7

Landslides in the hilly terrain along the Kansas and Missouri rivers in northeastern Kansas have caused millions of dollars in property damage during the last decade. To address this problem, a statistical method called multiple logistic regression has been used to create a landslide-hazard map for Atchison, Kansas, and surrounding areas. Data included digitized geology, slopes, and landslides, ma

We describe a model for regional initiation of shallow landslides based on an approximate analytic solution to Richards equation combined with an infinite-slope calculation. The model applied over digital topography computes pressure heads and factors of safety as functions of depth for geographic information system (GIS) grid cells at any time during and after rainfall events. An example is prese

Land-use planners have an important role in reducing losses from debris-flow hazards. For that reason, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the American Planning Association (APA) have developed a strategy to make information about landslide and debris-flow hazards available to local planners so that they can incorporate this information into the planning process. A guidebook for planners and act

At 4393 m, ice-clad Mount Rainier has great potential for debris flows owing to its precipitous slopes and incised steep valleys, the large volume of water stored in its glaciers, and a mantle of loose debris on its slopes. In the past 10,000 years, more than sixty Holocene lahars have occurred at Mount Rainier (Scott et al., 1985), and, in addition more than thirty debris flows not related to vol

No abstract available.

These maps present preliminary assessments of the probability of debris-flow activity and estimates of peak discharges that can potentially be generated by debris-flows issuing from basins burned by the Piru, Simi and Verdale Fires of October 2003 in southern California in response to the 25-year, 10-year, and 2-year 1-hour rain storms. The probability maps are based on the application of a logist

These maps present preliminary assessments of the probability of debris-flow activity and estimates of peak discharges that can potentially be generated by debris flows issuing from basins burned by the Old and Grand Prix Fires of October 2003 in southern California in response to the 25-year, 10-year, and 2-year recurrence, 1-hour duration rain storms. The probability maps are based on the applic

No abstract available.

These maps present the results of assessments of peak discharges that can potentially be generated by debris flows issuing from the basins burned by the Coal Seam fire of June and July 2002, near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The maps are based on a regression model for debris-flow peak discharge normalized by average storm intensity as a function of basin gradient and burned extent, and limited fie