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Landslide Hazards Program

The primary objective of the National Landslide Hazards Program is to reduce long-term losses from landslide hazards by improving our understanding of the causes of ground failure and suggesting mitigation strategies.

News

Assessing landslide risks in Prince William Sound 

Assessing landslide risks in Prince William Sound 

Post-fire Hydrologic Response Along the Central California Coast

Post-fire Hydrologic Response Along the Central California Coast

The Monitor Newsletter - Vol. 12 | Issue July 2023 - Vol. 12 | Issue July 2023

Publications

Satellite Interferometry Landslide Detection and Preliminary Tsunamigenic Plausibility Assessment in Prince William Sound, Southcentral Alaska

Regional mapping of actively deforming landslides, including measurements of landslide velocity, is integral for hazard assessments in paraglacial environments. These inventories are also critical for describing the potential impacts that the warming effects of climate change have on slope instability in mountainous and cryospheric terrain. The objective of this study is to identify slow-moving la

Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Jinwook Kim, Dennis M. Staley, Zhong Lu, Katherine R. Barnhart

The 2022 Chaos Canyon landslide in Colorado: Insights revealed by seismic analysis, field investigations, and remote sensing

An unusual, high-alpine, rapid debris slide originating in ice-rich debris occurred on June 28, 2022, at 16:33:16 MDT at the head of Chaos Canyon, a formerly glacier-covered valley in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA. In this study, we integrate eyewitness videos and seismic records of the event with meteorological data, field observations, pre- and post-event satellite imagery, and uncrewed
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Jeffrey A. Coe, Elaine Collins, Francis K. Rengers, Anne Mangeney, Scott M. Esser, Jana Pursley, William L. Yeck, John Bellini, Lance R. Brady

Kinematic evolution of a large paraglacial landslide in the Barry Arm fjord of Alaska

Our warming climate is adversely affecting cryospheric landscapes via glacial retreat, permafrost degradation, and associated slope destabilization. In Prince William Sound, Alaska, the rapid retreat of Barry Glacier has destabilized the slopes flanking the glacier, resulting in numerous landslides. The largest of these landslides (∼500 Mm3 in volume) is more than 2 km wide and has the potential t
Authors
Lauren N. Schaefer, Jeffrey A. Coe, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Brian D. Collins, Dennis M. Staley, Michael E. West, Ezgi Karasozen, Charles Prentice-James Miles, Gabriel J. Wolken, Ronald P. Daanan, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom

Science

Landslide Mechanisms and Forecasting

When and where will landslides happen? How far will they go, how big and how fast will they be? These questions are difficult to answer because many factors contribute to landslide occurrence, magnitude, and mobility; some factors remain unknown, while nearly all are very difficult to quantify and account for. Researchers use surface, subsurface, remote sensing, and laboratory observations along...
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Landslide Mechanisms and Forecasting

When and where will landslides happen? How far will they go, how big and how fast will they be? These questions are difficult to answer because many factors contribute to landslide occurrence, magnitude, and mobility; some factors remain unknown, while nearly all are very difficult to quantify and account for. Researchers use surface, subsurface, remote sensing, and laboratory observations along...
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link

Las Lomas Landslide Monitoring Station - Recent Conditions

Recent Monitoring Data
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Postfire Landslide Monitoring Station: “Las Lomas” (2016 Fish Fire) near Duarte, California

Wildfire can increase landslide susceptibility in mountainous terrain. The USGS maintains postfire landslide monitoring stations to track hillslope hydrologic conditions in the years following fire.
link

Postfire Landslide Monitoring Station: “Las Lomas” (2016 Fish Fire) near Duarte, California

Wildfire can increase landslide susceptibility in mountainous terrain. The USGS maintains postfire landslide monitoring stations to track hillslope hydrologic conditions in the years following fire.
Learn More