High-Resolution Landslide Susceptibility Modeling at Continental Scales

Well, the first thing I did was look up the meaning of “parsimonious” to have some idea of what they were talking about. The definition “I think they are using” is this: “What does it mean that science is parsimonious? The principle that the most acceptable explanation of an occurrence, phenomenon, or event is the simplest, involving the fewest entities, assumptions, or changes.” I’m still not sure how that applies, but it could mean they are “winging it” with the information. I don’t know…

I do know that landslides can be deadly to people and property. For instance this current example, California city hit by landslides was at risk for decades, and the slipping may not be stoppable 

I appreciate the indomitable spirit of the people who live in some of these houses, but my general assessment is “they are toast.”  Really unfortunate for them. Home insurance does not cover land movement and there is no government program that will bail them out. In Seattle back in about 1996 I saw individuals walking away from million-dollar homes and declaring bankruptcy because their home were worthless.  Study the results of this and don’t buy or build in those areas at risk—no matter how long the homes have been there—with no problems.

Topic: Parsimonious High-Resolution Landslide Susceptibility Modeling at Continental Scales

GOLDEN, Colo. — The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new nationwide landslide susceptibility map that indicates nearly 44% of the U.S. could potentially experience landslide activity. The new assessment provides a highly detailed, county-by-county picture of where these damaging, disruptive and potentially deadly geologic hazards are more likely as well as areas where landslide hazards are negligible.

The new map will support risk-reduction and land-use planning efforts by showing where potentially unstable areas are so planners and engineers can better prioritize and mitigate future landslide hazards.

“This new national landslide susceptibility map addresses an important but difficult question: which areas across the entire U.S. are prone to landslides?” said Ben Mirus, USGS research geologist. “We are excited that it is now publicly available to help everyone be more prepared – to be a more hazard-ready nation.” 

Previously, detailed landslide maps were only developed for a few areas of the U.S. where the landslide risks were considered high, but this map expands the assessment to include many other hazardous areas around the country where there was a limited understanding of landslide potential.

Mirus and team used an inventory of nearly 1 million previous landslides, high-resolution national elevation data from the USGS 3D Elevation Program, and advanced computing to build their comprehensive landslide susceptibility model. The resulting map of the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico zeroes in on landslide locations by using much higher resolution data than existing continental and global landslide maps.

The new map can also be used to identify areas where more landslide mapping is needed and how the improvements can better inform landslide mitigation.

The paper, Parsimonious high-resolution landslide susceptibility modeling at continental scales, now appears in AGU Advances.