Articles | Volume 26, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1745-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-1745-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The damability function: a probabilistic approach to regional landslide dam susceptibility analysis applied to the Oregon Coast Range, USA
Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA
Alex Grant
United States Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Seattle, 98195, USA
Will Struble
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, 77204, USA
Sean LaHusen
United States Geological Survey, Earthquake Science Center, Seattle, 98195, USA
Alison Duvall
Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA
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Obinna Ozioko, Adam Booth, Alison Duvall, and Erich Herzig
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6555, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6555, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth Surface Dynamics (ESurf).
Short summary
Short summary
Landslides triggered by recent earthquakes are well known, but how far shaking spread during prehistoric earthquakes is unclear. We studied thousands of landslides in western Washington to test whether they record past earthquakes. We inferred landslide ages from their roughness and compared them with known ancient earthquakes. Our results show that large prehistoric earthquakes caused widespread landsliding over the past 4000 years, improving understanding of earthquake hazards and future risk.
Larry Syu-Heng Lai, Adam M. Booth, Alison R. Duvall, and Erich Herzig
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 417–435, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-417-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
pyTopoComplexity is an open-source Python tool for multiscale land surface complexity analysis. Applied to a landslide-affected area in Washington, USA, it accurately identified landform features at various scales, enhancing our understanding of landform recovery after disturbances. By integrating with Landlab’s landscape evolution simulations, the software allows researchers to explore how different processes drive the evolution of surface complexity in response to natural forces.
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Short summary
When landslides dam rivers, the impacts can include catastrophic outburst flooding. This work defines a function that combines river valley widths and landslide volumes to find the likelihood that a river will be dammed by a potential landslide or ‘damability’. We apply the method to the Oregon Coast Range and find widespread high damability especially where rivers flow through steep mountains with strong rocks. Our new workflow is flexible and can be applied more broadly to other regions.
When landslides dam rivers, the impacts can include catastrophic outburst flooding. This work...
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