Richard Iverson on Debris Flows

Dr. Richard Iverson led the mud and debris flow investigations at the USGS Cascade Volcano Observatory for years, including large scale flume and numerical work that unlocked a remarkable number of new insights about these high-concentration flows.  His  findings have influenced the way I  think about these events more than any other source.

With the rising interest in post-wildfire debris flow hazards, these events are getting more attention, so these findings have never been more salient.  I wanted to have a conversation about mud and debris flows in the first season, but my guest wish list only really had one name on it.  So I was thrilled to get to talk to Dr Iverson.  And I had a lot of questions.

Richard described wide range of debris flow processes and physics including some remarkable, counter-intuitive, processes that are likely to change the way you think about these events.  It was a remarkable conversation, and I thought Richard made some very technical ideas really accessible.

This series was funded by the Regional Sediment Management (RSM) program.

Stanford Gibson (HEC Sediment Specialist) hosts.

Mike Loretto edited the episode and wrote and performed the music.

Video shorts and other bonus content are available at the podcast website:
https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/confluence/rasdocs/rastraining/latest/the-rsm-river-mechanics-podcast

...but most of the supplementary videos are available on the HEC Sediment YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/stanfordgibson

If you have guest recommendations or feedback you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or ResearchGate or fill out this recommendation and feedback form: https://forms.gle/wWJLVSEYe7S8Cd248