The objective of this paper is to provide a general overview of the influence of wildland fires on the erosional processes common to the forested landscapes of the western United States. Wildfire can accelerate erosion rates because vegetation is an important factor controlling erosion. There can be great local and regional differences, however, in the relative importance of different erosional...

Debris flows are responsible for the loss of hundreds of lives and millions of dollars of property damage each year worldwide (Costa, 1987). As a result of extensive property damage and loss of life there is a pressing need to go beyond just describing the nature and extent of debris flows as they occur. Most of the research into debris-flow initiation has centered on rainfall, slope angle, and...

Three approaches have been taken to the study of submarine debris flows. 1) Measurements laterally constrained debris flow dynamics and pore pressure variation have been performed in the “Fish Tank” facility. 2) The dynamics of unconfined debris flows have been studied using the “Main Channel.” 3) A numerical model of muddy debris flows is being extended to a) sandy debris flows and b) the rewo...

Recent experimental and theoretical work on the dynamics of submarine debris flows is summarized. Hydroplaning was first discovered in laboratory flows and later shown to likely occur in natural debris flows as well. It is a prime mechanism for explaining the extremely long runout distances observed in some natural debris flows even of overconsolidated clay materials. Moreover, the acceleration...

Recent advances in theory and experimentation motivate a thorough reassessment of the physics of debris flows. Analyses of flows of dry, granular solids and solid-fluid mixtures provide a foundation for a comprehensive debris flow theory, and experiments provide data that reveal the strengths and limitations of theoretical models. Both debris flow materials and dry granular materials can sustai...

The reconstruction of triggering conditions, geomorphic effects, and damage produced by historical floods and debris flows significantly contributes to hazard assessment, allowing improved risk mitigation measures to be defined. Methods for the analysis of historical floods and debris flows vary greatly according to the type and quality of available data, which in turn are influenced by the tim...

The outbreak of debris flows in a reservoir region can affect the stability of hydropower stations and threaten the lives of the people living downstream of dams. Therefore, determining the hazard degree of debris flows in a reservoir region is of great importance. SPOT5 remote sensing images and digital elevation models are introduced to determine the characteristics of debris-flow catchments....

Wildfire is an important and prevalent agent of disturbance in vegetated landscapes across much of the Earth’s surface, including forested watersheds in the arid western USA. Between 1992 and 2003, >40% of the watersheds in the upper reaches of the Boise River watershed in central Idaho burned. The purpose of our study was to investigate the legacy effects of wildfire on stream ecosystems by an...

[1] Debris flows have typically been viewed as two-phase mixtures of sediment and water, but in forested mountain landscapes, wood can represent a sizable fraction of total flow volume. The effects of this third phase on flow behavior are poorly understood. To evaluate whether wood can have a significant effect on debris flow runout in small mountainous watersheds, we used a landscape-scale mod...

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