Landslide hazard susceptibility mapping in Haines, Alaska

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What does this data set describe?

Title: Landslide hazard susceptibility mapping in Haines, Alaska
Abstract:
Landslide hazard susceptibility mapping in Haines, Alaska, Report of Investigation 2024-8, provides a map and database of historical and prehistoric slope failures, maps of shallow and deep-seated landslide susceptibility, and a map of simulated debris flow runouts for the city and borough of Haines, Alaska. This work was prompted by the deadly Beach Road landslide that occurred on December 2, 2020, in Haines, Alaska, which highlights the significant safety and financial risks posed by slope failures to people and infrastructure. To better inform the Haines Borough of their potential landslide hazards and increase the city's hazard resiliency, the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) developed maps of historical and prehistorical slope failures, shallow landslide susceptibility, and modeled debris flow runouts. DGGS staff created a shallow landslide susceptibility map following protocols like those developed by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, which includes incorporating landslide inventory data, geotechnical soil properties, and lidar-derived topographic slope to calculate the Factor of Safety (FOS), which serves as a proxy for landslide susceptibility. Debris flow runout extents were generated using the model Laharz, which simulates runout extents based on catchment-specific physical parameters (e.g., hypothetical sediment volumes). Data from these analyses are collectively intended to depict locations where landslides are relatively more likely to occur or are relatively more likely to travel. The results provide important hazard information that can help guide planning and future risk investigations. The maps are not intended to predict slope failures and are site-specific; detailed investigations should be conducted before development in vulnerable areas. Results are for informational purposes and are not intended for legal, engineering, or surveying uses. These data and the interpretive maps and report are available from the DGGS website: http://doi.org/10.14509/31309.
Supplemental_Information:
landslide-susceptibility:    Landslide inventory geodatabase and accompanying data dictionary	
shallow_landslide-susceptibility:    Raster image depicting slopes susceptible to shallow landslides
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Nicolazzo, J.A., and Larsen, M.C., 2025, Landslide hazard susceptibility mapping in Haines, Alaska: Report of Investigation RI 2024-8, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 16 p., 3 sheets, scale 1:25,000
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -135.756590
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -135.291554
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 59.405233
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 59.083205
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 1972
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: geodatabase, raster
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a vector data set.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      The map projection used is Alaska Albers.
      Projection parameters:
      Standard_Parallel: 55.0
      Standard_Parallel: 65.0
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -154.0
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 50.0
      False_Easting: 0
      False_Northing: 0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.0000000030536018158500163
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.0000000030536018158500163
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      The horizontal datum used is NAD83.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    ri2024-8-haines-landslide-susceptibility.gdb, ri2024-8-haines-landslide-susceptibility-data-dictionary.xlsx
    Landslide inventory geodatabase and accompanying data dictionary (Source: DGGS)
    ri2024-8-shallow_landslide-susceptibility.tif
    Raster image depicting slopes susceptible to shallow landslides (Source: DGGS)

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    DGGS collected and processed lidar data and conducted landslide susceptibility mapping for this project using funds provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Cooperative Technical Partnership (CTP) Program grant number CTP EMS-2021-CA-00013-S01. We thank our reviewers Katreen Wikstrom Jones (DGGS) and Jacqueline Foss (U.S. Forest Service) for their thoughtful comments that helped improve the quality of this product. We also appreciate DOT&PF engineer Travis Eckhoff, P.E., for his local knowledge that helped verify our models, and Dr. Margaret Darrow (University of Alaska Fairbanks) for her insight into the Beach Road landslide. We also acknowledge Victoria Nelson for her countless hours spent performing soil laboratory testing and mapping landslide scarps in support of this project while working on her master's thesis.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
    GIS Manager
    3354 College Rd
    Fairbanks, AK
    USA

    907-451-5020 (voice)
    dggsgis@alaska.gov
    Hours_of_Service: 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except State holidays

Why was the data set created?

The deadly Beach Road landslide that occurred on December 2, 2020, in Haines, Alaska, highlights the significant safety and financial risks posed by slope failures to people and infrastructure. To better inform the Haines Borough of their potential landslide hazards and increase the city's hazard resiliency, the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) developed maps of historical and prehistorical slope failures, shallow landslide susceptibility, and modeled debris flow runouts.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2023 (process 1 of 4)
    Lidar acquisition and processing - Two light detection and ranging (lidar) datasets were previously collected for other projects in the Haines area that overlap this project's AOI. Quantum Spatial collected one dataset in May 2014 (1-m [3-ft] resolution) that was centered primarily on the city of Haines. In December 2020, DGGS collected lidar as part of emergency operations following the landslide event. The collection covered areas over the city of Haines, south along Mud Bay Road, extents of existing lidar datasets displayed over Esri's World Terrain basemap of the area of interest. North along Lutak Road, and on the opposite side of Lutak Inlet with a 1-m (3-ft) resolution. Additionally, during 2021 and 2022, DGGS collected a new lidar dataset for this project, which covered a much larger area with a 50-cm (1.5 ft) resolution. This project used digital terrain models (DTMs) generated from each of these lidar datasets. For the area around Chilkoot Lake where lidar was not collected, we downloaded data from ArcticDEM. The ArcticDEM is a composite of numerous digital elevation models (DEMs) sourced from satellite imagery collected over several years. It has 2-m (6-ft) resolution and contains more elevation spikes, pits, and holes of missing data than our datasets; therefore, all results from the ArcticDEM dataset have lower confidence.
    Date: 2023 (process 2 of 4)
    Landslide inventory - The comprehensive landslide inventory was generated by collecting and organizing existing information about previously identified landslides, acquiring, processing, and analyzing high-resolution lidar elevation data, and compiling all landslide information into a geodatabase.
    Date: 2023 (process 3 of 4)
    Shallow landslide susceptibility - We developed a map showing slopes susceptible to shallow landslides. Shallow landslides occur in surficial soils, to a maximum depth of about 4.5 m (15 ft). This method combines areas of mapped shallow landslides with a calculated factor of safety (FOS). The result is a map that displays susceptibility as high, moderate, or low zones. Data were processed using methods described in the accompanying report.
    Date: 2023 (process 4 of 4)
    Channelized debris flow susceptibility - We used the methodology of Burns and others (2022) to map slopes that are susceptible to channelized debris flows which includes custom ArcGIS geoprocessing tools to simplify the process. This method models debris flow initiation potential, transport potential, and inundation (deposition) to produce a map that displays debris flow initiation and transport susceptibility in high, moderate, or low zones, and the inundation extent for each level of modeled event severity. The accompanying report provides details of the proceedure.
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Daanen, R.P., Herbst, A.M., Wikstrom Jones, K.M., and Wolken, G.J., 2021, High-resolution lidar data for Haines, southcentral Alaska, December 8-12, 2020: Raw Data File RDF 2021-4, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 8 p
    Nicolazzo, J.A., Darrow, M.M., Larsen, M.C., and Walser, S.L., 2024, Rock strength properties of the Haines-Takshanuk Mountains-Chilkat Peninsula area STATEMAP project, Southeast Alaska: Raw Data File RDF 2024-28, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 4 p
    Nicolazzo, J.A., Darrow, M.M., and Walser, S.L., 2024, Soil index properties and radiocarbon ages of the Haines-Takshanuk Mountains-Chilkat Peninsula area STATEMAP project, Southeast Alaska: Raw Data File RDF 2024-27, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 24 p
    Nicolazzo, J.A., and Larsen, M.C., 2024, Lidar interpretation in Haines, Alaska (poster): Haines Borough community meeting, September 4, 2024: Poster and Presentation Nicolazzo, J.A. and Larsen, M.C., 2024, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 sheet
    Nicolsky, D.J., Suleimani, E.N., and Salisbury, J.B., 2018, Tsunami inundation maps for Skagway and Haines, Alaska: Report of Investigation RI 2018-2, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 69 p., 3 sheets
    Truskowski, C.M., Walser, S.L., Larsen, M.C., Nicolazzo, J.A., Gillis, R.J., Bull, K.F., Regan, S.P., Darrow, M.M., and Montayne, Simone, 2024, Field station locations and data for the geologic map of the Haines-Takshanuk Mountains-Chilkat Peninsula area STATEMAP project, southeast Alaska, collected in 2022 and 2023: Raw Data File RDF 2024-17, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 3 p
    Wolken, G.J., Wikstrom Jones, K.M., Whorton, E.N., Gould, A.I., and Hendricks, M.D., 2017, Photogrammetric data of the Haines Highway corridor: May 26, 2014: Raw Data File RDF 2017-6, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 20 p
    Zechmann, J.M., Daanen, R.P., Wikstrom Jones, K.M., and Wolken, G.J., 2024, Lidar-derived elevation data for Haines, Southeast Alaska, collected October 2021 and October 2022: Raw Data File RDF 2023-18, Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 16 p

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The slope failure inventory, shallow landslide susceptibility, modeled debris flow runout map, and integrated results maps were developed using the best available data; however, there are inherent limitations. The intended use of these data products is to help identify the relative slope failure risk, provide a basis for regional planning and increased resiliency, and help identify localities where more detailed slope failure hazard mapping is warranted. Maps are not intended for use at scales other than the published map data scale. The accompanying report provides a complete list of specific limitations and potential sources of error.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The positional accuracy of the slope failure inventory, factor of safety, debris flow runout models were developed using the best available data; however, there are inherent limitations to the calculated and interpreted feature extents. The accompanying report provides a complete discussion of specific limitations and potential sources of error. For most of the project area DGGS used lidar point cloud data to produce a high-resolution (1-3ft) digital terrain models (DTM). The DTM, also known as a bare-earth elevation model, was essential for identifying landslide geomorphology beneath dense vegetation, confirming evidence of landslide activity identified in aerial photograph sequences, making FOS calculations, and modeling potential debris flow runouts. For the area around Chilkoot Lake where lidar was not collected, we downloaded data from ArcticDEM. The ArcticDEM is a composite of numerous digital elevation models (DEMs) sourced from satellite imagery collected over several years. It has 2-m (about 6-ft) resolution and contains more elevation spikes, pits, and holes of missing data than our datasets; therefore, all results from the ArcticDEM dataset have lower confidence.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This data release is complete.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Not applicable

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints:
This report, map, and/or dataset is available directly from the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (see contact information below).
Use_Constraints:
Any hard copies or published datasets utilizing these datasets shall clearly indicate their source. If the user has modified the data in any way, the user is obligated to describe the types of modifications the user has made. The user specifically agrees not to misrepresent these datasets, nor to imply that changes made by the user were approved by the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. The State of Alaska makes no express or implied warranties (including warranties for merchantability and fitness) with respect to the character, functions, or capabilities of the electronic data or products or their appropriateness for any user's purposes. In no event will the State of Alaska be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, consequential, or other damages suffered by the user or any other person or entity whether from the use of the electronic services or products or any failure thereof or otherwise. In no event will the State of Alaska's liability to the Requestor or anyone else exceed the fee paid for the electronic service or product.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys
    3354 College Road
    Fairbanks, AK
    USA

    907-451-5020 (voice)
    907-451-5050 (FAX)
    dggspubs@alaska.gov
    Hours_of_Service: 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, except State holidays
    Contact_Instructions:
    Please view our website (http://www.dggs.alaska.gov) for the latest information on available data. Please contact us using the e-mail address provided above when possible.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? RI 2024-8
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    The State of Alaska makes no express or implied warranties (including warranties of merchantability and fitness) with respect to the character, function, or capabilities of the electronic services or products or their appropriateness for any user's purposes. In no event will the State of Alaska be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, consequential, or other damages suffered by the user or any other person or entity, whether from the use of the electronic services or products, any failure thereof, or otherwise, and in no event will the State of Alaska's liability to the requestor or anyone else exceed the fee paid for the electronic service or product.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 22-Jan-2025
Metadata author:
Simone Montayne
3354 College Road
Fairbanks, AK
USA

907-451-5020 (voice)
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Wed Jan 22 18:39:00 2025