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The University of Michigan, collaborating with over a dozen educational, governmental, and community entities across the nation, will inaugurate the Center for Land Surface Hazards.

CLaSH is a newly established center focused on propelling studies on the core scientific phenomena that produce landslides, riverbank erosion, debris flows, and flooding.

When hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, or other environmental calamities ravage communities, their impact on the terrain can initiate further catastrophic occurrences like landslides and flooding. However, it remains challenging to anticipate how these incidents relate and the duration and intensity of the ripple effect of related risks, known as cascading land surface hazards.

CLaSH will tackle this challenge in hazard research by creating innovative scientific frameworks and modeling tools to predict and alleviate cascading hazards. Directed by Marin Clark, a professor in the U-M Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the center also plans to initiate programs that expand the workforce of specialists in land surface hazards and nurture community involvement for national benefit, particularly in regions heavily impacted by such hazards.

CLaSH will be financed by a five-year, $15 million grant from the Centers for Innovation and Community Engagement in Solid Earth Geohazards program at the U.S. National Science Foundation, and will be located within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, part of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at U-M.

“The novel aspect of our center is that we are not merely examining a single hazard occurrence. We are significantly investigating a series of processes that generate land surface hazards and their interconnections,” stated Clark, the principal investigator of the center.

“Hazards are on the rise, and they are escalating at a worrying pace. Unlike earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which occur in specific locations, land surface hazards can happen everywhere, in all 50 states, including here in Michigan. These events can persist for years or even decades, making it crucial for societal health to be better equipped to deal with these frequent dangers.”

For instance, Hurricane Helene’s landfall in 2024 caused extensive landsliding and mudflows throughout North Carolina. This resulted in sediment being transported into river channels, potentially altering flood risks in 2025 and beyond. The CLaSH scientists aim to predict where new flooding might arise and the duration of such hazards.

Moreover, Clark notes, the growing human population is prompting urban regions to expand, pushing individuals into more rural areas where they may face heightened exposure to these cascading hazards. Leveraging the diverse expertise of partner geoscientists, climate scientists, engineers, technicians, graduate students, and undergraduates will enhance the center’s capacity to understand when and where such events could transpire, their impacts on communities, and how those communities can recover post-catastrophe.

“By uniting a team of scientists and engineers from different disciplines, we can connect fundamental processes on the Earth’s surface to hazards in ways that no solo researcher could achieve alone,” remarked co-principal investigator Brian Yanites, associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University, who studies river systems and their associated risks, including how floods, sediment transport, and changes in channels interact with landslides and other surface processes.

Dimitrios Zekkos, a geotechnical engineer specializing in soil and rock mechanics as well as infrastructure resilience against natural disasters, is also a co-principal investigator and a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

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“Recent breakthroughs in remote sensing, robotics, and sensors present a remarkable chance to observe geological processes in a manner that was entirely unattainable just a few years ago,” Zekkos remarked. “These developments, combined with novel computational instruments like artificial intelligence and regional geological process simulations, offer an exceptionally unique opportunity to enhance our scientific insight into how geological phenomena are interconnected, leading to cascading geohazards.”

CLaSH will additionally offer workforce initiatives aimed at educating the forthcoming generation of scientists, including outreach to communities most affected by surface hazards. Within these neighborhoods, the center aspires to establish programs that lay the groundwork for future hazard research, translating that knowledge into actionable measures to enhance disaster readiness and response. To achieve this, the center will provide training for educators at two-year community colleges and undergraduate institutions, while also focusing on public outreach.

“CLaSH presents us with a chance to cultivate a research community that transcends disciplinary boundaries and tackles the intricacies of interconnected hazards, while simultaneously boosting public awareness,” stated Josh West, co-principal investigator and professor of earth sciences and environmental studies at the University of Southern California.

“Further advancements in technology, such as the greater availability of satellite imagery, drones, and sensors, position us in an exhilarating place to make progress in grasping these hazard cascades.”

Josh Roering, professor of earth sciences at the University of Oregon, examines processes that modify hillslopes, including weathering, erosion, soil development, and landslide phenomena.

“This new center is incredibly thrilling because it acknowledges how surface hazards are becoming more frequent and impactful,” he stated. “By assembling a collective of researchers to investigate these surface hazards, we will enhance our understanding and, more critically, aid in translating that knowledge to mitigate risk and bolster public safety.”

The proposition for the new fully operational center was formulated as part of a previously funded two-year grant from the NSF for a Center Catalyst in 2022 and received support from Jill Jividen and Adrianna Trusiak in the Research Development and Proposal Services division of the U-M Office for Vice President of Research.

The center consists of 17 funded partner entities, encompassing universities, governmental bodies, and tribal collaborators, alongside numerous other U.S. and international alliances involving a range of academic, governmental, nonprofit, and business organizations.

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