Debris flow is a landslide with a quick velocity of displacement that involves risk and damages to life and property. It can be triggered by periods of intense rain usually on steep slopes. Also, a second triggering factor is the influence of wildfire. Wildfire can increase drastically the probability of this type of landslide because the fire burned the vegetation which helps to stabilize the soil and the slope. The research uses geographical information system (GIS) for the development of mapping landslide susceptibility, with a particular interest in the evaluation of areas vulnerable to debris flow natural hazards that may be triggered after a wildfire, with the effects of intensive periods of precipitation. The method has been applied to Montecito city, which was exposed to a massive mudslide in January 2018. The spatial landslide susceptibility response in this study area is correlated to different factors, such as vegetation, lithology, slope gradient, and distance to streams networks which are considered the control of the probability of incidence of a landslide event in this area. Obtained by using the methodology of the multi-criteria decision evaluation (MCE) model. The results obtained from this study indicate that the GIS-based model is valuable and appropriate for the scale used in this study. The model helped to identify areas that still are affected by the wildfire, which can be vulnerable to a new process of debris flow impacting the population closer to the rivers downhill.

The city of Austin and its surrounding area is experiencing tremendous growth and expansion as a consequence of fast urban development and population growth. This has led to increased constructions and other anthropogenic alterations of the environment to accommodate the growing population and economy. These activities, coupled with the natural conditions and forcings, have made areas within the metropolis susceptible to the threats of landslides. The present study aims to identify zones in the study area that are susceptible to the threats of slow-moving creep/slow-slide landslide hazards and understand the factors and processes that control the occurrence of these events through an integrated study approach. This includes: (1) generating a landslide susceptibility (LS) map through a combination of the triggering factors including local geology and tectonic features, land use/cover, elevation/slope, and precipitation; (2) detecting active deformation processes that could lead to landslide failure using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis techniques applied on Sentinel-1 SAR datasets (2015 – 2020) and validated through datasets from campaign GPS surveys and permanent stations; and (3) identify the factors and processes that directly or indirectly constrain the occurrence of the phenomenon through spatial analysis of relevant datasets. Our findings show: (1) the main concentration of vertical displacement (-1 to -6 mm/yr) is around the northern region of the study area; (2) zones with a moderate subsidence rate coincide with urbanized areas (up to -2 mm/yr) whereas pockets of high displacement rates (up to -6 mm/yr) are noted on NW parts; (3) most of the areas experiencing subsidence are underlain by the Comanche Series characterized by alternating beds of harder and softer limestones interbedded with beds of marly/clayey layers, and formations of marine marl, sandstone, and carbonaceous shale from the Gulf Series; (4) there is a high spatial correspondence between areas with high subsidence rates and high LS index; and (5) efforts are currently underway to analyze relevant datasets to determine factors and processes that control the occurrence of the hazard.

Nationally groundwater supplies 30% of the freshwater while within Texas that number increases to 60%. As population increases across the United States, Texas being the 7th fastest-growing state, there is immense pressure on freshwater resources. It is important to monitor the quality of groundwater reservoirs to ensure continuous and sustainable use of these reservoirs for current and future populations.
This study assesses the water quality of all nine major aquifers in Texas, with a focus on investigating the water chemistry change across shallow wells (below 300 feet) in these aquifers. This study used a distributed analysis to extrapolate the pH and Total Dissolved Salts (TDS) distribution across Texas major aquifers and revealed that all the shallow wells exhibit signs of water chemistry change. Decadal analysis of data from the Pre-1960s up to 2016 indicates that the pH of these shallow wells had sudden salinization between 1975-1985, followed by significant acidification from 1985 to 2016, where all aquifers followed this trend with the exception of Carrizo Wilcox in the far East and Hueco Mesilla Bolsons in the far West of Texas. On the other hand, TDS increased consistently statewide.
Added effort will be geared towards finding a correlation between the long-term groundwater chemistry change and the land use/land cover change around the major aquifers of Texas. The results of this project will help to determine the possible origin and causes of the change in groundwater chemistry of shallow aquifers in Texas.

The Austin Chalk is a rhythmically bedded sequence of chalk and marl that represents pelagic to hemipelagic carbonate deposition in the ancestral Gulf of Mexico during the Upper Cretaceous. The Austin Chalk differs from traditional chalk deposits due to its relatively high abundance of clay and volcanic ash. Outcrops of the chalk stretch from north-central Texas to west Texas and surface exposures mirror the subsurface trend of the Ouachita orogen. Deformation of the heavily fractured Austin Chalk is caused by the normal faults associated with the Balcones Fault Zone.
Historically, the Austin Chalk has been exploited as a conventional hydrocarbon reservoir produced from natural porosity and permeability without large hydraulic stimulations. More recently, the Austin Chalk has been explored as a combination fractured and unconventional reservoir, relying on natural porosity and permeability combined with induced hydraulic fracturing to generate new fracture permeability to release hydrocarbons trapped in microscopic pores. In addition to its reservoir properties, much of the city of Dallas is built within the outcrop trend of the chalk. Thus, understanding the properties and deformation features of the Austin Chalk is also important to the construction industry in north-central Texas.
Deformation of the Austin Chalk in Ten-Mile Creek is characteristic of normal faulting seen in platform carbonate sequences. Faults are identified by the presence of slickenlines and fault gouge, and are surrounded by a damage zone defined by synthetic faulting, jointing, and folding. Deformation is concentrated near the fault core and decreases with distance from the fault core. Here, we present a structural analysis of Church of the Nazarene section of Ten-Mile Creek. The mechanical properties of stratigraphic units are quantified using a Schmidt hammer. Fracture parameters, such as fracture density and intensity, are quantified using scanline surveys. Additionally, spectral gamma ray measurements are made in the field using the RS-230 spectrometer. Spectral gamma ray properties are combined with fracture parameters to create an integrated structural and petrophysical analysis.

The Sierra Nevada in California has a rich Cenozoic volcanic history including important arc sequences related to the southern Ancestral Cascades dating as far back as 30 Ma (du Bray et al., 2014). The present study focuses on Pliocene volcanic debris-avalanche deposits in the northern Sierra Nevada that fill paleocanyons west and northwest of Lake Tahoe. The paleocanyons trend west, west-southwest, and west- northwest from an unknown volcanic source to the east (Berkebile, 2003; Harwood et al., 2014). The main objective of this study is to examine petrogenetic relations of the debris-avalanche deposits and obtain isotopic ages for them. Another purpose is to determine if the three debris-avalanche deposits are from the same eruptive event or possibly the result of separate eruptions and multiple source vents. To acquire detailed data for this study, I am using whole-rock chemistry of both major and trace elements, electron microprobe analysis of phenocryst phases, and analysis of melt inclusions for magmatic volatile contents. Isotopic ages will be obtained using 40Ar/39Ar dating. Clinopyroxenes (CPX), orthopyroxenes (OPX), and plagioclase phenocrysts from samples collected have been analyzed using an electron microprobe (EMP) at Fayetteville State University, North Carolina under supervision of Dr. Steven Singletary. Data from these phenocrysts phases will be used to determine geothermobarometric conditions of the parental magma chamber or chambers.