The CGS’s Matt Morgan and Jon White were two of the co-authors on one of the top-ten Geological Society of America (GSA) 2016 book chapters and journal articles, this out of 600 papers. The article
The CGS’s Matt Morgan and Jon White were two of the co-authors on one of the top-ten Geological Society of America (GSA) 2016 book chapters and journal articles, this out of 600 papers. The article describes a comprehensive forensic analysis of the massive West Salt Creek rock avalanche that occurred in late May 2014 in western Colorado (USA). The analysis relied on large-scale (1:1000) structural mapping accomplished via high-resolution unmanned aircraft system imagery along with seismic data generated by more than twenty stations within approximately 500 miles (800 km) of the event. The avalanche was the largest mass-movement slope failure in the historical record of Colorado, and it killed three people, narrowly avoiding destroying a gas wellhead.
Citation: Coe, Jeffrey A., Rex L. Baum, Kate E. Allstadt, Bernard F. Kochevar, Robert G. Schmitt, Matthew L. Morgan, Jonathan L. White, Benjamin T. Stratton, Timothy A. Hayashi, and Jason W. Kean. 2016. “Rock-Avalanche Dynamics Revealed by Large-Scale Field Mapping and Seismic Signals at a Highly Mobile Avalanche in the West Salt Creek Valley, Western Colorado.” Geosphere 12 (2): 607–31. doi:10.1130/GES01265.1.