September 19, 2019, by admin

Join us in welcoming our September/October Scientist in Residency Fellow, Dr. Annette Patton. As a Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Oregon, her research focuses on understanding the geology of landslide initiation, including conditions that make a hillslope more susceptible to landslides and debris flows. Her primary research tools include landslide surveying, creating detailed maps of geology and geomorphology, and analyzing high-resolution topographic data. Annette worked as a geologic mapper for the Washington State Geologic Survey in 2013-2014 and finished her PhD at Colorado State University in May 2019 before starting her current position. Her PhD research focused on evaluating the impacts of climate change on landslide occurrence in Denali National Park. She was fortunate enough to spend two summers in the park to create a geomorphic map of the Park Road corridor, map permafrost depths, and identify the rock/sediment types that are most susceptible to landsliding. Annette’s primary project at the University of Oregon is to implement the landslide forecasting system in Sitka. She is working to install a network of soil moisture sensors on Harbor Mountain, Gavan Hill, and Mt. Verstovia that in communicate real-time. She will use that soil moisture information and weather data to determine what soil conditions are likely to trigger landslides during rain storms. When she is not on the hillslopes for work, Annette enjoys exploring mountains by foot and by bike with her dog, Copper.

Stay tuned for various outreach events Dr. Patton will be involved in, such as the Natural History Seminar Series talk and other community lectures.