Geologic implications of the Helene Weather Event in the southern Appalachians
Presenter
Philip Prince, PhD
Appalachian Landslide Consultants, PLLC
Adjunct, Virginia Tech Geosciences
Within four business days and after auditing participation, PCPG will circulate a PDH certificate documenting registrant’s participation time, not to exceed 60 minutes.
Level: Intermediate to advanced, though extensive conceptual illustration will make the presentation understandable to a general audience.
Webinar Overview: Impacts of tropical or post-tropical weather systems on the southern Appalachians have been significant during recorded history in the region, but documentation of these events prior to the availability of digital topography—and photography—has been difficult. Region-scale impacts of the Helene weather event were documented in detail by on-the-ground observers, post-event aerial photography, and an increasing amount of post-event lidar imagery, allowing a comprehensive evaluation of the geomorphic implications of the storm across an entire region. Lidar is particularly valuable in establishing patterns of sediment transport from slopes into channels, with lidar change evaluation indicating large-scale fluvial transport of mobilized debris in many instances. The detailed record of this storm serves to inform understanding of the interplay between geology and climate in the region while also representing a valuable record of what low recurrence interval storm impacts look like in the region.
Who should attend: The presentation will be of interest to environmental and engineering geologists as well as those interested in environmental policy, and individuals with an interest in Appalachian landscape evolution, slope stability, fluvial geomorphology, and structural geology as a control on Appalachian topography. Historians and social scientists engaging with those affected by disasters may also find value in increased understanding of the geologic factors driving flood and landslide events in the Appalachian region.
About our presenter: Philip Prince, PhD (Appalachian Landslide Consultants, PLLC) - Philip Prince is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, where he completed a BS in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Furman University in 2004. Following 2 years of work in environmental consulting, Philip began graduate study at Virginia Tech in 2006, completing a PhD focused on Appalachian landscape evolution in 2011. Philip taught and continued his research at Virginia Tech from 2011 to 2016 before beginning work with the Virginia Geological Survey in Charlottesville in 2017. He began work in landslide studies in 2019 after returning to upstate South Carolina to begin a landslide mapping project in western North Carolina. Today, Philip divides his professional time between landslide-related work in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge and bedrock mapping in the Virginia Valley and Ridge, and is an adjunct with Virginia Tech Geosciences.
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