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Alexander L Handwerger

Research Scientist

About

Bio

I am a geodesist, remote sensing scientist, and quantitative geomorphologist. My research is directed at understanding the mechanical processes that shape the Earth's surface, with a primary focus on landslides and rock glaciers in the Western US.

Education

Ph.D. Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, 2015
  • Advised by: Dr. Joshua Roering, Dr. David Schmidt, and Dr. Alan Rempel
  • Area of Study: Landslides, InSAR, Gas Hydrates

Dissertation: Controls on the Kinematics of Slow-moving Landslides from Satellite Radar Interferometry and Mechanical Modeling

B.A. Earth Sciences cum laude, Boston University, 2008

Research Interests

Through my current and future research, I am addressing a number of exciting questions that have meaningful scientific and societal implications. 1) How is climate change affecting the dynamics of landslides and rock glaciers? 2) Will the frequency of landslides increase due to climate change? 3) How much ice and water are stored within rock glaciers in high mountain environments?

Experience

Professional Experience

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
  • Research Scientist III, 05/2025--present,
    Research Scientist II, 12/2023--present
  • Signal Analysis Engineer II, 02/2022--12/2023
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, 10/2016--10/2019
Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Associate Project Scientist, Step I, 07/2025--present,
  • Assistant Researcher, Step III, 07/2023--07/2025,
    Step II, 07/2021--07/2023, Step I, 01/2020--06/2021
  • Visiting Assistant Researcher, 10/2019--12/2019
Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh
  • Visiting Scientist, 09/2015-09/2016
Department of Geology, University of Oregon
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, 07/2015--12/2015
  • Graduate Student Researcher, 09/2009--06/2015
Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University
  • Undergraduate Research Assistant, 09/2007--05/2008

Achievements

Awards & Recognitions

  • JPL Team Award | Contribution to Palos Verdes landslide disaster response (2025)
  • JPL Voyager Award | For propsing the Landslide Change Characterization Experiment, which was selected for funding by NASA Earth Venture Suborbital Program (2024)
  • JPL Team Award | OPERA Team Award (2023)
  • Paper Award | JGR Earth Surface Top Cited Paper (2020)
  • Paper Award | JGR Earth Surface Top Downloaded Paper (2019)

Publications

(* indicates student or postdoc as lead author)

Handwerger, A. L., Lacroix, P., Bell, A. F., Booth, A. M., Huang, M. H., Mudd, S. M., ... & Fielding, E. J. (2025). Multi-sensor remote sensing captures geometry and slow-to-fast sliding transition of the 2017 Mud Creek landslide. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 29831. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11399-8

Hardiman-Mostow, H., Marshak, C., & Handwerger, A. L. (2025). Deep Self-Supervised Disturbance Mapping with the OPERA Sentinel-1 Radiometric Terrain Corrected SAR Backscatter Product. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2025.3557311

Buzzanga, B., Govorcin, M., Kremer, F., Schubert, J. E., Bekaert, D. P. S., Schaeffer, B., ... & Staniewicz, S. (2025). Satellite-based vertical land motion for infrastructure monitoring: a prototype roadmap in Greater Houston, Texas. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 17041. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-01970-8

Buzzanga, B., Hamlington, B. D., Bekaert, D. P. S., Pavelsky, T., Handwerger, A. L., Bonnema, M., & Lee, C. (2025). Monitoring water from space: An illustration in Death Valley, California. Geophysical Research Letters, 52(5), e2024GL110250. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL110250

*Li, C., Handwerger, A. L., & Horton, D. E. (2025). Mixed hydrometeorological processes explain regional landslide potential. Geophysical Research Letters, 52(14), e2025GL115912.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115912

*Li, X., Handwerger, A. L., Peltzer, G., and Fielding, E. J., (2024), Exploring the behaviors of initiated progressive failure and slow-moving landslides in Los Angeles using satellite InSAR and pixel offset tracking. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(13), e2024GL108267. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108267

*Ferrer, J. V., Mohor, S. M., Dewitte, O., Panek, T., Reyes-Carmona, C., Handwerger, A. L., Hurlimann, M., Kohler, L., Teshebaeva, K., Thieken, A. H., Tsou, C.-Y., Urgilez Vinueza, A., Demurtas, V., Zhang, Y., Zhao, C., Marwan, N., Kurths, J., Korup, O., (2024), Human settlement pressure drives slow-moving landslide exposure. Earth's Future, 12(9), e2024EF004830. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EF004830.

Munroe, J., Laabs, B., Corbett, L., Bierman, P., and Handwerger, A. L., (2024), Rock Glacier Movement and Debris Transport over Annual to Multi-Millennial Timescales. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, e2023JF007453. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JF007453.

Munroe, J. and Handwerger, A. L., (2024), Contemporary Movement of Rock Glaciers in the La Sal and Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Quaternary Science Advances, 14, 100188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100188.

Morriss, M., Lehmann, B., Campforts, B., Brencher, G., Rick, B., Anderson, L., Handwerger, A. L., Overeem, I., and Moore, J., (2023), Alpine hillslope failure in the western US: Insights from the Chaos Canyon landslide, Rocky Mountain National Park USA. Earth Surface Dynamics. 11(6), 1251-1274. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1251-2023.

Amatya, P., Scheip, C., Déprez, A., Malet, J-.P., Slaughter, S. L., Handwerger, A. L., Emberson, R., Kirschbaum, D., Jean-Baptiste, J., Huang. M-.H., Clark, M., Zekkos, D., Huang, J-.R., Pacini, F., Boissier., (2023), Learnings from rapid response efforts to remotely detect landslides triggered by the August 2021 Nippes earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace in Haiti. Natural Hazards. 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-06096-6.

*Desai, V., Fazelpour, F., Handwerger, A. L., and Daniels, K., 2023, Forecasting landslides using community detection on geophysical satellite data. Physical Review E. 108, 014901. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.108.014901.

*Li, X., Handwerger, A. L., and Buscarnera, G., 2023, Viscoplastic Modelling of Rainfall-driven Slow-moving Landslides: Application to California Coast Ranges. Landslides. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-023-02039-1.

*Li, X., Handwerger, A. L., and Buscarnera, G., 2023, Dynamics of Creeping Landslides Controlled by Inelastic Hydro-Mechanical Couplings. Engineering Geology. 107078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2023.107078.

Munroe, J. and Handwerger, A. L., 2023, Examining the Variability of Rock Glacier Meltwater in Space and Time in High-Elevation Environments of Utah, USA. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1129314.

Munroe, J. and Handwerger, A. L., 2023, Contribution of Rock Glacier Discharge to Late-Summer and Fall Streamflow in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Hydrology and Earth Systems Science. 27(2), 543-557. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-543-2023.

*Dille, A., Dewitte, O., Handwerger, A. L., d’Oreye, N., Derauw, D., Bamulezi, G. G., Mawe, G. I., Michellier. C, Moeyersons, J., Monsieurs, E., Bibentyo, T. M., Samsonov, S., Smets, B., Kervyn, M., and Kervyn, F., 2022, Acceleration of a large deep-seated tropical landslide due to urbanization feedbacks, Nature Geoscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01073-3.

Handwerger, A. L., Fielding, E. J., Sangha, S. S., and Bekaert, D., (2022), Landslide Sensitivity and Response to Precipitation Changes in Wet and Dry Climates. Geophysical Research Letters}, 49(13), e2022GL099499. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099499.

Handwerger, A. L., Huang, M.-H., Jones, S. Y., Amatya, P, Kerner, H. R., and Kirschbaum, D. B., (2022), Generating landslide density heatmaps for rapid detection using open-access satellite radar data in Google Earth Engine, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 22, 753-773. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-753-2022.

*Urgilez Vinueza, A., Handwerger, A. L., Bakker, M., and Bogaard T., (2022), A new method to detect changes in displacement rates of slow-moving landslides using InSAR time series, Landslides, 19, 2233-2247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-022-01913-8.

*Li, C., Handwerger, A. L., Wang, J., Yu, W., Li, X., Finnegan, N. J., Xie, Y., Buscarnera, G., and Horton, D. E. (2022), Augmentation of WRF-Hydro to simulate overland-flow- and streamflow-generated debris flow susceptibility in burn scars. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 22, 2317–2345, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2317-2022.

Handwerger, A. L., Booth, A. M., Huang, M.-H., and Fielding, E. J., (2021), Inferring the Subsurface Geometry, Stress, and Strength of Slow-moving Landslides using 3D Velocity Measurements from the NASA/JPL UAVSAR, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(3), e2020JF005898,https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005898.

*Brencher, G. B., Handwerger, A. L., and Munroe, J. S., (2021), InSAR-based characterization of rock glacier movement in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA, The Cryosphere, 15, 4823–4844. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021.

Finnegan, N. J., Perkins, J. P., Nereson, A. L., and Handwerger, A. L., (2021), Unsaturated flow processes and the onset of seasonal deformation in slow‐moving landslides, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126(5), e2020JF005758, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005758.

*Dille, A., Kervyn, F., Handwerger, A. L., d’Oreye, N., Derauw, D., Bibentyo, T. M., Samsonov, S., Malet, J.-P., Kervyn, M., and Dewitte, O., (2021), When image correlation is needed: unravelling the complex dynamics of a slow-moving landslide in the tropics with dense radar and optical time series, Remote Sensing of Environment, 258, 112402, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112402.

Liao, T.-H., Kim, S.-B, Handwerger, A. L., Fielding, E. J., Cosh, M., and Schulz, W. H., (2021), High-Resolution Soil Moisture Maps Over Landslide Regions in Northern California Grassland Derived from SAR Backscattering Coefficients, Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, vol. 14, pp. 4547-4560, https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3069010.

Lacroix, P., Handwerger, A. L., and Bièvre, G., (2020), Life and death of slow-moving landslides, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1-16, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0072-8

Bekaert, D., Handwerger, A. L., Agram, P., and Kirschbaum, D. B., (2020), InSAR-based detection method for mapping and monitoring slow-moving landslides in remote regions with steep and mountainous terrain: An application to Nepal, Remote Sensing of Environment, 249, 111983, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111983.

Handwerger, A. L., Fielding, E. J., Huang, M.-H., Bennett, G. L., Liang, C., and Schulz, W. H., (2019), Widespread initiation, reactivation, and acceleration of landslides in the northern California Coast Ranges due to extreme rainfall, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 124(7), 1782-1797, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005035.

Handwerger, A. L., Huang, M.-H., Fielding, E. J., Booth, A., and Bürgmann, R., (2019), A shift from drought to extreme rainfall drives a stable landslide to catastrophic failure, Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1569, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-38300-0.

Hu, X., Bürgmann, R., Lu, Z., Handwerger, A. L., Wang, T., and Miao, R., (2019), Mobility, thickness, and hydraulic diffusivity of the slow‐moving Monroe landslide in California revealed by L‐band satellite radar interferometry, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124(7), 7504-7518. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB017560.

Finnegan, N. J., Broudy, K. N., Nereson, A. L., Roering, J.J., Handwerger, A. L., and Bennett, G., (2019), River Channel Width Controls Blocking by Slow-moving Landslides in California’s Franciscan Melange, Earth Surface Dynamics, 7, 879-894, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-879-2019.

Handwerger, A. L., Rempel, A. W., and Skarbek, R. M., (2017), Submarine landslides triggered by destabilization of high-saturation hydrate anomalies, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 18, 2429-2445, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GC006706.

Handwerger, A. L., Rempel, A. W., Skarbek, R. M., Roering, J. J., and Hilley, G. E., (2016), Rate-weakening friction characterizes both slow sliding and catastrophic failure of landslides, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(37), 10281-10286, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607009113.

Bennett, G. L., Roering, J. J., Mackey, B. H., Handwerger, A. L., Schmidt, D. A., and Guillod, B. P., (2016), Historic drought puts the brakes on earthflows in Northern California, Geophysical Research Letters, 43(11), 5725-5731, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068378.

Handwerger, A. L., Roering, J. J., Schmidt, D. A., and Rempel, A. W., (2015), Kinematics of Earthflows in the Northern California Coast Ranges using Satellite Interferometry, Geomorphology, 246, 321-333, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.06.003.

Roering, J. J., Mackey, B. H., Handwerger, A. L., Booth, A. M., Schmidt, D. A., Bennett, G. L., and Cerovski-Darriau, C., (2015), Beyond the angle of repose: A review and synthesis of landslide processes in response to rapid uplift, Eel River, Northern California, Geomorphology, 236, 109-131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.02.013.

Handwerger, A. L., Roering, J. J., and Schmidt, D. A. (2013), Controls on the seasonal deformation of slow-moving landslides, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 377, 239-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.06.047.

Roering, J. J., Mackey, B. H., Marshall, J. A., Sweeney, K. E., Deligne, N. I., Booth, A. M., Handwerger, A. L., and Cerovski-Darriau, C., (2013), 'You are HERE': Connecting the dots with airborne lidar for geomorphic fieldwork, Geomorphology, 200, 172-183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.04.009.