Biography

As of 10/2011

Professor of Geohazards, University of Potsdam

2010-2011

DFG Heisenberg Fellow, Leader Young Scientists Group on 'Geohazards' (University of Potsdam)

2007

Visiting Erskine Fellow (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)

2003-2009

Researcher in Units (1) Risk Management; (2) Early Warning; and (3) Avalanches, Debris Flows, Rock Fall (Swiss Federal Research Institutes WSL/SLF)

2003

PhD in Geomorphology (Victoria Univ. of Wellington, New Zealand)

1999

Diploma in Geography, Geology, and Prehistoric Archaeology (Univ. of Würzburg, Germany)

Research

General

• Natural Hazards and Coupled Earth Surface Processes
• Erosion and Sediment Flux in Mountain Belts
• Central and High Asia, W Pacific Rim

Recent Themes

• A lost signal? Detecting climate change in slope-failure inventories
• Earth's portfolio of extreme sediment transport events
• Tipping points in Himalayan erosion and the stability of continental plateau margins
• Predicting erosion rates at the island-arc scale
• Inner gorges and their implications for glacial erosion
  
• Catastrophic formation and failure of natural dams in mountainous terrain

Selected Third-Party Funding

• Linking long-term variability of erosion rates and landslide episodes at the island-arc scale, Japan "LIKEARC" >> Principal Investigator, German Research Foundation (DFG)
• Late Cenozoic geodynamics, climate interactions, and resulting hazards in Central Asia "TIPTIMON" >> Co-Investigator, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
• Monsoon and earthquake controls on sediment flux in an arid bedrock landscape, Zanskar, India >> Principal Investigator, German Research Foundation (DFG)
• Prevention of Landslide Dam Disasters in the Tien Shan “LADATSHA” >> Project Co-Director, NATO Science For Peace (SFP)
• Timescales of sediment dynamics, climate and topographic change in mountain landscapes “SEDYMONT” >> European Science Foundation Eurocores Programme TOPO-EUROPE
• Coupled Seismogenic Geohazards in Alpine Regions “COGEAR” >> Module Leader, Competence Center Environment and Sustainability (CCES), ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• International Working Group on Natural Hazards in the Tien Shan “NATASHA” >> Coordinator, EU-INCO Specific Support Action Contract No. 026363
• Integral Risk Management of Extremely Rapid Mass Movements “IRASMOS” >> Scientific Coordinator, EU Specific Targeted Research Project Contract No. 018412
• IPL-M 117 Geomorphic hazards from landslide dams >> Principal Investigator, Project IPL-M117, International Consortium on Landslides

Teaching

2010-2012

• Introductory Geology (BEd) - University of Potsdam
• BscW19 Natural Disasters (3rd yr BSc) - University of Potsdam

2009

• Geohazards (3rd year Diploma) - University of Potsdam
• Slope Instability and Landslides – Earth Surface Processes, Geomorphology, and Hazards (MSc Short Course) - University of Berne, Switzerland

2007

• Engineering Geomorphology (ENGE486)- University of Canterbury, New Zealand
• Environmental Geohazards (GEO113) - University of Canterbury, New Zealand

2006/7

• Geomorphometry – Object-oriented Programming for Spatial Algorithms (GEO452) - University of Zurich, Switzerland

Publications

ISI Journals

• Korup, O., in press. Earth's portfolio of extreme sediment transport events. Earth-Science Reviews, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.02.006 
• Korup, O., Görüm, T., Hayakawa, Y., 2012. Without power? Landslide inventories in the face of climate change. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 37, 92-99.
• Huggel, C., Clague, J.J., Korup, O., 2012. Is climate change responsible for changing landslide activity in high mountains? Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 37, 77-91.
• Sanhueza-Pino, K., Korup, O., Hetzel, R., Munack, H., Weidinger, J.T., Dunning, S., Ormukov, C., Kubik. P.W., 2011. Glacial advances constrained by ¹⁰Be exposure dating of bedrock landslides, Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Quaternary Research 76, 295-304.
• Montgomery, D.R., Korup, O., 2011. Preservation of inner gorges through repeated Alpine glaciations. Nature Geoscience 4, 62–67.
• Preuth, T., Bartelt, P., Korup, O., McArdell, B., 2010. A random kinetic energy model for rock avalanches: Eight case studies. Journal of Geophysical Research 115, F03036, doi:10.1029/2009JF001640.
• Korup, O., Densmore, A.L., Schlunegger, F., 2010. The role of landslides in mountain range evolution. Geomorphology 120, 77–90.
• Korup, O., Montgomery, D.R., Hewitt, K., 2010. Glacier and landslide feedbacks to topographic relief in the Himalayan syntaxes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107, 5317–5322.
• Larsen, I.J., Montgomery, D.R., Korup, O., 2010. Landslide erosion controlled by hillslope material. Nature Geoscience 3, 247–251.
• Straumann, R., Korup, O., 2009. Quantifying sediment storage at the mountain-belt scale. Geology 37, 1079–1082.
• Korup, O., 2009a. Linking landslides, hillslope erosion, and landscape evolution. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 34, 1315–1317.
• Korup, O., Clague, J.J., 2009. Natural hazards, extreme events, and mountain topography. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 977–990.
• Korup, O., Schlunegger, F., 2009. Rock-type control on erosion-induced uplift, eastern Swiss Alps. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 278, 278–285.
• Weidinger, J.T., Korup, O., 2009. Frictionite as evidence for a large Late Quaternary rockslide near Kanchenjunga, Sikkim Himalayas, India – implications for extreme events in mountain relief destruction. Geomorphology 103, 57–65.
• Korup, O., Montgomery, D.R., 2008. Tibetan plateau river incision inhibited by glacial stabilization of the Tsangpo gorge. Nature 455, 786–789.
• Korup, O., 2008a. Rock type leaves topographic signature in landslide-dominated mountain ranges. Geophysical Research Letters 35, L11402, doi:10.1029/2008GL034157.
• Korup, O., Tweed, F., 2007. Ice, moraine, and landslide dams in mountainous terrain. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 3406–3422.
• Korup, O., Schlunegger, F., 2007. Bedrock landslides, river incision, and transience of geomorphic hillslope-channel coupling: evidence from inner gorges in the eastern Swiss Alps. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, F03027, doi:10.1029/2006JF000710.
• Korup, O., Clague, J.J., Hermanns, R.L., Hewitt, K., Strom, A.L., Weidinger, J.T., 2007. Giant landslides, topography, and erosion. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 261, 578–589.
• Davies, T.R.H., Korup, O., 2007. Persistent alluvial fanhead trenching resulting from large, infrequent sediment inputs. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 32, 725–742.
• Korup, O., Strom, A.L., Weidinger, J.T., 2006. Fluvial response to large rock-slope failures – examples from the Himalayas, the Tien Shan, and the Southern Alps in New Zealand. Geomorphology 78, 3–21.
• Strom, A.L., Korup, O., 2006. Extremely large rockslides and rock avalanches in the Tien Shan mountains, Kyrgyzstan. Landslides 3, 125–136, doi:10.1007/s10346-005-0027-7.
• Korup, O., 2006b. Effects of deep-seated bedrock landslides on hillslope morphology, Southern Alps, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, F01018, doi:10.1029/2004JF000242.
• Korup, O., 2006a. Rock-slope failure and the river long profile. Geology 34, 45–48.
• Korup, O., Schmidt, J., McSaveney, M.J., 2005. Regional relief characteristics and denudation pattern of the western Southern Alps, New Zealand. Geomorphology 71, 402–423.
• Korup, O., 2005d. Geomorphic imprint of landslides on alpine river systems, southwest New Zealand. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 30, 783–800.
• Korup, O., 2005c. Large landslides and their effect on alpine sediment flux: South Westland, New Zealand. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 30, 305–323.
• Korup, O., 2005b. Geomorphic hazard assessment of landslide dams in South Westland, New Zealand – fundamental problems and approaches. Geomorphology 66, 167–188.
• Korup, O., 2005a. Distribution of landslides in southwest New Zealand. Landslides 2, 43–51.
• Korup, O., McSaveney, M.J., Davies, T.R.H., 2004. Sediment generation and delivery from large historic landslides in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. Geomorphology 61, 189–207.
• Korup, O., 2004c. Landslide-induced river channel avulsions in mountain catchments of southwest New Zealand. Geomorphology 63, 57–80.
• Korup, O., 2004b. Geomorphic implications of fault zone weakening: slope instability along the Alpine Fault, South Westland to Fiordland. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 47, 257–267.
• Korup, O., 2004a. Geomorphometric characteristics of New Zealand landslide dams. Engineering Geology 73, 13–35.
• Korup, O., 2002a. Recent research on landslide dams – a literature review with special attention to New Zealand. Progress in Physical Geography 26, 206–235.
• Korup, O., Busche, D., 2001. Persistence of flood impact on a small sand-bed stream, southeast Australia. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplementband NF 122, 165–190.

Book Chapters

• Korup, O., Schneider, D., Huggel, C., Dufresne, A., in press. Long-runout landslides. In: Marston, R., Stoffel, M. [Eds.] Treatise on Geomorphology – Mountain and Hillslope Geomorphology, Elsevier.
• Korup, O., in press. Landslides in the fluvial system. In: Wohl, E.E. [Ed.] Treatise on Geomorphology – Fluvial Geomorphology, Elsevier.
• Korup, O., Weidinger, J.T., 2011. Rock type, precipitation, and the steepness of Himalayan threshold hillslopes. In: Gloaguen, R., Ratschbacher, L. [Eds.] Growth and collapse of the Tibetan Plateau. Geological Society of London Special Publications 353, 235-249.
• Korup, O., in press. Rockslide and rock-avalanche dams in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. In: Evans, S.G., Hermanns, R.L., Strom, A., Scarascia-Mugnozza, G. [Eds.] Natural and Artificial Rockslide Dams. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 133. Springer, Berlin.
• Davies, T.R., Korup, O., 2010. Sediment cascades in active landscapes. In: Burt, T.P., Allison, R.J. [Eds.] Sediment cascades: An Integrated Approach. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, pp. 89-115. 
• Strom, A.L., Korup, O., Abdrakhmatov, K.E., Havenith, H.B., 2005. Investigating rock-slope failures in the Tien Shan: State-of-the-art and perspectives of international cooperation (M111). In: Sassa, K., Fukuoka, H., Wang, F.W., Wang, G. [Eds.] Landslides. Risk analysis and sustainable disaster management. Springer, Berlin, pp. 109–112.
• Korup, O., Ottmer, B., 2005c. Fels- und Bergstürze – Gefahr am Hang. In: Wienecke-Janz, D. [Ed.] Entfesselte Elemente. Der Mensch und die Kräfte der Natur. Spektrum Verlag, pp. 202–205.
• Korup, O., Ottmer, B., 2005b. Armensiedlungen – Wildwuchs im Hochrisikogebiet. In: Wienecke-Janz, D. [Ed.] Entfesselte Elemente. Der Mensch und die Kräfte der Natur. Spektrum Verlag, pp. 192-195.
• Korup, O., Ottmer, B., 2005a. Erdrutsche – Hänge in Bewegung. In: Wienecke-Janz, D. [Ed.] Entfesselte Elemente. Der Mensch und die Kräfte der Natur. Spektrum Verlag, pp. 186–191.
• Korup, O., 2004d. Landslide dam. In: Goudie, A.S. [Ed.] Encyclopedia of Geomorphology, Volume 2. Routledge, London, pp. 608–609.

Peer-reviewed Conference Proceedings

• Korup, O., 2005e. Rockslides and rockslide dams in postglacial fjord environments, New Zealand. In: Senneset, K., Flaate, K., Larsen, J.O. [Eds.] Landslides and Avalanches. Proceedings 11^th International Conference and Field Trip on Landslides, 1-10 September 2005. Balkema/Taylor & Francis, London, pp. 221–227.
• Korup, O., Crozier, M., 2002. Landslide types and geomorphic impact on river channels, Southern Alps, New Zealand. In: Rybar, J., Stemberk, J., Wagner, P. [Eds.] Landslides. Proceedings 1^st European Conference on Landslides 24-26 June 2002, Prague. Balkema, Lisse, pp. 233–238.

Conference Abstracts

• Uhlmann, M., Fischer, L., Huggel, C., Kargel, J., Korup, O., 2010. Rock avalanches and glacier dynamics: a case study in the Chugach Mountains, Alaska. Geophysical Research Abstracts 12, 11505.
• Sanhueza-Pino, K., Korup, O., Hetzel, R., Weidinger, J.T., Dunning, S., Ormukov, C., 2010. ¹⁰Be exposure ages of large rock avalanches in the northern Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan. Geophysical Research Abstracts 12, 4086.
• Kargel, J.S., Fischer, L., Furfaro, R., Huggel, C., Korup, O., Leonard, G.J., Uhlmann, M., Wessels, R.L., Wolfe, D.F., 2009. Medial moraines of glaciers of the Copper River Basin, Alaska: Discrete landslides dominate over other sources. EOS Transactions AGU 90(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract C23A-0486.
• Larsen, I.J., Montgomery, D.R., Korup, O., 2009. Material matters in landslide volume-area scaling. EOS Transactions AGU 90(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract NH43D-05.
• Korup, O., Montgomery, D.R., Hewitt, K., 2009. Spatial clustering of natural dams at the Tibetan Plateau margin in rivers draining the Himalayan syntaxes. Geophysical Research Abstracts 11, 8344.
• Korup, O., 2009b. Landsliding rates revisited. Geophysical Research Abstracts 11, 8066.
• Weidinger, J.T., Dunning, S., Korup, O., 2009. Giant landslides from the inside. Geophysical Research Abstracts 11, 7833.
• Straumann, R., Korup, O., 2009. Quantifying sediment storage at the mountain-belt scale. Geophysical Research Abstracts 11, 7750.
• Korup, O., Schlunegger, F., 2008. Rock-type control on erosion-induced uplift, eastern Swiss Alps. EOS Transactions AGU 89(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract T53A-1898.
• Trommler, N., Huggel, C., Korup, O., Schneider, J.F., 2008. Assessing post-failure geomorphic impact of an earthquake-triggered landslide dam, Jhelum River, Pakistan. Geophysical Research Abstracts 10, 00622.
• Korup, O., 2008b. Landslide scaling properties – at or beyond the limit? Geophysical Research Abstracts 10, 07833.
• Korup, O., Montgomery, D.R., 2008. Glacial defeat of river incision into southeast Tibet? Geophysical Research Abstracts 10, 07805.
• Korup, O., Montgomery, D.R., 2007. Do glacier dams retard river incision into southeast Tibet? EOS Transactions AGU 88(52), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract C52-A01.
• Korup, O., Clague, J.J., Hermanns, R.L., Hewitt, K., Strom, A.L., Weidinger, J.T., 2007. Giant landslides, topography, and erosion. Geophysical Research Abstracts 9, 08122.
• Weidinger, J.T., Korup, O., 2006. Detection of large Late Quaternary rock-slope failures in the Himalayas: Implications for extreme events in mountain relief destruction. Geophysical Research Abstracts 8, 03668.
• Korup, O., 2006c. Timescales of transient on- and off-site effects of large rock-slope failures on bedrock river long profiles. Geophysical Research Abstracts 8, 03573.
• Korup, O., Strom, A.L., Weidinger, J.T., 2005. Effects of large Rockslide Dams on Sediment Budgets –Evidence from the Himalaya, the Tien Shan, and the New Zealand Southern Alps. Geophysical Research Abstracts 7, 01195.
• Korup, O., 2004f. Bedrock landslides and sediment flux in tectonically active orogens. Proceedings 2^nd Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Lausanne, Switzerland, 19-20 November 2004, pp. 218.
• Korup, O., 2004e. Rockslide-dam hazards in high mountain environments. In: Abdrakhmatov, K., Evans, S.G., Hermanns, R., Scarascia Mugnozza, G., Strom, A.L. [Eds.] Security of Natural and Artificial Rockslide Dams. Proceedings NATO Advanced Research Workshop 8-13 June 2004, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 118-124.
• Korup, O., 2004. The relevance of landslides in alpine fluvial geomorphology. Proceedings 11^th Australia New Zealand Geomorphology Group Meeting, Mount Buffalo, Australia, 15-20 February 2004. ANZGG Occasional Paper 3, pp. 43.
• Korup, O., 2002c. Landslide dams in an active collisional orogen: implications for alpine sediment flux, South Westland, New Zealand. EOS Transactions AGU 83(47), Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract H12B-0927.
• Korup, O., 2002b. Landslide dams in New Zealand – Problems of attributing “hazard” to composite geomorphic phenomena. In: Soldati, M., Borgatti, L. [Eds.] Relationships between man and the mountain environment in terms of geomorphological hazards and human impact in Europe. Proceedings IAG Symposium 14 July 2002, Dornbirn, Austria, p. 73.

Public Outreach

• Korup, O., 2009c. A regional Hot Spot Catalogue for Slope Stability Hazards in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. In: Kohler, T., Maselli, D. [Eds.] Mountains and Climate Change - From Understanding to Action. Published by Geographica Bernensia with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and an international team of contributors. Berne, p. 36.
• Korup, O., 2009d. The largest landslides on Earth. In: Bierman, P., Montgomery, D.R., 2009 [Eds.] Key Concepts in Geomorphology (Vignettes). http://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/31889.html
• Korup, O., 2009e. The enigma of inner gorges in the Alps. In: Bierman, P., Montgomery, D.R., 2009 [Eds.] Key Concepts in Geomorphology (Vignettes). http://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/31896.html
• Korup, O., 2006c. WSL International - Naturgefahren kennen keine Grenzen. SLF Newsletter Naturgefahren. http://www.slf.ch/dienstleistungen/newsletter/Newsletter-06-2006.pdf