Publications
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Postfire debris flow hazards—Tips to keep you safe
Often referred to as “mudflows,” debris flows are a type of landslide made up of a rapidly moving mixture of dirt, rocks, trees, and water (and sometimes ash) that start on a hillside and travel downvalley. They can easily overflow channels and severely damage houses, vehicles, or other structures. Areas burned by wildfires are especially susceptible to these hazards, which can be triggered by sto
Authors
Steven Sobieszczyk, Jason W. Kean
Lower seismogenic depth model of western U.S. Earthquakes
We present a model of the lower seismogenic depth of earthquakes in the western United States (WUS) estimated using the hypocentral depths of events M > 1, a crustal temperature model, and historical earthquake rupture depth models. Locations of earthquakes are from the Advanced National Seismic System Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog from 1980 to 2021 supplemented with seismicity in southern Cali
Authors
Yuehua Zeng, Mark D. Petersen, Oliver S. Boyd
A fault‐based crustal deformation model with deep driven dislocation sources for the 2023 update to the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
A fault‐based crustal deformation model with deep driven dislocation sources is applied to estimate long‐term on‐fault slip rates and off‐fault moment rate distribution in the western United States (WUS) for the 2023 update to the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM). This model uses the method of Zeng and Shen (2017) to invert for slip rate and strain‐rate parameters based on inputs from Global P
Authors
Yuehua Zeng
Seismic sources in the aleutian cradle of tsunamis
No abstract available.
Authors
Robert C. Witter, Richard W. Briggs, Tina Dura, Simon E. Engelhart, Alan Nelson
A study on the effect of site response on California seismic hazard map assessment
Prior studies have repeatedly shown that probabilistic seismic hazard maps from several different countries predict higher shaking than that observed. Previous map assessments have not, however, considered the influence of site response on hazard. Seismologists have long acknowledged the influence of near-surface geology, in particular low-impedance sediment layers, on earthquake ground-motion at
Authors
Molly M. Gallahue, Leah Marschall Salditch, Madeleine C. Lucas, James S. Neely, Seth Stein, Norman A. Abrahamson, Tessa Williams, Susan E. Hough
Insights on multistage rock avalanche behavior from runout modeling constrained by seismic inversions
Inversion of low-frequency regional seismic records to solve for a time series of bulk forces exerted on the earth by a landslide (a force-time function) is increasingly being used to infer volumes and dynamics of large, highly energetic landslides, such as rock avalanches and flowslides, and to provide calibration information on event dynamics and volumes for numerical landslide runout models. Mu
Authors
Andrew Mitchell, Kate E. Allstadt, David L. George, Jordan Aaron, Scott McDougall, Jeffrey R. Moore, Brian Menounous
Evolution of design ground motions in California: NEHRP 2009 to 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) is used in construction codes, such as the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) Provisions, to develop ground motions for structural and geotechnical design. When the NSHM is updated (e.g. changes to its earthquake rupture forecast or ground motion models), or the manner in which it is implemented in constructio
Authors
Stephen Eugene Waldvogel, Andrew James Makdisi, Katrina Sanguyo Peralta, Henry (Ben) Mason, Nicolas Luco, Sanaz Rezaeian
A theoretical framework for integrating ground failure models into regional seismic performance assessments of buried pipelines
A variety of models exist for characterizing earthquake-induced ground failures, but application of these models towards regional seismic performance assessments of buried pipelines remains challenging. One challenge is that ground failures often occur at localized geospatial scales while buried pipelines are spatially distributed over long distances. In this study, we propose a theoretical framew
Authors
N. Simon Kwong, Kishor Jaiswal
Spatially continuous models of aleatory variability in seismic site response for southern California
We develop an empirical, spatially continuous model for the single-station within-event (ϕSS) component of earthquake ground motion variability in the Los Angeles area. ϕSS represents event-to-event variability in site response or remaining variability due to path effects not captured by ground motion models. Site-specific values of ϕSS at permanent seismic network stations were estimated during o
Authors
Grace Alexandra Parker, Annemarie S. Baltay, Eric M. Thompson
Applicability of the NGA-West2 damping scaling factors to ground motions recorded in France
This paper presents a summary of the applicability of the NGA-West2 damping scaling factors to ground motions recorded in France. In developing ground motion models for response spectra, generally, the damping of the oscillator is set to a reference value of five percent of the critical damping. Damping scaling factors (DSF) are used to translate the predictions of 5%-damped ground motion models t
Authors
M. Bahrampouri, Sanaz Rezaeian, P. Traversa, L. Al Atik, S. Mazzoni, Y. Bozorgnia
Earthquake scenario development in the 2023 USGS NSHM update
Earthquake scenarios are generally selected to serve a wide variety of local and regional needs ranging from testing a community’s ability to respond to earthquakes to developing proactive targeted mitigation strategies for minimizing impending risk. These deterministic scenarios can also be used to communicate seismic hazard and risk to audiences who are not well versed in more complex methods li
Authors
Robert Edward Chase, Kishor Jaiswal, Mark D. Petersen
Earthquake scenario selection for portfolio holders in CEUS: A case study with Oklahoma DOT
Portfolio managers of spatially distributed assets in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) and other low- to moderate seismic hazard regions require scenario-based seismic risk assessment for the purpose of emergency management and planning. Uncertainties regarding the long-term seismicity of the region, unknown faults, and limited historical records complicate the selection of an earthqua
Authors
Yolanda C Lin, L. L. Rotche, Kuo-wan Lin, Eric M. Thompson, David Lallemant, W. Peters, David J. Wald