Elizabeth S Cochran
Dr. Elizabeth S. Cochran is an observational seismologist at the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena, California. She conducts research on human-induced earthquakes, earthquake early warning, earthquake triggering, rupture processes, and seismic wave propagation.
Elizabeth has led several large seismic deployments following significant earthquakes in the United States. She served as Acting Director of the Earthquake Science Center in 2021. Elizabeth was the Project Chief of the Induced Seismicity project in the Earthquake Science Center from 2018-2021 and Chief Scientist of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning project from 2016-17. She was the co-founder of the Quake Catcher Network, a crowd-sourced seismic network that detected earthquakes using low-cost sensors connected to desktop or inside of laptops and phones. Elizabeth received a B.S. in geophysics from University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in geophysics and space physics from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2010, she was recognized with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Experience
2011 – Present Research Geophysicist, US Geological Survey
2011 – Present Visiting Associate in Geophysics, California Institute of Technology
2007 – 2011 Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside
2005 – 2007 Postdoctoral Scholar, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps
2000 – 2005 Research Assist./Assoc., Department of Earth and Space Science, University of California, Los Angeles
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara Geophysics B.S., 2000
University of California, Los Angeles Geophysics and Space Physics M.S., 2003
University of California, Los Angeles Geophysics and Space Physics Ph.D., 2005
Honors and Activities
· Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2010.
· NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, 2010.
· Geological Society of America, Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science Award, 2006.
· Young Fellow of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, 2004.
· Southern California Earthquake Center Seismology Discipline Co-Chair, 2009-2017.
· IRIS Standing Committee Member; Data Management (2008-2010), Education and Public Outreach (2012-2014).
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 79
Very low frequency earthquakes in between the seismogenic and tremor zones in Cascadia?
Megathrust earthquakes and their associated tsunamis cause some of the worst natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, a wide range of slip behaviors are present at subduction zones, including slow earthquakes that span multiple orders of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these events may shed light on the stress or strength conditions of the megathrust fault. Out of all types of slo
Authors
Wenyuan Fan, Andrew Barbour, Jeffrey McGuire, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Ryo Okuwaki
Quantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array
To investigate the sensitivity of slip inversions to station distribution and choice of empirical Green’s function (EGF), we examine three microearthquakes that occurred within the high‐density LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) nodal seismic array. The LASSO array’s dense distribution of 1825 geophones provides an exceptional level of spatial and azimuthal coverage, allowing for more accu
Authors
Colin Nathanael Pennington, Hilary Chang, Justin Rubinstein, Rachel E Abercrombie, Nori Nakata, Takahiko Uchide, Elizabeth S. Cochran
A unified perspective of seismicity and fault coupling along the San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault (SAF) showcases the breadth of possible earthquake sizes and occurrence behavior; in particular, the central SAF is a microcosm of such diversity. This section also exhibits the spectrum of fault coupling from locked to creeping. Here, we show that the observations of aseismic slip, temporal clustering of seismicity, and spatial variations in earthquake size distributions are
Authors
Y.-K. Liu, Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, N. Lapusta
Fast rupture of the 2009 Mw 6.9 Canal de Ballenas earthquake in the Gulf of California dynamically triggers seismicity in California
In the Gulf of California, Mexico, the relative motion across the North America-Pacific boundary is accommodated by a series of marine transform faults and spreading centers. About 40 M>6 earthquakes have occurred in the region since 1960. On 3 August 2009, an Mw 6.9 earthquake occurred near Canal de Ballenas in the region. The earthquake was a strike-slip event with a shallow hypocenter that is l
Authors
Wenyuan Fan, Ryo Okuwaki, Andrew Barbour, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Alert optimization of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm for the western United States
We determine an optimal alerting configuration for the propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM) earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm for use by the U.S. ShakeAlert system covering California, Oregon, and Washington. All EEW systems should balance the primary goal of providing timely alerts for impactful or potentially damaging shaking while limiting alerts for shaking that is too low to be
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Jessie Kate Saunders, Sarah E. Minson, Julian Bunn, Annemarie S. Baltay, Debi Kilb, Colin T O'Rourke, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki Kodera
Wastewater disposal has not significantly altered the regional stress state in southern Kansas
Wastewater disposal is primarily responsible for the increased seismicity rate since ~2013 in southern Kansas. Previous work that used shear wave splitting (SWS) in southern Kansas interpreted a ~90º temporal rotation in the fast polarization direction and attributed it to increased pore pressures resulting from fluid injection. However, this interpreted rotation coincided with a change in the sta
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Evidence for latent crustal fluid injection transients in southern California from long-duration earthquake swarms
Earthquake swarms are manifestations of aseismic driving processes deep in the crust. We examine the spatiotemporal distribution of aseismic processes in Southern California using a 12-years catalog of swarms derived with deep learning algorithms. In a core portion of the plate boundary region, which is not associated with elevated heat flow, we identify 92 long-duration swarms ranging from 6 mont
Authors
Zachary E. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran
A framework for evaluating earthquake early warning for an infrastructure network: An idealized case study of a northern California rail system
Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems provide a few to tens of seconds of warning before shaking hits a site. Despite the recent rapid developments of EEW systems around the world, the optimal alert response strategy and the practical benefit of using EEW are still open-ended questions, especially in areas where EEW systems are new or have not yet been deployed. Here, we use a case study of a rai
Authors
Sarah E. Minson, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Stephen Wu, Shunta Noda
Stress controls rupture extent and maximum magnitude of induced earthquakes
Seismic hazard forecasts of induced seismicity often require estimates of the maximum possible magnitude (Mmax). Empirical models suggest that maximum magnitudes, or expected number of earthquakes, are related to the volume of injected fluid. We perform a suite of 3D physics-based earthquake simulations with rate- and state-dependent friction, systematically varying the area of the pressurized reg
Authors
K. A. Kroll, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas
Induced seismicity predominantly occurs along faults that are optimally oriented to the local principal compressive stress direction, and the characterization of these stress orientations is an important component of understanding seismic hazards. The seismicity rate in southern Kansas rapidly increased in 2013 primarily due to the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into the Arbuckle Group. P
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kayla A. Kroll, Justin Rubinstein, Devin McPhillips
Fluid-earthquake and earthquake-earthquake interactions in southern Kansas, USA
An increase in injection activity associated with energy production in southern Kansas starting in 2013 has been linked to the occurrence of more than 130,000 earthquakes (M −1.5 to 4.9) between 2014 and 2017. Studies suggest that the dramatic increase in seismicity rate is related to wastewater injection into the highly permeable Arbuckle formation. Most of the seismicity is located in the underl
Authors
A. Verdecchia, Elizabeth S. Cochran, R. M Harrington
Shaking is almost always a surprise: The earthquakes that produce significant ground motion
Although small earthquakes are expected to produce weak shaking, ground motion is highly variable and there are outlier earthquakes that generate more shaking than expected—sometimes significantly more. We explore datasets of M 0.5–8.3 earthquakes to determine the relative impact of frequent, smaller-magnitude earthquakes that rarely produce strong ground motion, to rare, large earthquakes that al
Authors
Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Sara McBride, Kevin R. Milner
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 79
Very low frequency earthquakes in between the seismogenic and tremor zones in Cascadia?
Megathrust earthquakes and their associated tsunamis cause some of the worst natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, a wide range of slip behaviors are present at subduction zones, including slow earthquakes that span multiple orders of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these events may shed light on the stress or strength conditions of the megathrust fault. Out of all types of slo
Authors
Wenyuan Fan, Andrew Barbour, Jeffrey McGuire, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Ryo Okuwaki
Quantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array
To investigate the sensitivity of slip inversions to station distribution and choice of empirical Green’s function (EGF), we examine three microearthquakes that occurred within the high‐density LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) nodal seismic array. The LASSO array’s dense distribution of 1825 geophones provides an exceptional level of spatial and azimuthal coverage, allowing for more accu
Authors
Colin Nathanael Pennington, Hilary Chang, Justin Rubinstein, Rachel E Abercrombie, Nori Nakata, Takahiko Uchide, Elizabeth S. Cochran
A unified perspective of seismicity and fault coupling along the San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault (SAF) showcases the breadth of possible earthquake sizes and occurrence behavior; in particular, the central SAF is a microcosm of such diversity. This section also exhibits the spectrum of fault coupling from locked to creeping. Here, we show that the observations of aseismic slip, temporal clustering of seismicity, and spatial variations in earthquake size distributions are
Authors
Y.-K. Liu, Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, N. Lapusta
Fast rupture of the 2009 Mw 6.9 Canal de Ballenas earthquake in the Gulf of California dynamically triggers seismicity in California
In the Gulf of California, Mexico, the relative motion across the North America-Pacific boundary is accommodated by a series of marine transform faults and spreading centers. About 40 M>6 earthquakes have occurred in the region since 1960. On 3 August 2009, an Mw 6.9 earthquake occurred near Canal de Ballenas in the region. The earthquake was a strike-slip event with a shallow hypocenter that is l
Authors
Wenyuan Fan, Ryo Okuwaki, Andrew Barbour, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Alert optimization of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm for the western United States
We determine an optimal alerting configuration for the propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM) earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm for use by the U.S. ShakeAlert system covering California, Oregon, and Washington. All EEW systems should balance the primary goal of providing timely alerts for impactful or potentially damaging shaking while limiting alerts for shaking that is too low to be
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Jessie Kate Saunders, Sarah E. Minson, Julian Bunn, Annemarie S. Baltay, Debi Kilb, Colin T O'Rourke, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki Kodera
Wastewater disposal has not significantly altered the regional stress state in southern Kansas
Wastewater disposal is primarily responsible for the increased seismicity rate since ~2013 in southern Kansas. Previous work that used shear wave splitting (SWS) in southern Kansas interpreted a ~90º temporal rotation in the fast polarization direction and attributed it to increased pore pressures resulting from fluid injection. However, this interpreted rotation coincided with a change in the sta
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Evidence for latent crustal fluid injection transients in southern California from long-duration earthquake swarms
Earthquake swarms are manifestations of aseismic driving processes deep in the crust. We examine the spatiotemporal distribution of aseismic processes in Southern California using a 12-years catalog of swarms derived with deep learning algorithms. In a core portion of the plate boundary region, which is not associated with elevated heat flow, we identify 92 long-duration swarms ranging from 6 mont
Authors
Zachary E. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran
A framework for evaluating earthquake early warning for an infrastructure network: An idealized case study of a northern California rail system
Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems provide a few to tens of seconds of warning before shaking hits a site. Despite the recent rapid developments of EEW systems around the world, the optimal alert response strategy and the practical benefit of using EEW are still open-ended questions, especially in areas where EEW systems are new or have not yet been deployed. Here, we use a case study of a rai
Authors
Sarah E. Minson, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Stephen Wu, Shunta Noda
Stress controls rupture extent and maximum magnitude of induced earthquakes
Seismic hazard forecasts of induced seismicity often require estimates of the maximum possible magnitude (Mmax). Empirical models suggest that maximum magnitudes, or expected number of earthquakes, are related to the volume of injected fluid. We perform a suite of 3D physics-based earthquake simulations with rate- and state-dependent friction, systematically varying the area of the pressurized reg
Authors
K. A. Kroll, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas
Induced seismicity predominantly occurs along faults that are optimally oriented to the local principal compressive stress direction, and the characterization of these stress orientations is an important component of understanding seismic hazards. The seismicity rate in southern Kansas rapidly increased in 2013 primarily due to the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into the Arbuckle Group. P
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kayla A. Kroll, Justin Rubinstein, Devin McPhillips
Fluid-earthquake and earthquake-earthquake interactions in southern Kansas, USA
An increase in injection activity associated with energy production in southern Kansas starting in 2013 has been linked to the occurrence of more than 130,000 earthquakes (M −1.5 to 4.9) between 2014 and 2017. Studies suggest that the dramatic increase in seismicity rate is related to wastewater injection into the highly permeable Arbuckle formation. Most of the seismicity is located in the underl
Authors
A. Verdecchia, Elizabeth S. Cochran, R. M Harrington
Shaking is almost always a surprise: The earthquakes that produce significant ground motion
Although small earthquakes are expected to produce weak shaking, ground motion is highly variable and there are outlier earthquakes that generate more shaking than expected—sometimes significantly more. We explore datasets of M 0.5–8.3 earthquakes to determine the relative impact of frequent, smaller-magnitude earthquakes that rarely produce strong ground motion, to rare, large earthquakes that al
Authors
Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Sara McBride, Kevin R. Milner