Publications
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Event detection performance of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm in southern California
We test the Japanese ground‐motion‐based earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm, propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM), in southern California with application to the U.S. ShakeAlert system. In late 2018, ShakeAlert began limited public alerting in Los Angeles to areas of expected modified Mercalli intensity (IMMI) 4.0+ for magnitude 5.0+ earthquakes. Most EEW systems, including ShakeAle
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Julian Bunn, Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Deborah L. Kilb, Y. Kodera, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba
Source-dependent amplification of earthquake ground motions in deep sedimentary basins
Deep sedimentary basins amplify long-period shaking from seismic waves, increasing the seismic hazard for cities within such basins. We perform 3-D simulations of point source earthquakes distributed around the Seattle and Tacoma basins in Washington State, to examine the dependence of basin amplification on source azimuth, depth, and earthquake type. For periods between 1-10 s, the pattern of amp
Authors
Erin Wirth, John E. Vidale, Arthur Frankel, Thomas L. Pratt
Data Report: Permeability, porosity, and frictional strength of core samples from IODP Expedition 366 in the Mariana forearc
Core samples from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 366 were tested in the laboratory to determine permeability, porosity, density, and frictional strength and their relation to mineralogy as part of an effort to understand hydro-mechanical processes at convergent plate margins. Seven samples were tested from a depth range of 19.6 to 197.9 m below the sea floor. The sampl
Authors
Carolyn A. Morrow, Diane E. Moore, David A. Lockner, Barbara A. Bekins
Ground-motion residuals, path effects, and crustal properties: A pilot study in southern California
To improve models of ground motion estimation and probabilistic seismic hazard analyses, the engineering seismology field is moving toward developing fully nonergodic ground motion models, models specific for individual source‐to‐site paths. Previous work on this topic has examined systematic variations in ground‐motion along particular paths (from either recorded or simulated earthquake data) and
Authors
Valerie J. Sahakian, Annemarie S. Baltay, Thomas C. Hanks, Janine Bueler, Frank Vernon, Deborah L. Kilb, Norm A. Abrahamson
Characterizing seismogenic fault structures in Oklahoma using a relocated template matched catalog
Oklahoma is one of the most seismically active places in the United States as a result of industry activities. In order to characterize the fault networks responsible for these earthquakes in Oklahoma, we relocated a large-scale template matching catalog between 2010-2016 using the GrowClust algorithm . This relocated catalog is currently the most complete statewide catalog for Oklahoma during thi
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Joern Kaven, Jake Water
Jack Boatwright’s last science
In the months before he passed away, Jack Boatwright asked us to review a manuscript on source properties, specifically stress drop, of earthquakes in northeastern North America (NENA). This manuscript originated in research funded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), described in his final report to NRC and published as USGS Open-File Report 2018-1073 (Boatwright, 2018). We wish to ca
Authors
Annemarie S. Baltay, Thomas C. Hanks
Kinematic rupture modeling of ground motion from the M7 Kumamoto, Japan earthquake
We analyzed a kinematic earthquake rupture generator that combines the randomized spatial field approach of Graves and Pitarka (Bull Seismol Soc Am 106:2136–2153, 2016) (GP2016) with the multiple asperity characterization approach of Irikura and Miyake (Pure Appl Geophys 168:85–104, 2011) (IM2011, also known as Irikura recipe). The rupture generator uses a multi-scale hybrid approach that incorpor
Authors
Arben Pitarka, Robert Graves, Kojiro Irikura, Ken Miyakoshi, Artie Rogers
Radiometric ages of volcanic rocks on the fort rock dome and in the aquarius mountains, Yavapai and Mohave Counties, Arizona
The Fort Rock dome, in Yavapai County, Ariz., is a roughly circular geologic structure in plan view, 2.5 km in diameter, that is similar in many ways to an impact crater; however, it is a structural dome caused by a potassic mafic intrusion at depth, and the crater-like depression in its center is erosional in origin. The Aquarius Mountains, west of the Fort Rock dome, in Mohave County, contain a
Authors
Gary S. Fuis, Andrew T. Calvert, Katie Sullivan
The USGS National crustal model for seismic hazard studies: 2019 update
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Crustal Model (NCM) is being developed to assist in the modeling of seismic hazards across the conterminous United States, specifically by improving estimates of site response. The NCM is composed of geophysical profiles, extending from the Earth’s surface into the upper mantle, constructed from 5 primary elements: 1) depth to bedrock and basemen
Authors
Oliver S. Boyd
Risk at the margins: A natural hazards perspective on the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon
Quantitative landslide risk analysis is a key step in creating appropriate land use policies. The forced migration of those displaced by recent armed conflict in Syria has highlighted the need for studies to guide humanitarian aid and resettlement policies. Over 1.5 million displaced Syrians now reside in Lebanon, self-settling throughout the country through urban integration and informal encampme
Authors
William Pollock, Joseph Wartman, Grace Abou-Jaoude, Alex R. R. Grant
Evaluation of ground motion models for USGS seismic hazard forecasts: Induced and tectonic earthquakes in the Central and Eastern U.S.
Ground motion model (GMM) selection and weighting introduces a significant source of uncertainty in United States Geological Survey (USGS) seismic hazard models. The increase in moderate moment magnitude induced earthquakes (Mw 4 to 5.8) in Oklahoma and Kansas since 2009, due to increased wastewater injection related to oil and gas production (Keranen et al., 2013; 2014; Weingarten et al., 2015;
Authors
Daniel E. McNamara, Mark D. Petersen, Eric M. Thompson, Peter M. Powers, Allison Shumway, Susan M. Hoover, Morgan P. Moschetti, Emily Wolin
Induced seismicity reduces seismic hazard?
Earthquakes caused by human activities have been observed for decades. Often these are related to industrial activities pumping fluids into deep geologic formations, like with wastewater disposal. The simplest theory connecting these processes to earthquakes is straightforward: injection leads to fluid pressure changes that either reduce the strength of preexisting faults or generate new faults. I
Authors
Andrew J. Barbour, Fred Pollitz