Description of the Research Opportunity
Northern California hosts major population centers, critical infrastructure, and a diverse economic base. It generates 5% of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) and has the highest GDP per capita of any region of the country (The Northern California Megaregion report; Bay Area Council Economic Institute). It also hosts a distributed active fault system capable of generating devastating earthquakes. We seek an earthquake geologist to perform research on active faults in northern California to better constrain earthquake history, fault slip rates, and to characterize fault network geometry to reduce uncertainty in seismic hazard models. We seek a researcher who can provide an innovative and collaborative approach to seismic hazards research grounded in geology and field investigation, possibly paired with expertise in computational, geodetic, geochronologic, or other related specialties. These other approaches may also be integrated into projects via the considerable potential for internal collaboration with experts in geophysics, geodesy, hazard modeling, geochronology, Quaternary and bedrock geology, remote sensing, and computational methods. Opportunity also exists for collaboration with industry, academia, and other government entities. The research should focus on the priorities of the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, and have a focus on northern California, generally defined as the area of active faults north of the creeping San Andreas fault up to the crustal faults near the Mendocino Triple Junction, from the Pacific coast eastward to the margin of the Basin and Range province.
The research Fellow will join a group of researchers at the USGS Earthquake Science Center with expertise in geology, paleoseismology, geomorphology, remote sensing, and seismic and other natural hazards. The group has equipment for field investigations such as trenching, mapping, GNSS and lidar surveying, geospatial data analyses, and performs research activities in a highly collaborative environment. Possible research targets include better characterization of faults within the greater San Andreas system in northern California. Additional targets may include areas of tectonic deformation that may indicate hazard from reverse or thrust faults, better characterization of the transition from the San Andreas fault system to Cascadia through the Mendocino Triple Junction region, and better characterization of dextral shear accommodated in the margin of the San Andreas system eastward past the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Methods may include paleoseismology including trenching and lacustrine studies, fault mapping, tectonic geomorphology to establish fault slip rates, and other established and emerging methods. Although geological investigations are emphasized, a successful project may have components of quantitative remote sensing, computational or modeling studies, and geochronology. These methods may be a primary skillset of the Fellow or be brought in via collaboration.
Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Research Advisor(s) early in the application process to discuss project ideas.
Proposed Duty Station(s)
Moffett Field, California
Pasadena, California
Areas of PhD
Geology or related fields (candidates holding a Ph.D. in other disciplines, but with extensive knowledge and skills relevant to the Research Opportunity may be considered).
Qualifications
Applicants must meet the qualifications for: Research Geologist.
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)
