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The potential uses of operational earthquake forecasting

This article reports on a workshop held to explore the potential uses of operational earthquake forecasting (OEF). We discuss the current status of OEF in the United States and elsewhere, the types of products that could be generated, the various potential users and uses of OEF, and the need for carefully crafted communication protocols. Although operationalization challenges remain, there was cle
Authors
Edward H. Field, Thomas Jordan, Lucille M. Jones, Andrew Michael, Michael L. Blanpied

Money matters: Rapid post-earthquake financial decision-making

Post-earthquake financial decision-making is a realm beyond that of many people. In the immediate aftermath of a damaging earthquake, billions of dollars of relief, recovery, and insurance funds are in the balance through new financial instruments that allow those with resources to hedge against disasters and those at risk to limit their earthquake losses and receive funds for response and recover
Authors
David J. Wald, Guillermo Franco

The Montaguto earth flow: nine years of observation and analysis

This paper summarizes the methods, results, and interpretation of analyses carried out between 2006 and 2015 at the Montaguto earth flow in southern Italy. We conducted a multi-temporal analysis of earth-flow activity to reconstruct the morphological and structural evolution of the flow. Data from field mapping were combined with a geometric reconstruction of the basal slip surface i
Authors
L. Guerriero, R Revellino, G. Grelle, N Diodato, F.M. Guadagno, Jeffrey A. Coe

A fault-based model for crustal deformation, fault slip-rates and off-fault strain rate in California

We invert Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity data to estimate fault slip rates in California using a fault‐based crustal deformation model with geologic constraints. The model assumes buried elastic dislocations across the region using Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast Version 3 (UCERF3) fault geometries. New GPS velocity and geologic slip‐rate data were compiled by the UCERF3 d
Authors
Yuehua Zeng, Zheng-Kang Shen

Differences in coastal subsidence in southern Oregon (USA) during at least six prehistoric megathrust earthquakes

Stratigraphic, sedimentologic (including CT 3D X-ray tomography scans), foraminiferal, and radiocarbon analyses show that at least six of seven abrupt peat-to-mud contacts in cores from a tidal marsh at Talbot Creek (South Slough, Coos Bay), record sudden subsidence (relative sea-level rise) during great megathrust earthquakes at the Cascadia subduction zone. Data for one contact are insufficient
Authors
Yvonne Milker, Alan R. Nelson, Benjamin P. Horton, Simon E. Engelhart, Lee-Ann Bradley, Robert C. Witter

Three-dimensional surface deformation derived from airborne interferometric UAVSAR: Application to the Slumgullion Landslide

In order to provide surface geodetic measurements with “landslide-wide” spatial coverage, we develop and validate a method for the characterization of 3-D surface deformation using the unique capabilities of the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) airborne repeat-pass radar interferometry system. We apply our method at the well-studied Slumgullion Landslide, which is 3.9 k
Authors
Brent G. Delbridge, Roland Burgmann, Eric Fielding, Scott Hensley, William Schulz

A study of the 2015 Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake and tsunami: Numerical and analytical approaches

The September 16, 2015 Illapel, Chile earthquake triggered a large tsunami, causing both economic losses and fatalities. To study the coastal effects of this earthquake, and to understand how such hazards might be accurately modeled in the future, different finite fault models of the Illapel rupture are used to define the initial condition for tsunami simulation. The numerical code Non-hydrostatic
Authors
Mauricio Fuentes, Sebastian Riquelme, Gavin P. Hayes, Miguel Medina, Diego Melgar, Gabriel Vargas, Jose Gonzalez, Angelo Villalobos

Likelihood testing of seismicity-based rate forecasts of induced earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas

Likelihood testing of induced earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas has identified the parameters that optimize the forecasting ability of smoothed seismicity models and quantified the recent temporal stability of the spatial seismicity patterns. Use of the most recent 1-year period of earthquake data and use of 10–20-km smoothing distances produced the greatest likelihood. The likelihood that the lo
Authors
Morgan P. Moschetti, Susan M. Hoover, Charles Mueller

Earthquake forecast for the Wasatch Front region of the Intermountain West

The Working Group on Utah Earthquake Probabilities has assessed the probability of large earthquakes in the Wasatch Front region. There is a 43 percent probability of one or more magnitude 6.75 or greater earthquakes and a 57 percent probability of one or more magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes in the region in the next 50 years. These results highlight the threat of large earthquakes in the reg
Authors
Christopher B. DuRoss

An overview of current applications, challenges, and future trends in distributed process-based models in hydrology

Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow paths
Authors
Simone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L Odgen, Valeriy Y Ivanov, Benjamin B. Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H Davison, Brian A. Ebel, Norm Jones, Jon Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard G. Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David Tarboton

RMT focal plane sensitivity to seismic network geometry and faulting style

Modern tectonic studies often use regional moment tensors (RMTs) to interpret the seismotectonic framework of an earthquake or earthquake sequence; however, despite extensive use, little existing work addresses RMT parameter uncertainty. Here, we quantify how network geometry and faulting style affect RMT sensitivity. We examine how data-model fits change with fault plane geometry (strike and dip)
Authors
Kendra L. Johnson, Gavin P. Hayes, Robert B. Herrmann, Harley M. Benz, Daniel E. McNamara, Eric A. Bergman

Seismic site characterization of an urban dedimentary basin, Livermore Valley, California: Site tesponse, basin-edge-induced surface waves, and 3D simulations

Thirty‐two accelerometers were deployed in the Livermore Valley, California, for approximately one year to study sedimentary basin effects. Many local and near‐regional earthquakes were recorded, including the 24 August 2014 Mw 6.0 Napa, California, earthquake. The resulting ground‐motion data set is used to quantify the seismic response of the Livermore basin, a major structural depression in the
Authors
Stephen H. Hartzell, Alena L. Leeds, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman, James P. Allen, Robert G. Schmitt