Publications
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Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter of channel length. We partitioned the rates into two growth mechanisms, aggregation of multiple
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
Seismic monitoring & response for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
The 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) passes through extremely remote regions, where there is a high potential for seismic activity. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the TAPS operator, has been on the forefront of seismic engineering and situational awareness, and continues to enhance its capabilities. TAPS has used earthquake monitoring since the pipeline was constructed in 1977 and r
Authors
S Strait, David J. Wald
An exploration of parametric earthquake risk transfer solutions that dynamically adapt to seismicity changes
(Re)insurance companies rely on earthquake risk models to estimate the frequency and severity of their potential financial losses. To protect themselves, they sometimes use parametric risk transfer solutions, which are derivative-form agreements that provide compensation as a function of routine measurable earthquake characteristics. These mechanisms typically remain in force for one to three year
Authors
Guillermo Franco, R Guidotti, Edward H. Field, K.R. Milner, Y.J. Lee, R. S. Stein
An update of USGS bear-real-time earthquake shaking and impact products
We report on advancements in both hazard and consequence modeling that form the core of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) strategy to improve rapid earthquake shaking and loss estimates. Whereas our primary goal is to improve our operational capabilities of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, the science, software, and datasets behind these systems continue to advance uses and stud
Authors
David J. Wald, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Kristin Marano, Mike Hearne, Kuo-wan Lin, Daniel Slosky, Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Charles Worden, Gavin P. Hayes, Vince Quitoriano
The US Geological Survey’s Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)—Providing framework geologic, geophysical, and elevation data to the nation’s critical mineral-bearing regions
New detailed mapping of the geologic resources of the Nation has the potential to significantly close the gap in the essential data needed to fuel a modern era of economic development and technological innovation, while at the same time dramatically enhancing our understanding of the fundamental way geology impacts everyday life, from the domestic critical mineral resources that are necessary for
Authors
Warren C. Day, Benjamin J. Drenth, Anne E. McCafferty, Anjana K. Shah, David A. Ponce, James V. Jones, V. J. Grauch
Proposed multi-period response spectra and ground motion requirements of the 2020 Recommended Provisions and ASCE 7-22
This paper summarizes a comprehensive set of proposals to the Provisions Update Committee of the Building Seismic Safety Council that would incorporate multi-period response spectra (MPRS) in the 2020 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures (2020 NEHRP Provisions) and related proposals to the ASCE 7-22 Seismic Subcommittee of the American Society
Authors
Charles A Kircher, Sanaz Rezaeian, Nicolas Luco
Conceptual framework for assessing disturbance impacts on debris-flow initiation thresholds across hydroclimatic settings
The destructive and deadly nature of debris flows has motivated research into empirical rainfall thresholds to provide situational awareness, inform early warning systems, and reduce loss of life and property. Disturbances such as wildfire and land-cover change can influence the hydrological processes of infiltration and runoff generation; in steep terrain this typically lowers empirical threshold
Authors
Benjamin B. Mirus, Dennis M. Staley, Jason W. Kean, Joel B. Smith, Rick Wooten, Luke A. McGuire, Brian A. Ebel
Overcoming barriers to progress in seismic monitoring and characterization of debris flows and lahars
Debris flows generate seismic signals that contain valuable information about events as they unfold. Though seismic waves have been used for along-channel debris-flow and lahar monitoring systems for decades, it has proven difficult to move beyond detection to more quantitative characterizations of flow parameters and event size. This is for two primary reasons: (1) our limited understanding of ho
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Maxime Farin, Andrew Lockhart, Sara McBride, Jason W. Kean, Richard M. Iverson, Matthew Logan, Joel B. Smith, Victor C. Tsai, David L. George
Significant seismic behavior features of two tall buildings inferred from response records
In this paper, recent studies of recorded responses of behavior and performances of two instrumented tall buildings subjected to long-period motions from events that originate at far distances (e.g. 100-800km) are presented. Significant results indicate that (a) computed average drift ratios are substantial (~0.5%), and (b) there is permanent shift of fundamental frequencies for a tall building wh
Authors
Mehmet Çelebi
Pedogenic evolution on the arid Bishop Creek moraines, eastern Sierra Nevada, California
Soil chronosequences on alpine moraine complexes have been used to help unravel the glacial histories of the eastern Sierra Nevada. The moraine sequence along Bishop Creek includes well-preserved moraines that have been previously dated using cosmogenic 36Cl surface exposure ages. The goal of this study was to interpret pedogenesis within a soil geomorphic context on these quantitatively dated mor
Authors
Annie Rossi, Robert Graham, Katherine J. Kendrick
Establishing high-frequency noise baselines to 100 Hz based on millions of power spectra from IRIS MUSTANG
Advances in seismic instrumentation have enabled data to be recorded at increasing sample rates. This has in turn created a need to establish higher-frequency baselines for assessing data quality, as the widely-used New High (NHNM) and Low Noise Models (NLNM) of Peterson (1993) do not extend to frequencies above 10 Hz. To provide a baseline for higher frequencies (10-100 Hz), we examine power sp
Authors
Emily Wolin, Daniel McNamara
Analog experiments of lava flow emplacement
Laboratory experiments that simulate lava flows have been in use by volcanologists for many years. The behavior of flows in the lab, where “eruption” parameters, material properties, and environmental settings are tightly controlled, provides insight into the influence of various factors on flow evolution. A second benefit of laboratory lava flows is to provide a set of observations with which num
Authors
Einat Lev, M. Elise Rumpf, Hannah R. Dietterich