Publications
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Maximum magnitude earthquakes induced by fluid injection
Analysis of numerous case histories of earthquake sequences induced by fluid injection at depth reveals that the maximum magnitude appears to be limited according to the total volume of fluid injected. Similarly, the maximum seismic moment seems to have an upper bound proportional to the total volume of injected fluid. Activities involving fluid injection include (1) hydraulic fracturing of shale
Authors
Arthur F. McGarr
Slip rate and tremor genesis in Cascadia
At many plate boundaries, conditions in the transition zone between seismogenic and stable slip produce slow earthquakes. In the Cascadia subduction zone, these events are consistently observed as slow, aseismic slip on the plate interface accompanied by persistent tectonic tremor. However, not all slow slip at other plate boundaries coincides spatially and temporally with tremor, leaving the phys
Authors
Aaron G. Wech, Noel M. Bartlow
Deep long-period earthquakes west of the volcanic arc in Oregon: evidence of serpentine dehydration in the fore-arc mantle wedge
Here we report on deep long-period earthquakes (DLPs) newly observed in four places in western Oregon. The DLPs are noteworthy for their location within the subduction fore arc: 40–80 km west of the volcanic arc, well above the slab, and near the Moho. These “offset DLPs” occur near the top of the inferred stagnant mantle wedge, which is likely to be serpentinized and cold. The lack of fore-arc DL
Authors
John E. Vidale, David A. Schmidt, Stephen D. Malone, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Seth C. Moran, Kenneth C. Creager, Heidi Houston
Crustal earthquake triggering by pre-historic great earthquakes on subduction zone thrusts
Triggering of earthquakes on upper plate faults during and shortly after recent great (M>8.0) subduction thrust earthquakes raises concerns about earthquake triggering following Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes. Of particular regard to Cascadia was the previously noted, but only qualitatively identified, clustering of M>~6.5 crustal earthquakes in the Puget Sound region between about 1200–900
Authors
Brian Sherrod, Joan Gomberg
Water, ice and mud: Lahars and lahar hazards at ice- and snow-clad volcanoes
Large-volume lahars are significant hazards at ice and snow covered volcanoes. Hot eruptive products produced during explosive eruptions can generate a substantial volume of melt water that quickly evolves into highly mobile flows of ice, sediment and water. At present it is difficult to predict the size of lahars that can form at ice and snow covered volcanoes due to their complex flow character
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas
Hydrologic monitoring of a landslide-prone hillslope in the Elliott State Forest, Southern Coast Range, Oregon, 2009-2012
The Oregon Coast Range is dissected by numerous unchanneled headwater basins, which can
generate shallow landslides and debris flows during heavy or prolonged rainfall. An automated
monitoring system was installed in an unchanneled headwater basin to measure rainfall, volumetric
water content, groundwater temperature, and pore pressures at 15-minute intervals. The purpose of this
report is to
Authors
Joel B. Smith, Jonathan W. Godt, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe, William J. Burns, Michael M. Morse, Basak Sener-Kaya, Murat Kaya
Thermal behavior and ice-table depth within the north polar erg of Mars
We fully resolve a long-standing thermal discrepancy concerning the north polar erg of Mars. Several recent studies have shown that the erg’s thermal properties are consistent with normal basaltic sand overlying shallow ground ice or ice-cemented sand. Our findings bolster that conclusion by thoroughly characterizing the thermal behavior of the erg, demonstrating that other likely forms of physica
Authors
Nathaniel E. Putzig, Michael T. Mellon, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Roger J. Phillips, Brian J. Davis, Kenneth J. Ewer, Lauren M. Bowers
Landslides in the northern Colorado Front Range caused by rainfall, September 11-13, 2013
During the second week of September 2013, nearly continuous rainfall caused widespread landslides and flooding in the northern Colorado Front Range. The combination of landslides and flooding was responsible for eight fatalities and caused extensive damage to buildings, highways, and infrastructure. Three fatalities were attributed to a fast moving type of landslide called debris flow. One fatalit
Authors
Jonathan W. Godt, Jeffrey A. Coe, Jason W. Kean, Rex L. Baum, Eric S. Jones, Edwin L. Harp, Dennis M. Staley, William D. Barnhart
Emergency assessment of post-fire debris-flow hazards for the 2013 Springs Fire, Ventura County, California
Wildfire can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed to the extent that even modest rainstorms can produce dangerous flash floods and debris flows. In this report, empirical models are used to predict the probability and magnitude of debris-flow occurrence in response to a 10-year rainstorm for the 2013 Springs fire in Ventura County, California. Overall, the models predict a re
Authors
Dennis M. Staley
Constraining explosive volcanism: Subjective choices during estimates of eruption magnitude
When estimating the magnitude of explosive eruptions from their deposits, individuals make three sets of critical choices with respect to input data: the spacing of sampling sites, the selection of contour intervals to constrain the field measurements, and the hand contouring of thickness/isomass data, respectively. Volcanologists make subjective calls, as there are no accepted published protocols
Authors
Malin Klawonn, Bruce F. Houghton, Don Swanson, Sarah A. Fagents, Paul Wessel, Cecily J. Wolfe
Igneous mineralogy at Bradbury Rise: the first ChemCam campaign at Gale crater
Textural and compositional analyses using ChemCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) and
Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) have been performed on 5 float rocks and
coarse gravels along the first 100 meters of the Curiosity traverse at Bradbury rise.
ChemCam, the first LIBS instrument sent to another planet, offers the opportunity to assess
mineralogic diversity at grain-size scales (∼100μm) and,
Authors
V. Sautter, C. Fabre, O. Forni, M.J. Toplis, A. Cousin, A.M. Ollila, P.-Y. Meslin, S. Maurice, R. C. Wiens, D. Baratoux, N. Mangold, S. Le Mouélic, O. Gasnault, G. Berger, J. Lasue, R.A. Anderson, E. Lewin, M. Schmidt, D. Dyar, B.L. Ehlmann, J. Bridges, B. Clark, P. Pinet
Global surface displacement data for assessing variability of displacement at a point on a fault
This report presents a global dataset of site-specific surface-displacement data on faults. We have compiled estimates of successive displacements attributed to individual earthquakes, mainly paleoearthquakes, at sites where two or more events have been documented, as a basis for analyzing inter-event variability in surface displacement on continental faults.
An earlier version of this composite
Authors
Suzanne Hecker, Robert Sickler, Leah Feigelson, Norman Abrahamson, Will Hassett, Carla Rosa, Ann Sanquini