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Proximity of Precambrian basement affects the likelihood of induced seismicity in the Appalachian, Illinois, and Williston Basins, central and eastern United States

A dramatic seismicity rate increase in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) over the past decade has been largely associated with the increase in enhanced oil and gas recovery operations and change in industry practices. However, certain areas of the CEUS that have experienced large increases in oil and gas operations, such as the Bakken and Marcellus Shale plays (Williston and Appalachian
Authors
Robert J. Skoumal, Michael R. Brudzinski, Brian S. Currie

The HayWired earthquake scenario—We can outsmart disaster

The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. The fault is along the east side of California’s San Francisco Bay and is among the most active and dangerous in the United States, because it runs through a densely urbanized and interconnected region. One way to learn about a large e
Authors
Kenneth W. Hudnut, Anne M. Wein, Dale A. Cox, Keith A. Porter, Laurie A. Johnson, Suzanne C. Perry, Jennifer L. Bruce, Drew LaPointe

Measuring impact crater depth throughout the solar system

One important, almost ubiquitous, tool for understanding the surfaces of solid bodies throughout the solar system is the study of impact craters. While measuring a distribution of crater diameters and locations is an important tool for a wide variety of studies, so too is measuring a crater's “depth.” Depth can inform numerous studies including the strength of a surface and modification rates in t
Authors
Stuart J. Robbins, Wesley A. Watters, John E. Chappelow, Veronica J. Bray, Ingrid J. Daubar, Robert A. Craddock, Ross A. Beyer, Margaret E. Landis, Lillian R. Ostrach, Livio L. Tornabene, Jamie D. Riggs, Brian P. Weaver

Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars

Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater geological history
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Jessica A. Watkins, Dawn Y. Sumner, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin W. Lewis, Lauren A. Edgar, Kathryn M. Stack, Robert Barnes, James F. Bell, Mackenzie D. Day, Ryan C. Ewing, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Nathan T. Stein, Frances Rivera-Hernández, Ashwin R. Vasavada

Relaxed impact craters on Ganymede: Regional variation and high heat flows

Viscously relaxed craters provide a window into the thermal history of Ganymede, a satellite with copious geologic signs of past high heat flows. Here we present measurements of relaxed craters in four regions for which suitable imaging exists: near Anshar Sulcus, Tiamat Sulcus, northern Marius Regio, and Ganymede's south pole. We describe a technique to measure apparent depth, or depth of the cra
Authors
Kelsi N. Singer, Michael T. Bland, Paul M. Schenk, William B. McKinnon

Incorporating spatially heterogeneous infiltration capacity into hydrologic models with applications for simulating post‐wildfire debris flow initiation

Soils in post‐wildfire environments are often characterized by a low infiltration capacity with a high degree of spatial heterogeneity relative to unburned areas. Debris flows are frequently initiated by run‐off in recently burned steeplands, making it critical to develop and test methods for incorporating spatial variability in infiltration capacity into hydrologic models. We use Monte Carlo simu
Authors
Luke A. McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Dennis M. Staley, Benjamin B. Mirus

Improving near‐real‐time coseismic landslide models: Lessons learned from the 2016 Kaikōura, New Zealand, earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing near‐real‐time global earthquake‐triggered‐landslide products to augment the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system. The 14 November 2016 MwMw 7.8 Kaikōura, New Zealand, earthquake provided a test case for evaluating the performance and near‐real‐time response applicability of three published global seismically induc
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Chris Massey, David J. Wald, Jonathan W. Godt, Francis K. Rengers

2018 one‐year seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes

This article describes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2018 one‐year probabilistic seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes. For consistency, the updated 2018 forecast is developed using the same probabilistic seismicity‐based methodology as applied in the two previous forecasts. Rates of earthquakes across the United States M≥3.0 gre
Authors
Mark D. Petersen, Charles Mueller, Morgan P. Moschetti, Susan M. Hoover, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Daniel E. McNamara, Robert A. Williams, Allison Shumway, Peter M. Powers, Paul S. Earle, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Justin L. Rubinstein, Jack Norbeck, Elizabeth S. Cochran

Overview of the geologic effects of the November 14, 2016, Mw 7.8 Kaikoura, New Zealand, earthquake

The November 14, 2016, Kaikoura, New Zealand, earthquake (moment magnitude [Mw] 7.8) triggered more than 10,000 landslides over an area of about 12,000 square kilometers in the northeastern part of the South Island of New Zealand. In collaboration with GNS Science (the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science Limited), we conducted ground and helicopter reconnaissance of the affected areas and
Authors
Randall W. Jibson, Kate E. Allstadt, Francis K. Rengers, Jonathan W. Godt

Ceres internal structure from geophysical constraints

Thermal evolution modeling has yielded a variety of interior structures for Ceres, ranging from a modestly differentiated interior to more advanced evolution with a dry silicate core, a hydrated silicate mantle, and a volatile‐rich crust. Here we compute the mass and hydrostatic flattening from more than one hundred billion three‐layer density models for Ceres and describe the characteristics of t
Authors
S.J. King, J. C. Castillo-Rogez, M. J. Toplis, Michael T. Bland, C. A. Raymond, C. T. Russell

Pleistocene vertical motions of the Costa Rican outer forearc from subducting topography and a migrating fracture zone triple junction

Understanding the links between subducting slabs and upper-plate deformation is a longstanding goal in the field of tectonics. New 3D seismic sequence stratigraphy, mapped within the Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) seismic-reflection volume offshore southern Costa Rica, spatiotemporally constrains several Pleistocene outer forearc processes and provides clearer connections to subducting p
Authors
Joel H. Edwards, Jared W. Kluesner, Eli A. Silver, Nathan L. Bangs

Seismicity induced by wastewater injection in Washington County, Ohio: Influence of preexisting structure, regional stress regime, and well operations

Recent seismicity in Washington County, Ohio, has been suggested to be induced by wastewater disposal operations despite injection ~2 km above the Precambrian basement. We investigated the relationships between disposal well locations and operational histories, spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity enhanced by waveform correlation, and mapped subsurface structures. We also analyzed proxies for in
Authors
Brian S. Currie, James C. Free, Michael R. Brudzinski, Max Leveridge, Robert J. Skoumal