Publications
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Updating the USGS seismic hazard maps for Alaska
The U.S. Geological Survey makes probabilistic seismic hazard maps and engineering design maps for building codes, emergency planning, risk management, and many other applications. The methodology considers all known earthquake sources with their associated magnitude and rate distributions. Specific faults can be modeled if slip-rate or recurrence information is available. Otherwise, areal sources
Authors
Charles Mueller, Richard W. Briggs, Robert L. Wesson, Mark D. Petersen
Geologic and geomorphic controls on the occurrence of fens in the Oregon Cascades and implications for vulnerability and conservation
Montane fens are biologically diverse peat-forming wetlands that develop at points of groundwater discharge. To protect these ecosystems, it is critical to understand their locations on the landscape and the hydrogeologic systems that support them. The upper Deschutes Basin has a groundwater flow system that supports baseflow in many rivers, but little is known about the wetland types and groundwa
Authors
A. Aldous, Marshall W. Gannett, Mackenzie K. Keith, James E. O'Connor
Evolution of Mars’ Northern Polar Seasonal CO2 deposits: variations in surface brightness and bulk density
Small scale variations of seasonal ice are explored at different geomorphic units on the Northern Polar Seasonal Cap (NPSC). We use seasonal rock shadow measurements, combined with visible and thermal observations, to calculate density over time. The coupling of volume density and albedo allows us to determine the microphysical state of the seasonal CO2 ice. We find two distinct endmembers across
Authors
Christopher P. Mount, Timothy N. Titus
Surface monitoring of microseismicity at the Decatur, Illinois, CO2 sequestration demonstration site
Sequestration of CO2 into subsurface reservoirs can play an important role in limiting future emission of CO2 into the atmosphere (e.g., Benson and Cole, 2008). For geologic sequestration to become a viable option to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, large-volume injection of supercritical CO2 into deep sedimentary formations is required. These formations offer large pore volumes and good pore conn
Authors
J. Ole Kaven, Stephen H. Hickman, Arthur F. McGarr, William L. Ellsworth
Dynamic rupture models of earthquakes on the Bartlett Springs Fault, Northern California
The Bartlett Springs Fault (BSF), the easternmost branch of the northern San Andreas Fault system, creeps along much of its length. Geodetic data for the BSF are sparse, and surface creep rates are generally poorly constrained. The two existing geodetic slip rate inversions resolve at least one locked patch within the creeping zones. We use the 3-D finite element code FaultMod to conduct dynamic r
Authors
Julian C. Lozos, Ruth A. Harris, Jessica R. Murray, James J. Lienkaemper
The U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Collections Management System (GCMS)—A master catalog and collections management plan for U.S. Geological Survey geologic samples and sample collections
**Updated guidance is available in USGS Instructional Memorandum CSS 2019-01.**AbstractThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is widely recognized in the earth science community as possessing extensive collections of earth materials collected by research personnel over the course of its history. In 2006, a Geologic Collections Inventory was conducted within the USGS Geology Discipline to determine the
Authors
Stress- and structure-controlled anisotropy in a region of complex faulting—Yuha Desert, California
We examine shear velocity anisotropy in the Yuha Desert, California using aftershocks of the 2010 M7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake. The Yuha Desert is underlain by a complex network of right- and left-lateral conjugate faults, some of which experienced triggered slip during the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake. An automated method that implements multiple measurement windows and a range of bandpass fil
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kayla A. Kroll
Efforts to monitor and characterize the recent increasing seismicity in central Oklahoma
The sharp increase in seismicity over a broad region of central Oklahoma has raised concerns regarding the source of the activity and its potential hazard to local communities and energy-industry infrastructure. Efforts to monitor and characterize the earthquake sequences in central Oklahoma are reviewed. Since early 2010, numerous organizations have deployed temporary portable seismic stations in
Authors
Daniel E. McNamara, Justin L. Rubinstein, Emma Myers, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Harley M. Benz, Robert Williams, Gavin P. Hayes, David C. Wilson, Robert B. Herrmann, Nicole D McMahon, R.C. Aster, E. Bergman, Austin Holland, Paul S. Earle
Aspect-dependent soil saturation and insight into debris-flow initiation during extreme rainfall in the Colorado Front Range
Hydrologic processes during extreme rainfall events are poorly characterized because of the rarity of measurements. Improved understanding of hydrologic controls on natural hazards is needed because of the potential for substantial risk during extreme precipitation events. We present field measurements of the degree of soil saturation and estimates of available soil-water storage during the Septem
Authors
Brian A. Ebel, Francis K. Rengers, Gregory E. Tucker
High-rate injection is associated with the increase in U.S. mid-continent seismicity
An unprecedented increase in earthquakes in the U.S. mid-continent began in 2009. Many of these earthquakes have been documented as induced by wastewater injection. We examine the relationship between wastewater injection and U.S. mid-continent seismicity using a newly assembled injection well database for the central and eastern United States. We find that the entire increase in earthquake rate i
Authors
Matthew Weingarten, Shemin Ge, Jonathan W. Godt, Barbara A. Bekins, Justin L. Rubinstein
On a report that the 2012 M 6.0 earthquake in Italy was predicted after seeing an unusual cloud formation
Several recently published reports have suggested that semi-stationary linear-cloud formations might be causally precursory to earthquakes. We examine the report of Guangmeng and Jie (2013), who claim to have predicted the 2012 M 6.0 earthquake in the Po Valley of northern Italy after seeing a satellite photograph (a digital image) showing a linear-cloud formation over the eastern Apennine Mountai
Authors
J.N. Thomas, F. Masci, Jeffrey J. Love
The central uplift of Ritchey crater, Mars
Ritchey crater is a ∼79 km diameter complex crater near the boundary between Hesperian ridged plains and Noachian highland terrain on Mars (28.8°S, 309.0°E) that formed after the Noachian. High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images of the central peak reveal fractured massive bedrock and megabreccia with large clasts. Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) spe
Authors
Ning Ding, Veronica J. Bray, Alfred S. McEwen, Sarah S. Mattson, Chris H. Okubo, Matthew Chojnacki, Livio L. Tornabene