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Normal-faulting slip maxima and stress-drop variability: A geological perspective

We present an empirical estimate of maximum slip in continental normal-faulting earthquakes and present evidence that stress drop in intraplate extensional environments is dependent on fault maturity. A survey of reported slip in historical earthquakes globally and in latest Quaternary paleoearthquakes in the Western Cordillera of the United States indicates maximum vertical displacements as large
Authors
Suzanne Hecker, T. E. Dawson, D. P. Schwartz

Analysis of elevation changes detected from multi-temporal LiDAR surveys in forested landslide terrain in western Oregon

We examined elevation changes detected from two successive sets of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data in the northern Coast Range of Oregon. The first set of LiDAR data was acquired during leafon conditions and the second set during leaf-off conditions. We were able to successfully identify and map active landslides using a differential digital elevation model (DEM) created from the two LiDA
Authors
W.J. Burns, J. A. Coe, B.S. Kaya, Liwang Ma

Liquefaction caused by the 2009 Olancha, California (USA), M5.2 earthquake

The October 3, 2009 (01:16:00 UTC), Olancha M5.2 earthquake caused extensive liquefaction as well as permanent horizontal ground deformation within a 1.2 km2area earthquake in Owens Valley in eastern California (USA). Such liquefaction is rarely observed during earthquakes of M ≤ 5.2. We conclude that subsurface conditions, not unusual ground motion, were the primary factors contributing to the li
Authors
T.L. Holzer, A. S. Jayko, E. Hauksson, J.P.B. Fletcher, T.E. Noce, M.J. Bennett, C.M. Dietel, K.W. Hudnut

Decay of aftershock density with distance does not indicate triggering by dynamic stress

Resolving whether static or dynamic stress triggers most aftershocks and subsequent mainshocks is essential to understand earthquake interaction and to forecast seismic hazard. Felzer and Brodsky examined the distance distribution of earthquakes occurring in the first five minutes after 2 ≤ M 
Authors
K. Richards-Dinger, R. S. Stein, S. Toda

High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides

Earthquakes on strike-slip faults can produce devastating natural hazards. However, because they consist predominantly of lateral motion, these faults are rarely associated with significant uplift or tsunami generation. And although submarine slides can generate tsunami, only a few per cent of all tsunami are believed to be triggered in this way. The 12 January Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake exhibited pr
Authors
M.J. Hornbach, N. Braudy, R.W. Briggs, M.-H. Cormier, M.B. Davis, J.B. Diebold, N. Dieudonne, R. Douilly, C. Frohlich, S.P.S. Gulick, H. E. Johnson, P. Mann, C. McHugh, K. Ryan-Mishkin, C. S. Prentice, L. Seeber, C.C. Sorlien, M.S. Steckler, S.J. Symithe, F. W. Taylor, J. Templeton

Structural geology of Amazonian-aged layered sedimentary deposits in southwest Candor Chasma, Mars

The structural geology of an outcropping of layered sedimentary deposits in southwest Candor Chasma is mapped using two adjacent high-resolution (1 m/pixel) HiRISE digital elevation models and orthoimagery. Analysis of these structural data yields new insight into the depositional and deformational history of these deposits. Bedding in non-deformed areas generally dips toward the center of west Ca
Authors
Chris Okubo

Methane hydrate synthesis from ice: Influence of pressurization and ethanol on optimizing formation rates and hydrate yield

Polycrystalline methane gas hydrate (MGH) was synthesized using an ice-seeding method to investigate the influence of pressurization and ethanol on the hydrate formation rate and gas yield of the resulting samples. When the reactor is pressurized with CH4 gas without external heating, methane hydrate can be formed from ice grains with yields up to 25% under otherwise static conditions. The rapid t
Authors
Po-Chun. Chen, Wuu-Liang Huang, Laura A. Stern

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty stereo pai
Authors
Alfred S. McEwen, Maria E. Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris J. Becker, Aaron Boyd, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank C. Chuang, Larry S. Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix K. Davatzes, Donald G. Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Alan Delamere, Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Colin M. Dundas, Eric M. Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn E. Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul E. Geissler, John A. Grant, Jennifer L. Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia C. Gulick, Candice J. Hansen, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy L. Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph L. Kirk, Kelly J. Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin W. Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses P. Milazzo, Ralph E. Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea J. Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick S. Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi L. Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve W. Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley J. Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine M. Weitz, James J. Wray

Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story

Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a single eru
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses P. Milazzo, Alfred S. McEwen, Timothy N. Titus, Mark R. Rosiek, Donna M. Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph L. Kirk

Color imaging of Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)

HiRISE has been producing a large number of scientifically useful color products of Mars and other planetary objects. The three broad spectral bands, coupled with the highly sensitive 14 bit detectors and time delay integration, enable detection of subtle color differences. The very high spatial resolution of HiRISE can augment the mineralogic interpretations based on multispectral (THEMIS) and hy
Authors
W. Alan Delamere, Livio L. Tornabene, Alfred S. McEwen, Kris J. Becker, James W. Bergstrom, Nathan T. Bridges, Eric M. Eliason, Dennis Gallagher, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Moses P. Milazzo, Patrick S. Russell, Nicolas Thomas

Observing the Greatest Earthquakes: AGU Chapman Conference on Giant Earthquakes and Their Tsunamis: Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, Chile, 16–20 May 2010

An AGU Chapman Conference commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the 1960 M 9.5 Chile earthquake. Participants reexamined this earthquake, the largest ever recorded instrumentally, and compared it with Chile's February 2010 M 8.8 earthquake. They also addressed the giant earthquake potential of subduction zones worldwide and strategies for reducing losses due to tsunamis. The conference drew 96
Authors
Brian F. Atwater, Sergio Barrientos, Inés Cifuentes, Marco Cisternas, Kelin Wang

Distribution and tsunamigenic potential of submarine landslides in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is a geologically diverse ocean basin that includes three distinct geologic provinces: a carbonate province, a salt province, and canyon to deep-sea fan province, all of which contain evidence of submarine mass movements. The threat of submarine landslides in the GOM as a generator of near-field damaging tsunamis has not been widely addressed. Submarine landslides in the G
Authors
Jason D. Chaytor, David C. Twichell, Patrick Lynett, Eric L. Geist
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