Publications

We use >10,000 km of high-resolution seismic-reflection data together with multibeam bathymetry to document complex and highly variable post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sediment distribution and thickness in the coastal zone (~10 m isobath to 5.6 km offshore) along a ~800 km section of central California's transform continental margin. Sediment thickness ranges from 0 (seafloor bedrock) to 64 m wit

We develop a remote wave gauging technique to estimate wave height and period from imagery of waves in the surf zone. In this proof-of-concept study, we apply the same framework to three datasets: the first, a set of close-range monochrome infrared (IR) images of individual nearshore waves at Duck, NC, USA; the second, a set of visible (i.e. RGB) band orthomosaics of a larger nearshore area near S

The multisegment Wasatch fault zone is a well-studied normal fault in the western United States that has paleoseismic evidence of recurrent Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes. Along the 270-km-long central part of the fault, four primary structural complexities provide possible along-strike limits to these ruptures and form the basis for models of fault segmentation. Here, we assess the impact

We show the effect of rupture directivity on peak ground‐motion values for a moderate magnitude event at Anza, California, and neighboring stations at the Imperial Valley. The event was located near Borrego Springs on the west side of the Salton Sea and was well recorded at broadband stations near Anza, California, and at stations on the west side of the Imperial Valley. After correcting for regio

The Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment (SBA CEVA) is a multidisciplinary research project that investigates future changes to southern Santa Barbara County climate, beaches, watersheds, wetland habitats and beach ecosystems. The target audience is local land use planners and decision makers. The main objective is to provide information that assists the Cities of Santa Ba

Prominent scarps on Pinedale glacial surfaces along the eastern base of the Teton Range confirm latest Pleistocene to Holocene surface‐faulting earthquakes on the Teton fault, but the timing of these events is only broadly constrained by a single previous paleoseismic study. We excavated two trenches at the Leigh Lake site near the center of the Teton fault to address open questions about earthqua

The 2018 annual report of the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center summarizes the work of the center, as well as the work of each of its science groups, highlights accomplishments of 2018, and includes a list of publications published in 2018. This product allows readers to gain a general understanding of the focus areas of the center’s scientific research and learn

Agencies and research groups engaged in studying measures for enhancing the resiliency of communities have recently placed emphasis on the need for extensive implementation of monitoring systems for rapid post-event assessment of structural integrity. Designing a monitoring system for a building requires a thorough knowledge of its potential nonlinear dynamic behavior with an associated localizati

Noachian-aged Jezero crater is the only known location on Mars where clear orbital detections of carbonates are found in close proximity to clear fluvio-lacustrine features indicating the past presence of a paleolake; however, it is unclear whether or not the carbonates in Jezero are related to the lacustrine activity. This distinction is critical for evaluating the astrobiological potential of th

The 1983 Mw 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake generated ∼36 km of surface rupture along the Thousand Springs and Warm Springs sections of the Lost River fault zone (LRFZ, Idaho, USA). Although the rupture is a well-studied example of multisegment surface faulting, ambiguity remains regarding the degree to which a bedrock ridge and branch fault at the Willow Creek Hills influenced rupture progress. To expl

World‐Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) records contain daily calibration pulses that can be used to retrieve the magnification as well as the response of the instrument for a given day record. We analyze a select number of long‐period vertical (LPZ) records from WWSSN station ALQ (Albuquerque, New Mexico). Although we find that the response of this instrument varies widely throughout

Communicating probabilities of natural hazards to varied audiences is a notoriously difficult task. Many of these challenges were encountered during the 2016 Bombay Beach, California, swarm of ~100 2≤M≤4.3 earthquakes, which began on 26 September 2016 and lasted for several days. The swarm’s proximity to the southern end of the San Andreas fault caused concern that a larger earthquake could be tri