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Publications

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Seismic wave propagation and basin amplification in the Wasatch Front, Utah

Ground‐motion analysis of more than 3000 records from 59 earthquakes, including records from the March 2020 Mw 5.7 Magna earthquake sequence, was carried out to investigate site response and basin amplification in the Wasatch Front, Utah. We compare ground motions with the Bayless and Abrahamson (2019; hereafter, BA18) ground‐motion model (GMM) for Fourier amplitude spectra, which was developed on
Authors
Morgan P. Moschetti, David Henry Churchwell, Eric M. Thompson, John Rekoske, Emily Wolin, Oliver S. Boyd

Stress controls rupture extent and maximum magnitude of induced earthquakes

Seismic hazard forecasts of induced seismicity often require estimates of the maximum possible magnitude (Mmax). Empirical models suggest that maximum magnitudes, or expected number of earthquakes, are related to the volume of injected fluid. We perform a suite of 3D physics-based earthquake simulations with rate- and state-dependent friction, systematically varying the area of the pressurized reg
Authors
K. A. Kroll, Elizabeth S. Cochran

The proliferation of induced seismicity in the Permian Basin, Texas

The Permian Basin has a long history of induced earthquakes, but the seismicity rates have increased dramatically over the past two decades and included a MW 5.0 likely induced by wastewater disposal (WD) in March 2020. A detailed characterization of the proliferation of seismicity in the Permian Basin throughout this time period is needed for improving the scientific understanding of the mechanis
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Daniel T. Trugman

Correlation of porosity variations and rheological transitions on the southern Cascadia megathrust

The unknown onshore extent of megathrust earthquake rupture in the Cascadia subduction zone represents a key uncertainty in earthquake hazard for the Pacific Northwest that is governed by the physical state and mechanical properties of the plate interface. The Cascadia plate interface is segmented into an interseismically locked zone located primarily offshore that is expected to rupture in large
Authors
Hao Guo, Jeffrey McGuire, Haijiang Zhang

Prehistoric earthquakes on the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault, North Palm Springs, California

We studied a paleoseismic trench excavated in 2017 across the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault and herein provide the first detailed record of ground-breaking earthquakes on this important fault in Southern California. The trench exposed an ~40-m-wide fault zone cutting through alluvial sand, gravel, silt, and clay deposits. We evaluated the paleoseismic record using a new metric that combi
Authors
Bryan A. Castillo, Sally F. McGill, Katherine Scharer, Doug Yule, Devin McPhillips, James McNeil, Sourav Saha, Nathan D. Brown, Seulgi Moon

Structure and Qp-Qs relations in the Seattle and Tualatin basins from converted seismic phases

We use converted body‐wave phases from local earthquakes to constrain depth to basement and average attenuation relations for the Seattle basin in Washington and the Tualatin basin in Oregon. P‐, P‐to‐S‐(Ps), S‐to‐P‐(Sp), and S‐wave arrivals are present in three‐component recordings of magnitude 2.5–4.0 earthquakes at seismic stations located in these basins. Based on their relative travel times,
Authors
Ian Stone, Erin Wirth, Arthur Frankel

Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios from California sites: Open-source database and data interpretation to establish site parameters

Frequency-dependent horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) of Fourier amplitudes from three-component recordings can provide information on one or more site resonant frequencies and relative levels of amplification at those frequencies. Such information is potentially useful for predicting site amplification but is not present in site databases that have been developed over the last 15–20 y
Authors
Pengfei Wang, Paolo Zimmaro, Tatiana Gospe, Sean Kamran Ahdi, Alan Yong, Jonathan P. Stewart

Ground motions in urban Los Angeles from the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence

We study ground-motion response in urban Los Angeles during the two largest events (M7.1 and M6.4) of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence using recordings from multiple regional seismic networks as well as a subset of 350 stations from the much denser Community Seismic Network. In the first part of our study, we examine the observed response spectral (pseudo) accelerations for a selection of p
Authors
Filippos Filippitzis, Monica Kohler, Tom Heaton, Robert Graves, Robert W. Clayton, Richard G. Guy, J. J. Bunn, K. M. Chandy

The San Andreas fault paleoseismic record at Elizabeth Lake: Why are there fewer surface-rupturing earthquakes on the Mojave section?

The structural complexity of active faults and the stress release history along the fault system may exert control on the locus and extent of individual earthquake ruptures. Fault bends, in particular, are often invoked as a possible mechanism for terminating earthquake ruptures. However, there are few records available to examine how these factors may influence the along‐fault recurrence of earth
Authors
Sean Bemis, Katherine Scharer, James D. Dolan

Shear-wave velocity site characterization in Oklahoma from joint inversion of multi-method surface seismic measurements: Implications for central U.S. Ground Motion Prediction

We analyze multimethod shear (SH)‐wave velocity (⁠VS) site characterization data acquired at three permanent and 25 temporary seismograph stations in Oklahoma that recorded M 4+ earthquakes within a 50 km hypocentral distance of at least one of the 2016 M 5.1 Fairview, M 5.8 Pawnee, or M 5.0 Cushing earthquakes to better constrain earthquake ground‐motion modeling in the region. We acquired active
Authors
William J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Stephen H. Hartzell, Alena L. Leeds, Robert Williams

Regional calibration of hybrid ground‐motion simulations in moderate seismicity areas: Application to the Upper Rhine Graben

This study presents the coupling of the spectral decomposition results for anelastic attenuation, stress drop, and site effects with the Graves‐Pitarka (GP) hybrid ground‐motion simulation methodology, as implemented on the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) broadband platform (BBP). It is targeted to applications in the Upper Rhine graben (URG), which is among the seismically active are
Authors
Hoby N. T. Razafindrakoto, Fabrice Cotton, Dino Bindi, Marco Pilz, Robert Graves, Sanjay Bora

A review of timing accuracy across the Global Seismographic Network

The accuracy of timing across a seismic network is important for locating earthquakes as well as studies that use phase‐arrival information (e.g., tomography). The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) was designed with the goal of having reported timing be better than 10 ms. In this work, we provide a brief overview of how timing is kept across the GSN and discuss how clock‐quality metrics are embed
Authors
Adam T. Ringler, Robert E. Anthony, David C. Wilson, D. Auerbach, S. Bargabus, P.W. Davis, M. Gunnels, K. Hafner, James Holland, A. Kearns, E. Klimczak