David J Wald
Dr. Wald is a Seismologist with the USGS in Golden. He is involved in research, development & operations of several real-time earthquake information systems at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. He developed and manages “ShakeMap”, “Did You Feel it?”, & is responsible for developing other systems for post-earthquake response & pre-earthquake mitigation, including ShakeCast.
Wald's scientific interests include the characterization of rupture processes from complex recent and historic earthquakes using combined geodetic, teleseismic, and strong motion data; waveform modelling and inversion; analysis of ground motion hazards and site effects; earthquake source physics; and modelling earthquake-induced landslides, liquefaction, and losses, macroseismic intensity, building damage, financial and human impact, rapid damage and impact assessment, earthquake scenario development and mitigation planning and drills, and communication with the media, public, and emergency managers.
Previously at Caltech, and now at the Colorado School of Mines, Wald has advised dozens of post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate student research projects. Wald directly supervises 10 PhD level scientists and 5 five BS and MS level support staff, and supervises several students. Wald serves on several PhD committees at this time. This research has resulted in more than 450 professional publications that David has authored or co-authored, including journal papers, USGS publication series, conference papers, and published abstracts.
Education:
Post-doctoral Fellow, Geophysics, National Research Council, USGS, Pasadena, 1995
Ph.D., Geophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 1993
M.S., Geophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1986
B.S., Geology & Physics, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, 1984
Honors and Awards
2025 - Alfred E. Alquist Special Recognition Medal of Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2023 - Presidential Rank Award
2023 - USGS Shoemaker Lifetime Achievement Award in Communications
2023 - American Geophysical Union Fellow
2018—2023 - Editor-in-Chief, Earthquake Spectra
2021 - Joyner Lectureship, Seismological Society of America and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2015—2017 - Board of Directors, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2016 - Meritorious Service Award (MSA), Department of the Interior
2015 - Distinguished Lecturer, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2015—2017 - Board of Directors, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
2009—2011 - Board of Directors, Seismological Society of America
2010 - Superior Service Award (SSA), Department of the Interior
2009 - Frank Press Public Service Award of the Seismological Society of America
2004 - Seismological Society of America’s Distinguished Lecturer
2003 - U.S.G.S. Shoemaker Award. Excellence in Communications
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 160
ShakeMap-based prediction of earthquake-induced mass movements in Switzerland calibrated on historical observations
In Switzerland, nearly all historical Mw ~ 6 earthquakes have induced damaging landslides, rockslides and snow avalanches that, in some cases, also resulted in damage to infrastructure and loss of lives. We describe the customisation to Swiss conditions of a globally calibrated statistical approach originally developed to rapidly assess earthquake-induced landslide likelihoods worldwide...
Authors
Carlo Cauzzi, Donat Fah, David J. Wald, John F. Clinton, Stephane Losey, Stefan Wiemer
The intensity signature of induced seismicity
We analyze a comprehensive database of ∼63,000 geocoded community intensity observations from >400 earthquakes of moment magnitude M≥3.5 in Oklahoma from 2010 to 2016 to define the intensity signature of induced events. We show that natural and induced events have similar average intensities within 10 km of the epicenter. At greater distances, induced events have low‐average intensities...
Authors
Gail M. Atkinson, David J. Wald, Charles Worden, Vince Quitoriano
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...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Chris Massey, David J. Wald, Jonathan Godt, Francis K. Rengers
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
For more than 20 yrs, damage patterns and instrumental recordings have highlighted the influence of the local 3D geologic structure on earthquake ground motions (e.g., MM 6.7 Northridge, California, Gao et al., 1996; MM 6.9 Kobe, Japan, Kawase, 1996; MM 6.8 Nisqually, Washington, Frankel, Carver, and Williams, 2002). Although this and other local‐scale features are critical to improving...
Authors
Morgan P. Moschetti, Nico Luco, Arthur Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Brad T. Aagaard, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Michael L. Blanpied, Oliver S. Boyd, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Robert Graves, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian, William J. Stephenson, David J. Wald, Robert Williams, Kyle Withers
Spatial and spectral interpolation of ground-motion intensity measure observations
Following a significant earthquake, ground‐motion observations are available for a limited set of locations and intensity measures (IMs). Typically, however, it is desirable to know the ground motions for additional IMs and at locations where observations are unavailable. Various interpolation methods are available, but because IMs or their logarithms are normally distributed, spatially...
Authors
Charles Worden, Eric M. Thompson, Jack W. Baker, Brendon A. Bradley, Nico Luco, David J. Wald
An open repository of earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventories
Earthquake-triggered ground failure, such as landsliding and liquefaction, can contribute significantly to losses, but our current ability to accurately include them in earthquake-hazard analyses is limited. The development of robust and widely applicable models requires access to numerous inventories of ground failures triggered by earthquakes that span a broad range of terrains...
Authors
Robert G. Schmitt, Hakan Tanyaş, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, Jing Zhu, Katherine M. Biegel, Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Cees J. van Westen, Hiroshi Sato, David J. Wald, Jonathan Godt, Tolga Görüm, Chong Xu, Ellen Rathje, Keith L. Knudsen
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus...
Authors
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill Baron, R. Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul Milly, Toni Lyn Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy Newman, Andrea Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard L. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
Development and utilization of USGS ShakeCast for rapid post-earthquake assessment of critical facilities and infrastructure
The ShakeCast system is an openly available, near real-time post-earthquake information management system. ShakeCast is widely used by public and private emergency planners and responders, lifeline utility operators and transportation engineers to automatically receive and process ShakeMap products for situational awareness, inspection priority, or damage assessment of their own...
Authors
David J. Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin, C. A. Kircher, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Nico Luco, L. Turner, Daniel Slosky
Integrating landslide and liquefaction hazard and loss estimates with existing USGS real-time earthquake information products
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made significant progress toward the rapid estimation of shaking and shakingrelated losses through their Did You Feel It? (DYFI), ShakeMap, ShakeCast, and PAGER products. However, quantitative estimates of the extent and severity of secondary hazards (e.g., landsliding, liquefaction) are not currently included in scenarios and real-time post...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, J. Zhu, David J. Wald, Hakan Tanyaş
Using structural damage statistics to derive macroseismic intensity within the Kathmandu valley for the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake
We make and analyze structural damage observations from within the Kathmandu valley following the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake to derive macroseismic intensities at several locations including some located near ground motion recording sites. The macroseismic intensity estimates supplement the limited strong ground motion data in order to characterize the damage statistics. This...
Authors
Sean M. McGowan, Kishor S. Jaiswal, David J. Wald
Computing spatial correlation of ground motion intensities for ShakeMap
Modeling the spatial correlation of ground motion residuals, caused by coherent contributions from source, path, and site, can provide valuable loss and hazard information, as well as a more realistic depiction of ground motion intensities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) software package, ShakeMap, utilizes a deterministic empirical approach to estimate median ground shaking in...
Authors
Sarah Verros, David J. Wald, Charles Worden, Mike Hearne, Mahadevan Ganesh
Money matters: Rapid post-earthquake financial decision-making
Post-earthquake financial decision-making is a realm beyond that of many people. In the immediate aftermath of a damaging earthquake, billions of dollars of relief, recovery, and insurance funds are in the balance through new financial instruments that allow those with resources to hedge against disasters and those at risk to limit their earthquake losses and receive funds for response...
Authors
David J. Wald, Guillermo Franco
Non-USGS Publications**
References in Google Scholar
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 160
ShakeMap-based prediction of earthquake-induced mass movements in Switzerland calibrated on historical observations
In Switzerland, nearly all historical Mw ~ 6 earthquakes have induced damaging landslides, rockslides and snow avalanches that, in some cases, also resulted in damage to infrastructure and loss of lives. We describe the customisation to Swiss conditions of a globally calibrated statistical approach originally developed to rapidly assess earthquake-induced landslide likelihoods worldwide...
Authors
Carlo Cauzzi, Donat Fah, David J. Wald, John F. Clinton, Stephane Losey, Stefan Wiemer
The intensity signature of induced seismicity
We analyze a comprehensive database of ∼63,000 geocoded community intensity observations from >400 earthquakes of moment magnitude M≥3.5 in Oklahoma from 2010 to 2016 to define the intensity signature of induced events. We show that natural and induced events have similar average intensities within 10 km of the epicenter. At greater distances, induced events have low‐average intensities...
Authors
Gail M. Atkinson, David J. Wald, Charles Worden, Vince Quitoriano
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...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Chris Massey, David J. Wald, Jonathan Godt, Francis K. Rengers
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
For more than 20 yrs, damage patterns and instrumental recordings have highlighted the influence of the local 3D geologic structure on earthquake ground motions (e.g., MM 6.7 Northridge, California, Gao et al., 1996; MM 6.9 Kobe, Japan, Kawase, 1996; MM 6.8 Nisqually, Washington, Frankel, Carver, and Williams, 2002). Although this and other local‐scale features are critical to improving...
Authors
Morgan P. Moschetti, Nico Luco, Arthur Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Brad T. Aagaard, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Michael L. Blanpied, Oliver S. Boyd, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Robert Graves, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian, William J. Stephenson, David J. Wald, Robert Williams, Kyle Withers
Spatial and spectral interpolation of ground-motion intensity measure observations
Following a significant earthquake, ground‐motion observations are available for a limited set of locations and intensity measures (IMs). Typically, however, it is desirable to know the ground motions for additional IMs and at locations where observations are unavailable. Various interpolation methods are available, but because IMs or their logarithms are normally distributed, spatially...
Authors
Charles Worden, Eric M. Thompson, Jack W. Baker, Brendon A. Bradley, Nico Luco, David J. Wald
An open repository of earthquake-triggered ground-failure inventories
Earthquake-triggered ground failure, such as landsliding and liquefaction, can contribute significantly to losses, but our current ability to accurately include them in earthquake-hazard analyses is limited. The development of robust and widely applicable models requires access to numerous inventories of ground failures triggered by earthquakes that span a broad range of terrains...
Authors
Robert G. Schmitt, Hakan Tanyaş, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, Jing Zhu, Katherine M. Biegel, Kate E. Allstadt, Randall W. Jibson, Eric M. Thompson, Cees J. van Westen, Hiroshi Sato, David J. Wald, Jonathan Godt, Tolga Görüm, Chong Xu, Ellen Rathje, Keith L. Knudsen
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus...
Authors
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill Baron, R. Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul Milly, Toni Lyn Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy Newman, Andrea Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard L. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
Development and utilization of USGS ShakeCast for rapid post-earthquake assessment of critical facilities and infrastructure
The ShakeCast system is an openly available, near real-time post-earthquake information management system. ShakeCast is widely used by public and private emergency planners and responders, lifeline utility operators and transportation engineers to automatically receive and process ShakeMap products for situational awareness, inspection priority, or damage assessment of their own...
Authors
David J. Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin, C. A. Kircher, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Nico Luco, L. Turner, Daniel Slosky
Integrating landslide and liquefaction hazard and loss estimates with existing USGS real-time earthquake information products
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made significant progress toward the rapid estimation of shaking and shakingrelated losses through their Did You Feel It? (DYFI), ShakeMap, ShakeCast, and PAGER products. However, quantitative estimates of the extent and severity of secondary hazards (e.g., landsliding, liquefaction) are not currently included in scenarios and real-time post...
Authors
Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, J. Zhu, David J. Wald, Hakan Tanyaş
Using structural damage statistics to derive macroseismic intensity within the Kathmandu valley for the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake
We make and analyze structural damage observations from within the Kathmandu valley following the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake to derive macroseismic intensities at several locations including some located near ground motion recording sites. The macroseismic intensity estimates supplement the limited strong ground motion data in order to characterize the damage statistics. This...
Authors
Sean M. McGowan, Kishor S. Jaiswal, David J. Wald
Computing spatial correlation of ground motion intensities for ShakeMap
Modeling the spatial correlation of ground motion residuals, caused by coherent contributions from source, path, and site, can provide valuable loss and hazard information, as well as a more realistic depiction of ground motion intensities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) software package, ShakeMap, utilizes a deterministic empirical approach to estimate median ground shaking in...
Authors
Sarah Verros, David J. Wald, Charles Worden, Mike Hearne, Mahadevan Ganesh
Money matters: Rapid post-earthquake financial decision-making
Post-earthquake financial decision-making is a realm beyond that of many people. In the immediate aftermath of a damaging earthquake, billions of dollars of relief, recovery, and insurance funds are in the balance through new financial instruments that allow those with resources to hedge against disasters and those at risk to limit their earthquake losses and receive funds for response...
Authors
David J. Wald, Guillermo Franco
Non-USGS Publications**
References in Google Scholar
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.