Jason Chaytor, PhD
I work on a variety of marine geological and geohazard topics including sedimentary processes and geochronology of submarine slope failures, deep-sea sedimentary systems, submarine geomorphology, and neotectonics in marine and near-shore environments.
Dr. Jason Chaytor is a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center. Jason conducts research on issues related to marine geohazards including submarine landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes, and plate tectonics and shallow- and deep-water sedimentary processes on Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific margins of the U.S. and in the northeast Caribbean. He is the current principle scientist for the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Sediments Laboratory.
Research Interests
Marine Geohazards
Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme geologic events that affect coastal areas and seabed infrastructure on regional and transoceanic scales. The hazards include submarine earthquakes, submarine slope failures, and tsunami generation. The sediment record of past offshore and coastal hazardous events is generally more complete in the marine environment than on land and can be investigated with geological and geophysical tools. My research involves the identification and characterization of areas of the seafloor and subseafloor within and adjacent to the U.S. EEZ that record a history of fault movement or slope failure (or have the potential to be effected by these processes in the future). Included in this work is the development of conceptual models of seafloor movement and local/regional sedimentation patterns and supporting geochronological frameworks, formulation, planning and performance of field sampling and geophysical imaging activities and laboratory analyses, investigation of local and regional sedimentation processes, and communication of event characteristics to modelers and other stake holders to aid in developing hazard assessments.
Marine Sedimentation Processes and Framework Geology
I investigate dynamic shallow-water (< 200 m) and deep-water sedimentary environments to characterize physical properties affecting acoustic propagation (ONR Mud Patch Project), to evaluate the hazard of recurring seafloor motion to critical offshore infrastructure, and in the development of regional geologic analysis of surfical geologic processes across multiple potential areas of interest in to the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project.
Education and Certifications
2006-2009: Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA
2006: PhD, Geological Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon,
Science and Products
Assessment of canyon wall failure process from multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) observations, U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations
Exploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
Core data from offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
In 2008, as a collaborative effort between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey, 20 giant gravity cores were collected from areas surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The regions sampled have had many large earthquake and landslide events, some of which are believed to have triggered tsunamis. The objective of this coring cruise, carried out aboard th
Chirp seismic-reflection data from the Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. mid-Atlantic margin
Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean
The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event l
Assessment of tsunami hazard to the U.S. Atlantic margin
Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Slope failures and timing of turbidity flows north of Puerto Rico
Bathymetric Terrain Model of the Puerto Rico Trench and the Northeastern Caribbean Region for Marine Geological Investigations
Multibeam bathymetry data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench and Northeast Caribbean region are compiled into a seamless bathymetric terrain model for broad-scale geological investigations of the trench system. These data, collected during eight separate surveys between 2002 and 2013, covering almost 180,000 square kilometers are published here in large format map sheet and digital spatial data.
Geomorphic characterization of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Geomorphic process fingerprints in submarine canyons
Science and Products
Assessment of canyon wall failure process from multibeam bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) observations, U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations
Exploration of the canyon-incised continental margin of the northeastern United States reveals dynamic habitats and diverse communities
Core data from offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
In 2008, as a collaborative effort between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey, 20 giant gravity cores were collected from areas surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The regions sampled have had many large earthquake and landslide events, some of which are believed to have triggered tsunamis. The objective of this coring cruise, carried out aboard th
Chirp seismic-reflection data from the Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. mid-Atlantic margin
Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean
The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event l
Assessment of tsunami hazard to the U.S. Atlantic margin
Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic continental margin
Slope failures and timing of turbidity flows north of Puerto Rico
Bathymetric Terrain Model of the Puerto Rico Trench and the Northeastern Caribbean Region for Marine Geological Investigations
Multibeam bathymetry data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench and Northeast Caribbean region are compiled into a seamless bathymetric terrain model for broad-scale geological investigations of the trench system. These data, collected during eight separate surveys between 2002 and 2013, covering almost 180,000 square kilometers are published here in large format map sheet and digital spatial data.