Katherine (Kate) Scharer
Dr. Scharer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and a B.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Washington.
Prior to coming to the USGS, she was a professor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. Dr. Scharer studies the timing and size of pre-historic earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault and other active faults in southern California, Alaska, and the Dominican Republic. She also investigates the deformation produced by tectonic motion through a combination of field mapping, lidar analysis, and Quaternary geochronologic methods.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 47
The current unlikely earthquake hiatus at California’s transform boundary paleoseismic sites The current unlikely earthquake hiatus at California’s transform boundary paleoseismic sites
Paleoseismic and historical earthquake records used to quantify earthquake recurrence rates can also be used to test the likelihood of seismically quiescent periods. At principal paleoseismic sites in California on the San Andreas, San Jacinto, Elsinore, and Hayward faults, no ground‐rupturing earthquake has occurred in the last 100 yr, yet this interval is about three times the average...
Authors
Glenn Biasi, Katherine M. Scharer
The San Andreas Fault System--Complexities along a major transform fault system and relation to earthquake hazards The San Andreas Fault System--Complexities along a major transform fault system and relation to earthquake hazards
The San Andreas Fault System is a 1300-km-long transform boundary that accommodates motion between the North American and Pacific Plates. New technologies and data reveal rich details about the present configuration of faults, distribution of strain and associated seismic hazard on this complex network of faults. This contribution provides a brief summary of the geologic history of the...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ashley Streig
Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California
Studies of historic earthquake ground surface ruptures show that displacements along strike are spatially variable. As a result, latest Quaternary slip rates developed from a spatially restricted set of cumulative displacement measurements may not accurately represent fault velocity. Here we examine the uncertainties associated with slip on the Cucamonga Fault, which is part of a network...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Katherine M. Scharer
Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience
The five-mile-long Elizabeth Tunnel, which crosses the San Andreas fault (SAF) zone near Lake Hughes, California, is part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (LAA) that delivers water from Owens Valley to the City of Los Angeles. Geologic characterization of the Elizabeth Tunnel alignment is focused on developing a better understanding of fault displacement hazards at the SAF crossing to support...
Authors
Scott Lindvall, Scott Kerwin, Chris Heron, Craig A. Davis, Jeff Tyson, Jim Chestnut, Kevin Mass, Mike Farr, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips
Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh
Paleoenvironmental records from a southern California coastal saltmarsh reveal evidence for repeated late Holocene coseismic subsidence events. Field analysis of sediment gouge cores established discrete lithostratigraphic units extend across the wetland. Detailed sediment analyses reveal abrupt changes in lithology, percent total organic matter, grain size, and magnetic susceptibility...
Authors
Robert Leeper, Brady P. Rhodes, Matthew E. Kirby, Katherine M. Scharer, Joseph A. Carlin, Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Simona Avnaim-Katav, Glen M. MacDonald, Scott W. Starratt, Angela Aranda
Ground-rupturing earthquakes on the northern Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault, California, 800 A.D. to Present Ground-rupturing earthquakes on the northern Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault, California, 800 A.D. to Present
Paleoseismic data on the timing of ground-rupturing earthquakes constrain the recurrence behavior of active faults and can provide insight on the rupture history of a fault if earthquakes dated at neighboring sites overlap in age and are considered correlative. This study presents the evidence and ages for 11 earthquakes that occurred along the Big Bend section of the southern San...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Glenn Biasi, Ashley Streig, Thomas E. Fumal
Late Quaternary offset of alluvial fan surfaces along the Central Sierra Madre Fault, southern California Late Quaternary offset of alluvial fan surfaces along the Central Sierra Madre Fault, southern California
The Sierra Madre Fault is a reverse fault system along the southern flank of the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles, California. This study focuses on the Central Sierra Madre Fault (CSMF) in an effort to provide numeric dating on surfaces with ages previously estimated from soil development alone. We have refined previous geomorphic mapping conducted in the western portion of the...
Authors
Reed J. Burgette, Austin Hanson, Katherine M. Scharer, Nikolas Midttun
Does paleoseismology forecast the historic rates of large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault system? Does paleoseismology forecast the historic rates of large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault system?
The 98-year open interval since the most recent ground-rupturing earthquake in the greater San Andreas boundary fault system would not be predicted by the quasi-periodic recurrence statistics from paleoseismic data. We examine whether the current hiatus could be explained by uncertainties in earthquake dating. Using seven independent paleoseismic records, 100 year intervals may have...
Authors
Glenn Biasi, Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Timothy E. Dawson
Testing geomorphology-derived rupture histories against the paleoseismic record of the southern San Andreas fault Testing geomorphology-derived rupture histories against the paleoseismic record of the southern San Andreas fault
Evidence for the 340-km-long Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 is found at each of the high-resolution paleoseismic sites on the southern San Andreas Fault. Using trenching data from these sites, we find that the assemblage of dated paleoearthquakes recurs quasi-periodically (coefficient of variation, COV, of 0.6, Biasi, 2013) and requires ~80% of ruptures were shorter than the 1857 rupture...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Sean Bemis
Earthquake geology and paleoseismology of major strands of the San Andreas fault system Earthquake geology and paleoseismology of major strands of the San Andreas fault system
The San Andreas fault system in California is one of the best-studied faults in the world, both in terms of the long-term geologic history and paleoseismic study of past surface ruptures. In this paper, we focus on the Quaternary to historic data that have been collected from the major strands of the San Andreas fault system, both on the San Andreas Fault itself, and the major...
Authors
Thomas Rockwell, Katherine M. Scharer, Timothy E. Dawson
The Elizabeth Lake paleoseismic site: Rupture pattern constraints for the past ~800 years for the Mojave section of the south-central San Andreas Fault The Elizabeth Lake paleoseismic site: Rupture pattern constraints for the past ~800 years for the Mojave section of the south-central San Andreas Fault
The southern San Andreas Fault in California has hosted two historic surface-rupturing earthquakes, the ~M7 1812 Wrightwood earthquake and the ~M7.9 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake (e.g., Sieh, 1978; Jacoby et al., 1988). Numerous paleoseismic studies have established chronologies of historic and prehistoric earthquakes at sites along the full length of the 1857 rupture (e.g., Sieh, 1978...
Authors
Sean Bemis, Katherine M. Scharer, James F. Dolan, Ed Rhodes
Validation of meter-scale surface faulting offset measurements from high-resolution topographic data Validation of meter-scale surface faulting offset measurements from high-resolution topographic data
Studies of active fault zones have flourished with the availability of high-resolution topographic data, particularly where airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) and structure from motion (SfM) data sets provide a means to remotely analyze submeter-scale fault geomorphology. To determine surface offset at a point along a strike-slip earthquake rupture, geomorphic features (e.g...
Authors
Barrett Salisbury, D.E. Haddad, T. K. Rockwell, R. Arrowsmith, C. Madugo, O. Zielke, Katherine M. Scharer
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 47
The current unlikely earthquake hiatus at California’s transform boundary paleoseismic sites The current unlikely earthquake hiatus at California’s transform boundary paleoseismic sites
Paleoseismic and historical earthquake records used to quantify earthquake recurrence rates can also be used to test the likelihood of seismically quiescent periods. At principal paleoseismic sites in California on the San Andreas, San Jacinto, Elsinore, and Hayward faults, no ground‐rupturing earthquake has occurred in the last 100 yr, yet this interval is about three times the average...
Authors
Glenn Biasi, Katherine M. Scharer
The San Andreas Fault System--Complexities along a major transform fault system and relation to earthquake hazards The San Andreas Fault System--Complexities along a major transform fault system and relation to earthquake hazards
The San Andreas Fault System is a 1300-km-long transform boundary that accommodates motion between the North American and Pacific Plates. New technologies and data reveal rich details about the present configuration of faults, distribution of strain and associated seismic hazard on this complex network of faults. This contribution provides a brief summary of the geologic history of the...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ashley Streig
Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California
Studies of historic earthquake ground surface ruptures show that displacements along strike are spatially variable. As a result, latest Quaternary slip rates developed from a spatially restricted set of cumulative displacement measurements may not accurately represent fault velocity. Here we examine the uncertainties associated with slip on the Cucamonga Fault, which is part of a network...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Katherine M. Scharer
Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience
The five-mile-long Elizabeth Tunnel, which crosses the San Andreas fault (SAF) zone near Lake Hughes, California, is part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (LAA) that delivers water from Owens Valley to the City of Los Angeles. Geologic characterization of the Elizabeth Tunnel alignment is focused on developing a better understanding of fault displacement hazards at the SAF crossing to support...
Authors
Scott Lindvall, Scott Kerwin, Chris Heron, Craig A. Davis, Jeff Tyson, Jim Chestnut, Kevin Mass, Mike Farr, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips
Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh
Paleoenvironmental records from a southern California coastal saltmarsh reveal evidence for repeated late Holocene coseismic subsidence events. Field analysis of sediment gouge cores established discrete lithostratigraphic units extend across the wetland. Detailed sediment analyses reveal abrupt changes in lithology, percent total organic matter, grain size, and magnetic susceptibility...
Authors
Robert Leeper, Brady P. Rhodes, Matthew E. Kirby, Katherine M. Scharer, Joseph A. Carlin, Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Simona Avnaim-Katav, Glen M. MacDonald, Scott W. Starratt, Angela Aranda
Ground-rupturing earthquakes on the northern Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault, California, 800 A.D. to Present Ground-rupturing earthquakes on the northern Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault, California, 800 A.D. to Present
Paleoseismic data on the timing of ground-rupturing earthquakes constrain the recurrence behavior of active faults and can provide insight on the rupture history of a fault if earthquakes dated at neighboring sites overlap in age and are considered correlative. This study presents the evidence and ages for 11 earthquakes that occurred along the Big Bend section of the southern San...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Glenn Biasi, Ashley Streig, Thomas E. Fumal
Late Quaternary offset of alluvial fan surfaces along the Central Sierra Madre Fault, southern California Late Quaternary offset of alluvial fan surfaces along the Central Sierra Madre Fault, southern California
The Sierra Madre Fault is a reverse fault system along the southern flank of the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles, California. This study focuses on the Central Sierra Madre Fault (CSMF) in an effort to provide numeric dating on surfaces with ages previously estimated from soil development alone. We have refined previous geomorphic mapping conducted in the western portion of the...
Authors
Reed J. Burgette, Austin Hanson, Katherine M. Scharer, Nikolas Midttun
Does paleoseismology forecast the historic rates of large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault system? Does paleoseismology forecast the historic rates of large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault system?
The 98-year open interval since the most recent ground-rupturing earthquake in the greater San Andreas boundary fault system would not be predicted by the quasi-periodic recurrence statistics from paleoseismic data. We examine whether the current hiatus could be explained by uncertainties in earthquake dating. Using seven independent paleoseismic records, 100 year intervals may have...
Authors
Glenn Biasi, Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Timothy E. Dawson
Testing geomorphology-derived rupture histories against the paleoseismic record of the southern San Andreas fault Testing geomorphology-derived rupture histories against the paleoseismic record of the southern San Andreas fault
Evidence for the 340-km-long Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 is found at each of the high-resolution paleoseismic sites on the southern San Andreas Fault. Using trenching data from these sites, we find that the assemblage of dated paleoearthquakes recurs quasi-periodically (coefficient of variation, COV, of 0.6, Biasi, 2013) and requires ~80% of ruptures were shorter than the 1857 rupture...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Ray J. Weldon, Sean Bemis
Earthquake geology and paleoseismology of major strands of the San Andreas fault system Earthquake geology and paleoseismology of major strands of the San Andreas fault system
The San Andreas fault system in California is one of the best-studied faults in the world, both in terms of the long-term geologic history and paleoseismic study of past surface ruptures. In this paper, we focus on the Quaternary to historic data that have been collected from the major strands of the San Andreas fault system, both on the San Andreas Fault itself, and the major...
Authors
Thomas Rockwell, Katherine M. Scharer, Timothy E. Dawson
The Elizabeth Lake paleoseismic site: Rupture pattern constraints for the past ~800 years for the Mojave section of the south-central San Andreas Fault The Elizabeth Lake paleoseismic site: Rupture pattern constraints for the past ~800 years for the Mojave section of the south-central San Andreas Fault
The southern San Andreas Fault in California has hosted two historic surface-rupturing earthquakes, the ~M7 1812 Wrightwood earthquake and the ~M7.9 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake (e.g., Sieh, 1978; Jacoby et al., 1988). Numerous paleoseismic studies have established chronologies of historic and prehistoric earthquakes at sites along the full length of the 1857 rupture (e.g., Sieh, 1978...
Authors
Sean Bemis, Katherine M. Scharer, James F. Dolan, Ed Rhodes
Validation of meter-scale surface faulting offset measurements from high-resolution topographic data Validation of meter-scale surface faulting offset measurements from high-resolution topographic data
Studies of active fault zones have flourished with the availability of high-resolution topographic data, particularly where airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) and structure from motion (SfM) data sets provide a means to remotely analyze submeter-scale fault geomorphology. To determine surface offset at a point along a strike-slip earthquake rupture, geomorphic features (e.g...
Authors
Barrett Salisbury, D.E. Haddad, T. K. Rockwell, R. Arrowsmith, C. Madugo, O. Zielke, Katherine M. Scharer