Lydia M Staisch, Ph.D.
Lydia is a Research Geologist with the GMEG Science Center, working on structural geology, tectonic geomorphology, geologic mapping, and seismic hazards in the Pacific Northwest. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014, where she focused on the deformation history of the northern Tibetan Plateau and coseismic landslide hazards in the Himalayas.
Afterwards, Lydia was a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow with Brian Sherrod at the Earthquake Science Center. Her general research interests are in continental deformation and landscape evolution. She tends to employ a multi-faceted approach in her research, including field work, structural-stratigraphic analysis, geochemical analysis, geodynamic modeling, remote sensing and geodesy.
Professional Experience
2017-present, Research Geologist, United States Geological Survey
2014-2017, Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow, United States Geological Survey
2009-2014, Graduate Student Research Assistant, University of Michigan
2009, Field Assistant in Salta Province, Argentina, University of Arizona
2008, Field Geologist, GeoCorps America Intern, Klamath National Forest, CA
Education and Certifications
2014 Ph.D., Geological Sciences, University of Michigan
2008 B.A., Geology, Carleton College
Science and Products
Below are Lydia's related science projects
Filter Total Items: 17
Crustal structure and quaternary acceleration of deformation rates in central Washington revealed by stream profile inversion, potential field geophysics, and structural geology of the Yakima folds
Post‐Miocene tectonic uplift along fault‐cored anticlines within central Washington produced the Yakima Fold Province, a region of active NNE‐SSW shortening in the Cascadian backarc. The relative timing and rate of deformation along individual structures is coarsely defined yet imperative for seismic hazard assessment. In this work, we use geomorphic and geophysical mapping, stream...
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Richard J. Blakely, Harvey M. Kelsey, Richard Styron, Brian Sherrod
Miocene−Pleistocene deformation of the Saddle Mountains: Implications for seismic hazard in central Washington, USA
The Yakima fold province, located in the backarc of the Cascadia subduction zone, is a region of active strain accumulation and deformation distributed across a series of fault-cored folds. The geodetic network in central Washington has been used to interpret large-scale N-S shortening and westward-increasing strain; however, geodetic data are unable to resolve shortening rates across...
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian Sherrod, Andreas Möller, James B. Paces, Richard J. Blakely, Richard Styron
The story of a Yakima fold and how it informs Late Neogene and Quaternary backarc deformation in the Cascadia subduction zone, Manastash anticline, Washington, USA
The Yakima folds of central Washington, USA, are prominent anticlines that are the primary tectonic features of the backarc of the northern Cascadia subduction zone. What accounts for their topographic expression and how much strain do they accommodate and over what time period? We investigate Manastash anticline, a north vergent fault propagation fold typical of structures in the fold...
Authors
Harvey M. Kelsey, Tyler C. Ladinsky, Lydia M. Staisch, Brian Sherrod, Richard J. Blakely, Thomas L. Pratt, William J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Elmira Wan
Building a subduction zone observatory
Subduction zones contain many of Earth’s most remarkable geologic structures, from the deepest oceanic trenches to glacier-covered mountains and steaming volcanoes. These environments formed through spectacular events: Nature’s largest earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are born here.
Authors
Joan S. Gomberg, Paul Bodin, Jody Bourgeois, Susan M. Cashman, Darrel Cowan, Kenneth C Creager, Brendan W. Crowell, Alison R Duvall, Arthur Frankel, Frank I. González, Heidi Houston, Paul D. Johnson, Harvey M. Kelsey, Una Miller, Emily C. Roland, David A. Schmidt, Lydia M. Staisch, John E. Vidale, William Wilcock, Erin Wirth
Differential uplift and incision of the Yakima River terraces, central Washington State
The fault-related Yakima folds deform Miocene basalts and younger deposits of the Columbia Plateau in central Washington State. Geodesy implies ~2 mm/yr of NNE directed shortening across the folds, but until now the distribution and rates of Quaternary deformation among individual structures has been unclear. South of Ellensburg, Washington, the Yakima River cuts a ~600 m deep canyon...
Authors
Adrian M. Bender, Colin B. Amos, Paul R. Bierman, Dylan Rood, Lydia M. Staisch, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian Sherrod
Science and Products
Below are Lydia's related science projects
Filter Total Items: 17
Crustal structure and quaternary acceleration of deformation rates in central Washington revealed by stream profile inversion, potential field geophysics, and structural geology of the Yakima folds
Post‐Miocene tectonic uplift along fault‐cored anticlines within central Washington produced the Yakima Fold Province, a region of active NNE‐SSW shortening in the Cascadian backarc. The relative timing and rate of deformation along individual structures is coarsely defined yet imperative for seismic hazard assessment. In this work, we use geomorphic and geophysical mapping, stream...
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Richard J. Blakely, Harvey M. Kelsey, Richard Styron, Brian Sherrod
Miocene−Pleistocene deformation of the Saddle Mountains: Implications for seismic hazard in central Washington, USA
The Yakima fold province, located in the backarc of the Cascadia subduction zone, is a region of active strain accumulation and deformation distributed across a series of fault-cored folds. The geodetic network in central Washington has been used to interpret large-scale N-S shortening and westward-increasing strain; however, geodetic data are unable to resolve shortening rates across...
Authors
Lydia M. Staisch, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian Sherrod, Andreas Möller, James B. Paces, Richard J. Blakely, Richard Styron
The story of a Yakima fold and how it informs Late Neogene and Quaternary backarc deformation in the Cascadia subduction zone, Manastash anticline, Washington, USA
The Yakima folds of central Washington, USA, are prominent anticlines that are the primary tectonic features of the backarc of the northern Cascadia subduction zone. What accounts for their topographic expression and how much strain do they accommodate and over what time period? We investigate Manastash anticline, a north vergent fault propagation fold typical of structures in the fold...
Authors
Harvey M. Kelsey, Tyler C. Ladinsky, Lydia M. Staisch, Brian Sherrod, Richard J. Blakely, Thomas L. Pratt, William J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Elmira Wan
Building a subduction zone observatory
Subduction zones contain many of Earth’s most remarkable geologic structures, from the deepest oceanic trenches to glacier-covered mountains and steaming volcanoes. These environments formed through spectacular events: Nature’s largest earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are born here.
Authors
Joan S. Gomberg, Paul Bodin, Jody Bourgeois, Susan M. Cashman, Darrel Cowan, Kenneth C Creager, Brendan W. Crowell, Alison R Duvall, Arthur Frankel, Frank I. González, Heidi Houston, Paul D. Johnson, Harvey M. Kelsey, Una Miller, Emily C. Roland, David A. Schmidt, Lydia M. Staisch, John E. Vidale, William Wilcock, Erin Wirth
Differential uplift and incision of the Yakima River terraces, central Washington State
The fault-related Yakima folds deform Miocene basalts and younger deposits of the Columbia Plateau in central Washington State. Geodesy implies ~2 mm/yr of NNE directed shortening across the folds, but until now the distribution and rates of Quaternary deformation among individual structures has been unclear. South of Ellensburg, Washington, the Yakima River cuts a ~600 m deep canyon...
Authors
Adrian M. Bender, Colin B. Amos, Paul R. Bierman, Dylan Rood, Lydia M. Staisch, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian Sherrod