Oliver S Boyd, Ph.D.
Research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey studying various aspects of seismic hazard including ground motions and earthquake probabilities
I began with the National Seismic Hazards Modeling Project in Golden, CO in 2004 studying time-dependent seismic hazard in Alaska and producing a seismic hazard analysis of Afghanistan, the latter being done in conjunction with other U.S. Agency for International Development’s reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. I moved to Memphis, TN in 2007 to focus on earthquake hazards in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) and returned to Golden in 2013 to work on issues related to earthquake hazards across the conterminous United States, specifically those related to earthquake ground motions as part of the Ground Motion Project. Much of my past research has centered on several aspects of earthquake hazards including time-dependent earthquake probabilities, declustering of foreshocks and aftershocks, and parameters related to earthquake sources. I helped update the CEUS source models for the 2008 and 2014 updates of the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) and helped to incorporate basin models in the western United States for the 2018 update of the NSHM. More recently, I have been working on ground motion site amplification along the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains and building a geology-based National Crustal Model for earthquake hazard studies. Prior to joining the Survey, I obtained my Ph.D. in Geophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder where I performed laboratory experiments of seismic wave attenuation in artificial glass cracks and glass bead cylinders, produced and interpreted tomographic models of seismic wave attenuation and velocity beneath the western United States, and studied receiver functions in New Zealand.
Professional Experience
2004–present—Research Geophysicist, USGS
2004—Research Assistant—University of Colorado at Boulder
2000–2004—Graduate Research Assistant—University of Colorado at Boulder
1998–2000—Geophysicist, Western Geophysical
1996–1997—Technician, Geo-Insight
1995–1997—Graduate Research Assistant—University of Colorado at Boulder
1993–1995—Lab Research Assistant—University of Colorado at Boulder
Education and Certifications
2004—Ph.D. Geophysics, University of Colorado at Boulder
1997—M.S. Geology, University of Colorado at Boulder
1995—B.A. Geology, Emphasis in Geophysics, University of Colorado at Boulder
Affiliations and Memberships*
1995–present—American Geophysical Union, Member
2000–2015—Geological Society of America, Member
2004–present—Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Associate Member
2004–present—Seismological Society of America, Member
2007–present—Eastern Section (ES) of the Seismological Society of America, Member
ES Secretary, 2011–2013
ES Vice President, 2013–2015
ES President, 2015–2017
ES Past President, 2017–2019
Science and Products
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
Influence of lithostatic stress on earthquake stress drops in North America
2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report
A rare moderate‐sized (Mw 4.9) earthquake in Kansas: Rupture process of the Milan, Kansas, earthquake of 12 November 2014 and its relationship to fluid injection
St. Louis area earthquake hazards mapping project; seismic and liquefaction hazard maps
Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone
Seismic hazard in the eastern United States
Seismic hazard in the Nation's breadbasket
Seismic source characterization for the 2014 update of the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
The 2014 United States National Seismic Hazard Model
A random-walk algorithm for modeling lithospheric density and the role of body forces in the evolution of the Midcontinent Rift
Science and Products
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
Influence of lithostatic stress on earthquake stress drops in North America
2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report
A rare moderate‐sized (Mw 4.9) earthquake in Kansas: Rupture process of the Milan, Kansas, earthquake of 12 November 2014 and its relationship to fluid injection
St. Louis area earthquake hazards mapping project; seismic and liquefaction hazard maps
Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone
Seismic hazard in the eastern United States
Seismic hazard in the Nation's breadbasket
Seismic source characterization for the 2014 update of the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
The 2014 United States National Seismic Hazard Model
A random-walk algorithm for modeling lithospheric density and the role of body forces in the evolution of the Midcontinent Rift
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government