Peter J Haeussler, Ph.D.
Most of my research is related to earthquake and tsunami hazards in Alaska, with a focus on paleoseismology, submarine landslides, and active faulting. I am the Alaska Coordinator for the Earthquake Hazards Program of the USGS. I also study various aspects of the framework geology of Alaska, with a focus on neotectonics and tectonics.
I use various tools to understand earthquakes and earthquake hazards in Alaska. I’ve studied the tectonic evolution of parts of Alaska, accretionary prisms along Alaska’s margin, forearc and splay faulting, submarine landslides, mountain building and exhumation, landscape evolution, glacial histories, and sedimentary basins. I’ve worked with marine and terrestrial seismic reflection and potential field data. Current work is focused on lacustrine paleoseismology, splay faulting, and various seismic hazards projects.
Professional Experience
1994 - Present Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK
1992 - 1994 Postdoctoral Researcher, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK
1992 Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
1986 - 1991 Research Assistant, University of California Santa Cruz
1985 - 1988 Teaching Assistant, University of California Santa Cruz
1985 Geologist, Lancer Energy Corporation, Wilmore, KY
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 1991 University of California Santa Cruz Earth Sciences
B.S. 1984 Michigan State University Geology
Affiliations and Memberships*
1985-present, American Geophysical Union
1985-present, Geological Society of America
1992-present, Alaska Geological Society
2010-present, Seismological Society of America
Honors and Awards
Fellow, Geological Society of America
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 149
The Susitna Glacier thrust fault: Characteristics of surface ruptures on the fault that initiated the 2002 Denali fault earthquake
The 3 November 2002 Mw 7.9 Denali fault earthquake sequence initiated on the newly discovered Susitna Glacier thrust fault and caused 48 km of surface rupture. Rupture of the Susitna Glacier fault generated scarps on ice of the Susitna and West Fork glaciers and on tundra and surficial deposits along the southern front of the central Alaska Range. Based on detailed mapping, 27...
Authors
A. J. Crone, S. F. Personius, P. A. Craw, Peter J. Haeussler, L. A. Staft
Surface rupture of the 2002 Denali fault, Alaska, earthquake and comparison with other strike-slip ruptures
On 3 November 2002, an M7.9 earthquake produced 340 km of surface rupture on the Denali and two related faults in Alaska. The rupture proceeded from west to east and began with a 40-km-long break on a previously unknown thrust fault. Estimates of surface slip on this thrust are 3-6 m. Next came the principal surface break along ???218 km of the Denali fault. Right-lateral offsets...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. P. Schwartz, T. E. Dawson, Heidi D. Stenner, J. J. Lienkaemper, F. Cinti, Paola Montone, B. Sherrod, P. Craw
Changes in crustal seismic deformation rates associated with the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake
We calculated seismic moment rates from crustal earthquake information for the upper Cook Inlet region, including Anchorage, Alaska, for the 30 yr prior to and 36 yr following the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake. Our results suggest over a factor of 1000 decrease in seismic moment rate (in units of dyne centimeters per year) following the 1964 mainshock. We used geologic information on...
Authors
D. I. Doser, N. A. Ratchkovski, Peter J. Haeussler, R. Saltus
Emplacement, rapid burial, and exhumation of 90-Ma plutons in southeastern Alaska
In southeastern Alaska, granodiorite-tonalite plutons of the Admiralty-Revillagigedo belt intruded the Jurassic-Cretaceous Gravina belt along the eastern side of the Alexander terrane around 90 Ma. These plutons postdate some deformation related to a major contractional event between the previously amalgamated Wrangellia and Alexander terranes and the previously accreted terranes of the...
Authors
G. R. Himmelberg, Peter J. Haeussler, D. A. Brew
Controls on intrusion of near-trench magmas of the Sanak-Baranof Belt, Alaska, during Paleogene ridge subduction, and consequences for forearc evolution
A belt of Paleogene near-trench plutons known as the Sanak-Baranof belt intruded the southern Alaska convergent margin. A compilation of isotopic ages of these plutons shows that they range in age from 61 Ma in the west to ca. 50 Ma in the east. This migrating pulse of magmatism along the continental margin is consistent with North Pacific plate reconstructions that suggests the plutons...
Authors
Timothy M. Kusky, Dwight Bradley, D. Thomas Donely, David Rowley, Peter J. Haeussler
Brittle deformation along the Gulf of Alaska margin in response to Paleocene-Eocene triple junction migration
A spreading center was subducted diachronously along a 2200 km segment of what is now the Gulf of Alaska margin between 61 and 50 Ma, and left in its wake near-trench intrusions and high-T, low-P metamorphic rocks. Gold-quartz veins and dikes, linked to ridge subduction by geochronological and relative timing evidence, provide a record of brittle deformation during and after passage of...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Dwight Bradley, Richard J. Goldfarb
Geologic signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska
A mid-Paleocene to early Eocene encounter between an oceanic spreading center and a subduction zone produced a wide range of geologic features in Alaska. The most striking effects are seen in the accretionary prism (Chugach–Prince William terrane), where 61 to 50 Ma near-trench granitic to gabbroic plutons were intruded into accreted trench sediments that had been deposited only a few...
Authors
Dwight Bradley, Timothy M. Kusky, Peter J. Haeussler, Richard J. Goldfarb, Marti L. Miller, Julie A. Dumoulin, Steven W. Nelson, Susan M. Karl
Metamorphism within the Chugach accretionary complex on southern Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska
On Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska, we identify four metamorphic events that affect rocks associated with the Chugach accretionary complex. This study focuses on the M1 and M4 metamorphic events. Mesozoic schists, gneisses, and migmatitic gneisses exposed near the Kasnyku pluton on central Baranof Island represent the M1 metamorphic rocks. These rocks underwent amphibolite facies...
Authors
Cathy L. Zumsteg, Glen R. Himmelberg, Susan M. Karl, Peter J. Haeussler
Life and death of the resurrection plate: Evidence for its existence and subduction in the northeastern Pacific in Paleocene-Eocene time
Onshore evidence suggests that a plate is missing from published reconstructions of the northeastern Pacific Ooean in Paleocene- Eocene time. The Resurrection plate, named for the Resurrection Peninsula ophiolite near Seward, Alaska, was located east of the Kula plate and north of the Farallon plate. We interpret coeval near-trench magmatism in southern Alaska and the Cascadia margin as...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Dwight Bradley, Ray E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
The 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska: A large magnitude, slip-partitioned event
The MW (moment magnitude) 7.9 Denali fault earthquake on 3 November 2002 was associated with 340 kilometers of surface rupture and was the largest strike-slip earthquake in North America in almost 150 years. It illuminates earthquake mechanics and hazards of large strike-slip faults. It began with thrusting on the previously unrecognized Susitna Glacier fault, continued with right-slip...
Authors
D. Eberhart-Phillips, Peter J. Haeussler, J.T. Freymueller, A.D. Frankel, C.M. Rubin, P. Craw, N. A. Ratchkovski, G. Anderson, G. A. Carver, A. J. Crone, T. E. Dawson, H. Fletcher, R. Hansen, E. L. Harp, R. A. Harris, D.P. Hill, S. Hreinsdottir, R.W. Jibson, L.M. Jones, R. Kayen, D. K. Keefer, C.F. Larsen, S.C. Moran, S. F. Personius, G. Plafker, B. Sherrod, K. Sieh, N. Sitar, W. K. Wallace
Magnetic susceptibilities measured on rocks of the upper Cook Inlet, Alaska
We have measured magnetic susceptibility in the field on most of the geologic rock formations exposed in the upper Cook Inlet near Anchorage and Kenai, Alaska. Measured susceptibilities range from less than our detection limit of 0.01 x 10-3 (SI) to greater than 100 x 10-3 (SI). As expected, mafic igneous rocks have the highest susceptibilities and some sedimentary rocks the lowest...
Authors
A.A. Alstatt, R.W. Saltus, R.L. Bruhn, Peter J. Haeussler
Life and death of the Resurrection Plate
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. C. Bradley, R.E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 149
The Susitna Glacier thrust fault: Characteristics of surface ruptures on the fault that initiated the 2002 Denali fault earthquake
The 3 November 2002 Mw 7.9 Denali fault earthquake sequence initiated on the newly discovered Susitna Glacier thrust fault and caused 48 km of surface rupture. Rupture of the Susitna Glacier fault generated scarps on ice of the Susitna and West Fork glaciers and on tundra and surficial deposits along the southern front of the central Alaska Range. Based on detailed mapping, 27...
Authors
A. J. Crone, S. F. Personius, P. A. Craw, Peter J. Haeussler, L. A. Staft
Surface rupture of the 2002 Denali fault, Alaska, earthquake and comparison with other strike-slip ruptures
On 3 November 2002, an M7.9 earthquake produced 340 km of surface rupture on the Denali and two related faults in Alaska. The rupture proceeded from west to east and began with a 40-km-long break on a previously unknown thrust fault. Estimates of surface slip on this thrust are 3-6 m. Next came the principal surface break along ???218 km of the Denali fault. Right-lateral offsets...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. P. Schwartz, T. E. Dawson, Heidi D. Stenner, J. J. Lienkaemper, F. Cinti, Paola Montone, B. Sherrod, P. Craw
Changes in crustal seismic deformation rates associated with the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake
We calculated seismic moment rates from crustal earthquake information for the upper Cook Inlet region, including Anchorage, Alaska, for the 30 yr prior to and 36 yr following the 1964 Great Alaska earthquake. Our results suggest over a factor of 1000 decrease in seismic moment rate (in units of dyne centimeters per year) following the 1964 mainshock. We used geologic information on...
Authors
D. I. Doser, N. A. Ratchkovski, Peter J. Haeussler, R. Saltus
Emplacement, rapid burial, and exhumation of 90-Ma plutons in southeastern Alaska
In southeastern Alaska, granodiorite-tonalite plutons of the Admiralty-Revillagigedo belt intruded the Jurassic-Cretaceous Gravina belt along the eastern side of the Alexander terrane around 90 Ma. These plutons postdate some deformation related to a major contractional event between the previously amalgamated Wrangellia and Alexander terranes and the previously accreted terranes of the...
Authors
G. R. Himmelberg, Peter J. Haeussler, D. A. Brew
Controls on intrusion of near-trench magmas of the Sanak-Baranof Belt, Alaska, during Paleogene ridge subduction, and consequences for forearc evolution
A belt of Paleogene near-trench plutons known as the Sanak-Baranof belt intruded the southern Alaska convergent margin. A compilation of isotopic ages of these plutons shows that they range in age from 61 Ma in the west to ca. 50 Ma in the east. This migrating pulse of magmatism along the continental margin is consistent with North Pacific plate reconstructions that suggests the plutons...
Authors
Timothy M. Kusky, Dwight Bradley, D. Thomas Donely, David Rowley, Peter J. Haeussler
Brittle deformation along the Gulf of Alaska margin in response to Paleocene-Eocene triple junction migration
A spreading center was subducted diachronously along a 2200 km segment of what is now the Gulf of Alaska margin between 61 and 50 Ma, and left in its wake near-trench intrusions and high-T, low-P metamorphic rocks. Gold-quartz veins and dikes, linked to ridge subduction by geochronological and relative timing evidence, provide a record of brittle deformation during and after passage of...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Dwight Bradley, Richard J. Goldfarb
Geologic signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska
A mid-Paleocene to early Eocene encounter between an oceanic spreading center and a subduction zone produced a wide range of geologic features in Alaska. The most striking effects are seen in the accretionary prism (Chugach–Prince William terrane), where 61 to 50 Ma near-trench granitic to gabbroic plutons were intruded into accreted trench sediments that had been deposited only a few...
Authors
Dwight Bradley, Timothy M. Kusky, Peter J. Haeussler, Richard J. Goldfarb, Marti L. Miller, Julie A. Dumoulin, Steven W. Nelson, Susan M. Karl
Metamorphism within the Chugach accretionary complex on southern Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska
On Baranof Island, southeastern Alaska, we identify four metamorphic events that affect rocks associated with the Chugach accretionary complex. This study focuses on the M1 and M4 metamorphic events. Mesozoic schists, gneisses, and migmatitic gneisses exposed near the Kasnyku pluton on central Baranof Island represent the M1 metamorphic rocks. These rocks underwent amphibolite facies...
Authors
Cathy L. Zumsteg, Glen R. Himmelberg, Susan M. Karl, Peter J. Haeussler
Life and death of the resurrection plate: Evidence for its existence and subduction in the northeastern Pacific in Paleocene-Eocene time
Onshore evidence suggests that a plate is missing from published reconstructions of the northeastern Pacific Ooean in Paleocene- Eocene time. The Resurrection plate, named for the Resurrection Peninsula ophiolite near Seward, Alaska, was located east of the Kula plate and north of the Farallon plate. We interpret coeval near-trench magmatism in southern Alaska and the Cascadia margin as...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Dwight Bradley, Ray E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
The 2002 Denali fault earthquake, Alaska: A large magnitude, slip-partitioned event
The MW (moment magnitude) 7.9 Denali fault earthquake on 3 November 2002 was associated with 340 kilometers of surface rupture and was the largest strike-slip earthquake in North America in almost 150 years. It illuminates earthquake mechanics and hazards of large strike-slip faults. It began with thrusting on the previously unrecognized Susitna Glacier fault, continued with right-slip...
Authors
D. Eberhart-Phillips, Peter J. Haeussler, J.T. Freymueller, A.D. Frankel, C.M. Rubin, P. Craw, N. A. Ratchkovski, G. Anderson, G. A. Carver, A. J. Crone, T. E. Dawson, H. Fletcher, R. Hansen, E. L. Harp, R. A. Harris, D.P. Hill, S. Hreinsdottir, R.W. Jibson, L.M. Jones, R. Kayen, D. K. Keefer, C.F. Larsen, S.C. Moran, S. F. Personius, G. Plafker, B. Sherrod, K. Sieh, N. Sitar, W. K. Wallace
Magnetic susceptibilities measured on rocks of the upper Cook Inlet, Alaska
We have measured magnetic susceptibility in the field on most of the geologic rock formations exposed in the upper Cook Inlet near Anchorage and Kenai, Alaska. Measured susceptibilities range from less than our detection limit of 0.01 x 10-3 (SI) to greater than 100 x 10-3 (SI). As expected, mafic igneous rocks have the highest susceptibilities and some sedimentary rocks the lowest...
Authors
A.A. Alstatt, R.W. Saltus, R.L. Bruhn, Peter J. Haeussler
Life and death of the Resurrection Plate
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. C. Bradley, R.E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
*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