Rufus D Catchings, PhD
Rufus Catchings is a seismologist working on
• Earthquake hazards
• Hydrogeology
• Regional imaging of resources
• Induced seismicity
Dr. Catchings’ scientific interests include seismic evaluation of the subsurface, particularly as it relates to earthquake and other hazards, groundwater and other resources, and tectonics. Catchings also develops seismic methodologies. He has conducted numerous studies and served as advisor for more than 60 local, state, federal, and international government agencies, and private organizations. He has served as research advisor for 15 M.S. and Ph.D. students. Catchings has more than 430 published works, including journal articles, reports, conference papers, and abstracts.
Dr. Catchings has been a Research Geophysicst at USGS since 1981. He served as Chief Scientist for the Earthquake Hazards Team, 2005–2008.
Awards
- Bromery Award, Geological Society of America, 2018
- Superior Service Award, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2000
- Special Act Award, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1990, 2006
- Fellow, Geological Society of America, 1997
Education
- Stanford University, PhD Geophysics, 1987
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS Geophysics, 1983
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Geophysics, 1980
- Appalachian State University, BS Geophysics, 1979
External Research Database
ResearchGate
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
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Relationships among seismic velocity, metamorphism, and seismic and aseismic fault slip in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field region
The Salton Sea Geothermal Field is one of the most geothermally and seismically active areas in California and presents an opportunity to study the effect of high-temperature metamorphism on the properties of seismogenic faults. The area includes numerous active tectonic faults that have recently been imaged with active source seismic reflection and refraction. We utilize the active...
Authors
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Rowena B. Lohman, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Mark Goldman
Stafford fault system: 120 million year fault movement history of northern Virginia
The Stafford fault system, located in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, provides the most complete record of fault movement during the past ~120 m.y. across the Virginia, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.), and Maryland region, including displacement of Pleistocene terrace gravels. The Stafford fault system is close to and aligned with the Piedmont...
Authors
David S. Powars, Rufus D. Catchings, J. Wright Horton, J. Stephen Schindler, Milan J. Pavich
Seismicity, faulting, and structure of the Koyna-Warna seismic region, Western India from local earthquake tomography and hypocenter locations
Although seismicity near Koyna Reservoir (India) has persisted for ~50 years and includes the largest induced earthquake (M 6.3) reported worldwide, the seismotectonic framework of the area is not well understood. We recorded ~1800 earthquakes from 6 January 2010 to 28 May 2010 and located a subset of 343 of the highest-quality earthquakes using the tomoDD code of Zhang and Thurber (2003...
Authors
Madan M. Dixit, Sanjay Kumar, Rufus D. Catchings, K. Suman, Dipankar Sarkar, M.K. Sen
A method and example of seismically imaging near‐surface fault zones in geologically complex areas using Vp, Vs, and their ratios
The determination of near‐surface (vadose zone and slightly below) fault locations and geometries is important because assessment of ground rupture, strong shaking, geologic slip rates, and rupture histories occurs at shallow depths. However, seismic imaging of fault zones at shallow depths can be difficult due to near‐surface complexities, such as weathering, groundwater saturation...
Authors
Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Mark Goldman, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
Borehole-explosion and air-gun data acquired in the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP), southern California: description of the survey
The Imperial and Coachella Valleys are being formed by active plate-tectonic processes. From the Imperial Valley southward into the Gulf of California, plate motions are rifting the continent apart. In the Coachella Valley, the plates are sliding past one another along the San Andreas and related faults (fig. 1). These processes build the stunning landscapes of the region, but also...
Authors
Elizabeth J. Rose, Gary S. Fuis, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Annie M. Kell, Graham M. Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Mark Goldman, Angela M. Reusch, Liang Han, Robert R. Sickler, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Coyn J. Criley, Daniel Scheirer, Steven M. Skinner, Coye J. Slayday-Criley, Janice M. Murphy, Edward G. Jensen, Robert McClearn, Alex J. Ferguson, Lesley A. Butcher, Max A. Gardner, Iain D. Emmons, Caleb L. Loughran, Joseph R. Svitek, Patrick Bastien, Joseph A. Cotton, David S. Croker, Alistair J. Harding, Jeffrey M. Babcock, Steven H. Harder, Carla M. Rosa
Fine-scale delineation of the location of and relative ground shaking within the San Andreas Fault zone at San Andreas Lake, San Mateo County, California
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is seismically retrofitting the water delivery system at San Andreas Lake, San Mateo County, California, where the reservoir intake system crosses the San Andreas Fault (SAF). The near-surface fault location and geometry are important considerations in the retrofit effort. Because the SAF trends through highly distorted Franciscan mélange and...
Authors
R. D. Catchings, M. J. Rymer, M. R. Goldman, C.S. Prentice, Robert R. Sickler
Non-USGS Publications**
Catchings, R.D., and Mooney, W.D., 1988, Crustal structure of the Columbia Plateau: Evidence for continental rifting: Journal of Geophysical Research , v. 93, p. 459–474, doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB01p00459.
Catchings, R., Jarchow, C., Holbrook, S., Benz, H., Hawman, R., Thompson, G., Mooney, W., Smith, R., Priestley, K., Cipar, J., Borcherdt, R., Whitman, D., Smithson, S., Walker, D., Johnson, R., Karl, J., Jefferson, T., Clement, B., Dietel, C., Wu, F., and Harder, S., 1988, The 1986 PASSCAL Basin and Range Lithospheric Seismic Experiment, Eos Trans. AGU, 69( 20), 593– 598, doi:10.1029/88EO00174.
Zucca, J.J., Fuis, G.S., Milkereit, B., Mooney, W.D., and Catchings, R.D., 1986, Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 91, p. 7859-7382, doi.org/10.1029/JB091iB07p07359.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 82
Relationships among seismic velocity, metamorphism, and seismic and aseismic fault slip in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field region
The Salton Sea Geothermal Field is one of the most geothermally and seismically active areas in California and presents an opportunity to study the effect of high-temperature metamorphism on the properties of seismogenic faults. The area includes numerous active tectonic faults that have recently been imaged with active source seismic reflection and refraction. We utilize the active...
Authors
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Rowena B. Lohman, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Mark Goldman
Stafford fault system: 120 million year fault movement history of northern Virginia
The Stafford fault system, located in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, provides the most complete record of fault movement during the past ~120 m.y. across the Virginia, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.), and Maryland region, including displacement of Pleistocene terrace gravels. The Stafford fault system is close to and aligned with the Piedmont...
Authors
David S. Powars, Rufus D. Catchings, J. Wright Horton, J. Stephen Schindler, Milan J. Pavich
Seismicity, faulting, and structure of the Koyna-Warna seismic region, Western India from local earthquake tomography and hypocenter locations
Although seismicity near Koyna Reservoir (India) has persisted for ~50 years and includes the largest induced earthquake (M 6.3) reported worldwide, the seismotectonic framework of the area is not well understood. We recorded ~1800 earthquakes from 6 January 2010 to 28 May 2010 and located a subset of 343 of the highest-quality earthquakes using the tomoDD code of Zhang and Thurber (2003...
Authors
Madan M. Dixit, Sanjay Kumar, Rufus D. Catchings, K. Suman, Dipankar Sarkar, M.K. Sen
A method and example of seismically imaging near‐surface fault zones in geologically complex areas using Vp, Vs, and their ratios
The determination of near‐surface (vadose zone and slightly below) fault locations and geometries is important because assessment of ground rupture, strong shaking, geologic slip rates, and rupture histories occurs at shallow depths. However, seismic imaging of fault zones at shallow depths can be difficult due to near‐surface complexities, such as weathering, groundwater saturation...
Authors
Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Mark Goldman, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
Borehole-explosion and air-gun data acquired in the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP), southern California: description of the survey
The Imperial and Coachella Valleys are being formed by active plate-tectonic processes. From the Imperial Valley southward into the Gulf of California, plate motions are rifting the continent apart. In the Coachella Valley, the plates are sliding past one another along the San Andreas and related faults (fig. 1). These processes build the stunning landscapes of the region, but also...
Authors
Elizabeth J. Rose, Gary S. Fuis, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Annie M. Kell, Graham M. Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Mark Goldman, Angela M. Reusch, Liang Han, Robert R. Sickler, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael Rymer, Coyn J. Criley, Daniel Scheirer, Steven M. Skinner, Coye J. Slayday-Criley, Janice M. Murphy, Edward G. Jensen, Robert McClearn, Alex J. Ferguson, Lesley A. Butcher, Max A. Gardner, Iain D. Emmons, Caleb L. Loughran, Joseph R. Svitek, Patrick Bastien, Joseph A. Cotton, David S. Croker, Alistair J. Harding, Jeffrey M. Babcock, Steven H. Harder, Carla M. Rosa
Fine-scale delineation of the location of and relative ground shaking within the San Andreas Fault zone at San Andreas Lake, San Mateo County, California
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is seismically retrofitting the water delivery system at San Andreas Lake, San Mateo County, California, where the reservoir intake system crosses the San Andreas Fault (SAF). The near-surface fault location and geometry are important considerations in the retrofit effort. Because the SAF trends through highly distorted Franciscan mélange and...
Authors
R. D. Catchings, M. J. Rymer, M. R. Goldman, C.S. Prentice, Robert R. Sickler
Non-USGS Publications**
Catchings, R.D., and Mooney, W.D., 1988, Crustal structure of the Columbia Plateau: Evidence for continental rifting: Journal of Geophysical Research , v. 93, p. 459–474, doi.org/10.1029/JB093iB01p00459.
Catchings, R., Jarchow, C., Holbrook, S., Benz, H., Hawman, R., Thompson, G., Mooney, W., Smith, R., Priestley, K., Cipar, J., Borcherdt, R., Whitman, D., Smithson, S., Walker, D., Johnson, R., Karl, J., Jefferson, T., Clement, B., Dietel, C., Wu, F., and Harder, S., 1988, The 1986 PASSCAL Basin and Range Lithospheric Seismic Experiment, Eos Trans. AGU, 69( 20), 593– 598, doi:10.1029/88EO00174.
Zucca, J.J., Fuis, G.S., Milkereit, B., Mooney, W.D., and Catchings, R.D., 1986, Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 91, p. 7859-7382, doi.org/10.1029/JB091iB07p07359.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.