Publications
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Induced earthquake families reveal distinctive evolutionary patterns near disposal wells Induced earthquake families reveal distinctive evolutionary patterns near disposal wells
The timing of events in seismic sequences can provide insights into the physical processes controlling fault slip. In southern Kansas, the rate of earthquakes rose rapidly starting in 2013 following expansion of energy production into the area, demanding the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into deep wells. Seismicity catalogs that are complete to low magnitudes can provide...
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Zachary E. Ross, Rebecca M. Harrington, Sara L. Dougherty, Justin L. Rubinstein
Research to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility Research to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility
Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the rapid detection of an earthquake and issuance of an alert or notification to people and vulnerable systems likely to experience potentially damaging ground shaking. The level of ground shaking that is considered damaging is defined by the specific application; for example, manufacturing equipment may experience damage at a lower intensity ground...
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Brad T. Aagaard, Richard M. Allen, Jennifer Andrews, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Andrew J. Barbour, Paul Bodin, Benjamin A. Brooks, Angela Chung, Brendan W. Crowell, Douglas D. Given, Thomas C. Hanks, J. Renate Hartog, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Sara K. McBride, Men-Andrin Meier, Diego Melgar, Sarah E. Minson, Jessica R. Murray, Jennifer A. Strauss, Douglas Toomey
The Hayward Fault—Is it due for a repeat of the powerful 1868 earthquake? The Hayward Fault—Is it due for a repeat of the powerful 1868 earthquake?
On October 21, 1868, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay area. Although the region was sparsely populated, the quake on the Hayward Fault was one of the most destructive in California’s history. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studies show that similar Hayward Fault quakes have repeatedly jolted the region in the past and that the fault may be ready to produce another...
Authors
Thomas M. Brocher, Jack Boatwright, James J. Lienkaemper, Carol S. Prentice, David P. Schwartz, Howard Bundock
Intensities, aftershock sequences, and the location of the 1936 Milton‐Freewater earthquake near the Oregon–Washington border, U.S.A. Intensities, aftershock sequences, and the location of the 1936 Milton‐Freewater earthquake near the Oregon–Washington border, U.S.A.
The epicenter of the 16 July 1936 MM 6 Milton‐Freewater earthquake, also known as the State Line earthquake and the largest historical earthquake in northeastern Oregon or southeastern Washington, is uncertain. Various studies place the epicenter of the earthquake, which was widely felt in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and northern Idaho, within 30 km of the intersection of...
Authors
Thomas M. Brocher, Brian Sherrod
Pressure core analysis of geomechanical and fluid flow properties of seals associated with gas hydrate-bearing reservoirs in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore India Pressure core analysis of geomechanical and fluid flow properties of seals associated with gas hydrate-bearing reservoirs in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, offshore India
Physical properties of the sediment directly overlying a gas hydrate reservoir provide important controls on the effectiveness of depressurizing that reservoir to extract methane from gas hydrate as an energy resource. The permeability of overlying sediment determines if a gas hydrate reservoir’s upper contact will provide an effective seal that enables efficient reservoir...
Authors
Junbong Jang, Sheng Dai, J. Yoneda, William F. Waite, Laura A. Stern, Lee-Gray Boze, Timothy S. Collett, Pushpendra Kumar
Shear failure of a granite pin traversing a sawcut fault Shear failure of a granite pin traversing a sawcut fault
Fault heterogeneities such as bumps, bends, and stepovers are commonly observed on natural faults, but are challenging to recreate under controlled laboratory conditions. We study deformation and microseismicity of a 76 mm-diameter Westerly granite cylinder with a sawcut fault with known frictional properties. An idealized asperity is added by emplacing a precision-ground 21 mm-diameter...
Authors
Gregory C. McLaskey, David A. Lockner
Broadband synthetic seismograms for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia megathrust based on 3D simulations and stochastic synthetics, part 1: Methodology and overall results Broadband synthetic seismograms for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia megathrust based on 3D simulations and stochastic synthetics, part 1: Methodology and overall results
We have produced a large set of broadband (0–10 Hz) synthetic seismograms for Mw 9.0 earthquakes on the Cascadia megathrust by combining synthetic seismograms derived from 3D finite‐difference simulations (≤1 Hz) with finite‐source, stochastic synthetics (≥1 Hz). We used a compound rupture model consisting of high stress drop Mw 8 subevents superimposed on large, shallower slip...
Authors
Arthur D. Frankel, Erin A. Wirth, Nasser A. Marafi, John Vidale, William J. Stephenson
Broadband synthetic seismograms for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia Megathrust based on 3D simulations and stochastic synthetics, Part 2: Rupture parameters and variability Broadband synthetic seismograms for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia Megathrust based on 3D simulations and stochastic synthetics, Part 2: Rupture parameters and variability
We used a combination of 3D finite‐difference simulations (>1 Hz) to generate broadband (0–10 Hz) synthetic seismograms for numerous Mw 9 earthquake rupture scenarios on the Cascadia megathrust. Slip consists of multiple high‐stress‐drop subevents (Mw 8) with short rise times on the deeper portions of the fault, superimposed on a background slip distribution with longer rise times. We...
Authors
Erin A. Wirth, Arthur D. Frankel, Nasser A. Marafi, John E. Vidale, William J. Stephenson
Granite IP network default route disappearance—Diagnosis and solution Granite IP network default route disappearance—Diagnosis and solution
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Strong Motion Project (NSMP) operates numerous strong-motion seismographs to monitor ground shaking and structural response caused by large, nearby earthquakes. This report describes a problem NSMP scientists encountered communicating over the Internet with several Kinemetrics, Inc., Granite strong-motion recorders. The Granite strong-motion...
Authors
Lawrence M. Baker
High resolution measurement of levee subsidence related to energy infrastructure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta High resolution measurement of levee subsidence related to energy infrastructure in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
We assess flood overtopping potential (when flood water elevation exceeds levee elevation) to the levees surrounding the islands in the interior of California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Because critical natural gas infrastructure is susceptible to overtopping-related disruption, we focus our analysis on regions that are crossed by the network of the state's natural gas pipelines. We...
Authors
Benjamin A. Brooks, Jennifer Telling, Todd Leroy Ericksen, Craig L. Glennie, Noah Knowles, Daniel Cayan, Darren L. Hauser, Adam LeWinter
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
Tilt Trivia: A free multiplayer app to learn geoscience concepts and definitions Tilt Trivia: A free multiplayer app to learn geoscience concepts and definitions
Today’s technology is opening up new ways to learn. Here, we introduce Tilt Trivia, a suite of quiz‐style, multiplayer games for use on mobile devices and tablets (Android or Apple) to help students learn simple definitions and facts. This mobile device game was built using the Unity engine and has a multiplayer functionality that runs seamlessly, all day, every day. A single game...
Authors
Debi Kilb, Alan Yang, Nathan Garrett, Kristine L. Pankow, Justin L. Rubinstein, Lisa Linville