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Publications

Filter Total Items: 2148

Hazard-consistent seismic losses and collapse capacities for light-frame wood buildings in California and Cascadia

We evaluate the seismic performance of modern seismically designed wood light-frame (WLF) buildings, considering regional seismic hazard characteristics that influence ground motion duration and frequency content and, thus, seismic risk. Results show that WLF building response correlates strongly with ground motion spectral shape but weakly with duration. Due to the flatter spectral shape of groun
Authors
Robert Edward Chase, Abbie B. Liel, Nicolas Luco, Zach Bullock

Local variations in broadband sensor installations: Orientations, sensitivities, and noise levels

As seismologists continue to place more stringent demands on data quality, accurately described metadata are becoming increasingly important. In order to better constrain the orientation and sensitivities of seismometers deployed in U.S. Geological Survey networks, the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) has recently begun identifying true north with a fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) and has de
Authors
Adam T. Ringler, Robert E. Anthony

An evaluation of the timing accuracy of global and regional seismic stations and networks

Clock accuracy is a basic parameter of any seismic station and has become increasingly important for seismology as the community seeks to refine structures and dynamic processes of the Earth. In this study, we measure the arrival time differences of moderate repeating earthquakes with magnitude 5.0–5.9 in the time range of 1991–2017 at the same seismic stations by cross‐correlating their highly si
Authors
Ying Yang, Xiaodong Song, Adam T. Ringler

Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire

Wildfire-induced changes to soil and vegetation promote runoff-generated debris flows in steep watersheds. Postfire debris flows are most commonly observed in steep watersheds during the first wet season following a wildfire, but it is unclear how long the elevated threat of debris flow persists and why debris-flow potential changes in recovering burned areas. This work quantifies how rainfall int
Authors
Olivia J. Hoch, Luke A. McGuire, Ann M. Youberg, Francis K. Rengers

Comment on “Which earthquake accounts matter” by Susan E. Hough and Stacey S. Martin

In their analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) data Hough and Martin (2021) claim, among other assertions, that the following:Socioeconomic and geopolitical factors can introduce biases in the USGS’ characterization of earthquakes and their effects, especially if online data collection systems are not designed to be broadly accessible;These biases can, in turn,
Authors
David J. Wald

OpenET: Filling a critical data gap in water management for the western United States

The lack of consistent, accurate information on evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive use of water by irrigated agriculture is one of the most important data gaps for water managers in the western United States (U.S.) and other arid agricultural regions globally. The ability to easily access information on ET is central to improving water budgets across the West, advancing the use of data-driven
Authors
Forrest Melton, Justin Huntington, Robyn Grimm, Jamie Herring, Maurice Hall, Dana Rollison, Tyler Erickson, Richard Allen, Martha Anderson, Joshua Fisher, Ayse Kilic, Gabriel Senay, John Volk, Christopher Hain, Lee Johnson, Anderson Ruhoff, Philip Blankenau, Matthew Bromley, Will Carrara, Britta Daudert, Conor Doherty, Christian Dunkerly, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Alberto Guzman, Gregory Halverson, Jody Hansen, Jordan Harding, Yanghui Kang, David C. Ketchum, Blake Minor, Charles Morton, Samuel Ortega-Salazar, Thomas Ott, Mutlu Ozdogan, Peter Revelle, Mitch Schull, Carlos Wang, Yun Yang, Ray G. Anderson

Evaluation of intensity prediction equations (IPEs) for small-magnitude earthquakes

This study assesses existing intensity prediction equations (IPEs) for small unspecified magnitude (M ≤3.5) earthquakes at short hypocentral distances (⁠Dh⁠) and explores such earthquakes’ contribution to the felt shaking hazard. In particular, we consider IPEs by Atkinson and Wald (2007) and Atkinson et al. (2014), and evaluate their performance based on “Did You Feel It” (DYFI) reports and recor
Authors
Ganyu Teng, Jack W. Baker, David J. Wald

Modeling seismic network detection thresholds using production picking algorithms

Estimating the detection threshold of a seismic network (the minimum magnitude earthquake that can be reliably located) is a critical part of network design and can drive network maintenance efforts. The ability of a station to detect an earthquake is often estimated by assuming the spectral amplitude for an earthquake of a given size, assuming an attenuation relationship, and comparing the predic
Authors
David C. Wilson, Emily Wolin, William L. Yeck, Robert E. Anthony, Adam T. Ringler

Hazard characterization for alternative intensity measures using the total probability theorem

Since their inception in the 1980s, simplified procedures for the analysis of liquefaction hazards have typically characterized seismic loading using a combination of peak ground acceleration and earthquake magnitude. However, more recent studies suggest that certain evolutionary intensity measures (IMs) such as Arias intensity or cumulative absolute velocity may be more efficient and sufficient p
Authors
Michael W. Greenfield, Andrew James Makdisi

STEPS: Slip time earthquake path simulations applied to the San Andreas and Toe Jam Hill Faults to redefine geologic slip rate uncertainty

Geologic slip rates are a time-averaged measurement of fault displacement calculated over hundreds to million-year time scales and are a primary input for probabilistic seismic hazard analyses, which forecast expected ground shaking in future earthquakes. Despite their utility for seismic hazard calculations, longer-term geologic slip rates represent a time-averaged measure of the tempo of strain
Authors
Alexandra Elise Hatem, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Katherine Scharer, Edward H. Field

The seismic hazard implications of declustering and poisson assumptions inferred from a fully time‐dependent model

We use the Third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3) epidemic‐type aftershock sequence (ETAS) model (UCERF3‐ETAS) to evaluate the effects of declustering and Poisson assumptions on seismic hazard estimates. Although declustering is necessary to infer the long‐term spatial distribution of earthquake rates, the question is whether it is also necessary to honor the Poisson assumpt
Authors
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner, Nicolas Luco

Geophysical constraints on the crustal architecture of the transtensional Warm Springs Valley fault zone, northern Walker Lane, western Nevada, USA

The Walker Lane is a zone of distributed transtension where normal faults are overprinted by strike-slip motion. We use two newly-acquired high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and a reprocessed Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) deep crustal reflection profile to assess the subsurface geometry of the Holocene-active, transtensional Warm Springs Valley fault zone (WSVFZ
Authors
Richard W. Briggs, William J. Stephenson, J.H. McBride, Jackson K. Odum, Nadine G. Reitman, Ryan D. Gold