Publications

The 2008 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Maps display earthquake ground motions for various probability levels across the United States and are applied in seismic provisions of building codes, insurance rate structures, risk assessments, and other public policy. This update of the maps incorporates new findings on earthquake ground shaking, faults, seismicity, and...

The 8 October 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered several thousand landslides. These were mainly rock falls and debris falls, although translational rock and debris slides also occurred. In addition, a sturzstrom (debris avalanche) comprising ??? 80??million m3 buried four villages and blocked streams to create two lakes. Although landsliding occurred throughout the region, covering an...

Volumes of eroded sediment after wildfires vary substantially throughout different geologic terrains across the western United States. These volumes are difficult to compare because they represent the response to rainstorms and runoff with different characteristics. However, by measuring the erosion response as the erodibility efficiency of water to detach and transport sediment on...

We have used historical records of damaging landslides triggered by rainstorms, and a newly developed Probabilistic Landslide Assessment Cost Estimation System (PLACES), to estimate the numbers and direct costs of future landslides in the San Francisco Bay region. The estimated annual cost of future landslides in the entire region is about US $15 million (year 2000 $). The estimated...

We present a methodology for transforming the structural and non-structural fragility functions in HAZUS into a format that is compatible with conventional seismic hazard analysis information. The methodology makes use of the building capacity (or pushover) curves and related building parameters provided in HAZUS. Instead of the capacity spectrum method applied in HAZUS, building...

For centuries, navigators of the world’s oceans have been familiar with an effect of Earth’s magnetic field: It imparts a directional preference to the needle of a compass. Although in some settings magnetic orientation remains important, the modern science of geomagnetismhas emerged from its romantic nautical origins and developed into a subject of great depth and diversity. The...

In 1969, Nelson County, Virginia received up to 71 cm of rain within 12 h starting at 7 p.m. on August 19. The total rainfall from the storm exceeded the 1000-year return period in the region. Several thousands of landslides were induced by rainfall associated with Hurricane Camille causing fatalities and destroying infrastructure. We apply a distributed transient response model for...

We apply a kinematic finite-fault inversion scheme to Pnl displacement waveforms recorded at 14 regional stations (Δ

We present a summary of the data and analyses leading to the revision of the time-independent probabilistic seismic hazard maps of Alaska and the Aleutians. These maps represent a revision of existing maps based on newly obtained data, and reflect best current judgments about methodology and approach. They have been prepared following the procedures and assumptions made in the...

As part of a collaborative campaign to investigate Transient Lummous Events (TLEs) over South America, coordinated optical, ELF/VLF, and lightning measurements were made of a mesoscale thunderstorm observed on February 22-23, 2006 over northern Argentina that produced 445 TLEs within a ???6 hour period. Here, we report comprehensive measurements of one of these events, a sprite with halo...

This volume brings together case studies and summary papers describing the application of state-of-the-art engineering geologic methods to landslide hazard analysis for the Seattle, Washington, area. An introductory chapter provides a thorough description of the Quaternary and bedrock geology of Seattle. Nine additional chapters review the history of landslide mapping in Seattle, present...

A methodology was recently proposed for the development of hazard-compatible building fragility models using parameters of capacity curves and damage state thresholds from HAZUS (Karaca and Luco, 2008). In the methodology, HAZUS curvilinear capacity curves were used to define nonlinear dynamic SDOF models that were subjected to the nonlinear time history analysis instead of the capacity...