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Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2012 Sumatra and vicinity Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2012 Sumatra and vicinity

The plate boundary southwest of Sumatra is part of a long tectonic collision zone that extends over 8,000 km from Papua, New Guinea, in the east to the Himalayan front in the west. The Sumatra-Andaman part of the collision zone forms a subduction zone plate boundary, which accommodates convergence between the Indo-Australia and Sunda plates. This convergence is responsible for the...
Authors
Gavin P. Hayes, Melissa Bernardino, Fransiska Dannemann, Gregory Smoczyk, Richard W. Briggs, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor

Radiocarbon dating of plant macrofossils from tidal-marsh sediment Radiocarbon dating of plant macrofossils from tidal-marsh sediment

Tidal-marsh sediment is an archive of Holocene environmental changes, including movements of sea and land levels, and extreme events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Accurate and precise radiocarbon dating of environmental changes is necessary to estimate rates of change and the recurrence interval (frequency) of events. Plant macrofossils preserved in growth position (or...
Authors
A.C. Kemp, Alan R. Nelson, B. P. Horton

Post-earthquake building safety inspection: Lessons from the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes Post-earthquake building safety inspection: Lessons from the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes

The authors discuss some of the unique aspects and lessons of the New Zealand post-earthquake building safety inspection program that was implemented following the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010–2011. The post-event safety assessment program was one of the largest and longest programs undertaken in recent times anywhere in the world. The effort engaged hundreds of engineering...
Authors
J. Marshall, Kishor S. Jaiswal, N. Gould, F. Turner, B. Lizundia, J. Barnes

On the insignificance of Herschel's sunspot correlation On the insignificance of Herschel's sunspot correlation

We examine William Herschel's hypothesis that solar-cycle variation of the Sun's irradiance has a modulating effect on the Earth's climate and that this is, specifically, manifested as an anticorrelation between sunspot number and the market price of wheat. Since Herschel first proposed his hypothesis in 1801, it has been regarded with both interest and skepticism. Recently, reports have...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love

Current research issues related to post-wildfire runoff and erosion processes Current research issues related to post-wildfire runoff and erosion processes

Research into post-wildfire effects began in the United States more than 70 years ago and only later extended to other parts of the world. Post-wildfire responses are typically transient, episodic, variable in space and time, dependent on thresholds, and involve multiple processes measured by different methods. These characteristics tend to hinder research progress, but the large...
Authors
John A. Moody, Richard A. Shakesby, Peter R. Robichaud, Susan H. Cannon, Deborah A. Martin

Sea-level-induced seismicity and submarine landslide occurrence Sea-level-induced seismicity and submarine landslide occurrence

The temporal coincidence between rapid late Pleistocene sea-level rise and large-scale slope failures is widely documented. Nevertheless, the physical mechanisms that link these phenomena are poorly understood, particularly along nonglaciated margins. Here we investigate the causal relationships between rapid sea-level rise, flexural stress loading, and increased seismicity rates along...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Karen M. Luttrell, Jason D. Chaytor

Geometry and earthquake potential of the shoreline fault, central California Geometry and earthquake potential of the shoreline fault, central California

The Shoreline fault is a vertical strike‐slip fault running along the coastline near San Luis Obispo, California. Much is unknown about the Shoreline fault, including its slip rate and the details of its geometry. Here, I study the geometry of the Shoreline fault at seismogenic depth, as well as the adjacent section of the offshore Hosgri fault, using seismicity relocations and...
Authors
Jeanne L. Hardebeck

A kinematic model for the formation of the Siletz-Crescent forearc terrane by capture of coherent fragments of the Farallon and Resurrection plates A kinematic model for the formation of the Siletz-Crescent forearc terrane by capture of coherent fragments of the Farallon and Resurrection plates

The volcanic basement of the Oregon and Washington Coast ranges has been proposed to represent a pair of tracks of the Yellowstone hotspot formed at a mid-ocean ridge during the early Cenozoic. This interpretation has been questioned on many grounds, especially that the range of ages does not match the offshore spreading rates and that the presence of continental coarse clastic sediments...
Authors
Patricia A. McCrory, Douglas S. Wilson

Finite-fault source inversion using teleseismic P waves: Simple parameterization and rapid analysis Finite-fault source inversion using teleseismic P waves: Simple parameterization and rapid analysis

We examine the ability of teleseismic P waves to provide a timely image of the rupture history for large earthquakes using a simple, 2D finite‐fault source parameterization. We analyze the broadband displacement waveforms recorded for the 2010 Mw∼7 Darfield (New Zealand) and El Mayor‐Cucapah (Baja California) earthquakes using a single planar fault with a fixed rake. Both of these...
Authors
C. Mendoza, S. Hartzell

Insignificant solar-terrestrial triggering of earthquakes Insignificant solar-terrestrial triggering of earthquakes

We examine the claim that solar-terrestrial interaction, as measured by sunspots, solar wind velocity, and geomagnetic activity, might play a role in triggering earthquakes. We count the number of earthquakes having magnitudes that exceed chosen thresholds in calendar years, months, and days, and we order these counts by the corresponding rank of annual, monthly, and daily averages of...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Jeremy N. Thomas
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