Publications

This special section of the Journal of Geophysical Research addresses the composition and structural evolution of the lithosphere in northern Alaska. Investigations reported in this section were mainly undertaken as part of the Trans‐Alaska Crustal Transect (TACT), an integrated geological and geophysical transect of the entire Alaskan lithosphere along a north‐south corridor undertaken...

The nature of the Great Valley basement, whether oceanic or continental, has long been a source of controversy. A velocity model (derived from a 200-km-long east-west reflection-refraction profile collected south of the Mendocino triple junction, northern California, in 1993), further constrained by density and magnetic models, reveals an ophiolite underlying the Great Valley (Great...

Although the Hayward fault is a source of major earthquakes, it also creeps or slips aseismically, and has done so steadily for several decades (certainly since 1921 and probably since 1869). Most of the fault creeps between 3 and 6 mm/yr, except for a 4- to 6-km-long segment near its south end that creeps at about 9 mm/yr. We present results of our recent surveys to recover angles and...

This document provides the requested vision for the future of the National Strong-Motion Program operated by the US Geological Survey. Options for operation of the program are presented in a companion document. Each of the three major charges of the EHRP, program council pertaining to the vision document is addressed here. The 'Vision Summary' through a series of answers to specific...

These reports are presented in response to a charge of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (EHRP) Program Council of the U.S. Geological Survey to 'define the future of the USGS National Strong-Motion Program (NSMP)' (Appendix A). The council requested that a 'Vision Paper' and an 'Options Document' be prepared. Each of these reports is a separate document. The 'Executive Summary'...

Knowledge of the crustal structure of the Washington Cascades and adjacent Puget Lowland is important to both earthquake hazards studies and geologic studies of the evolution of this tectonically active region. We present a model for crustal velocity structure derived from analysis of seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection data collected in 1991 in western Washington. The 280-km-long...

No abstract available.

Although much interest will focus upon the temporal behavior of observed deformation, the principal justification for the SCIGN array is that within a 5‐year interval it will provide an accurate and detailed determination of the velocity field in the Los Angeles basin that can be used to identify the active faults and estimate their secular slip rates. Obviously, the accuracy of the...

No abstract available.

Our data indicate that critical and postcritical reflections from crustal layers and the Moho produced increased shaking at discrete distances along the San Francisco Peninsula during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. These reflections may have produced an increase in amplitude that is as much as 10 times greater than that of the direct arrival. Peak amplitude-distance patterns measured...

Geologic hazards in the Portland-Vancouver area include faults entirely hidden by river sediments, vegetation, and urban development. A recent aerial geophysical survey revealed patterns in the Earth's magnetic field that confirm the existence of a previously suspected fault running through Portland. It also indicated that this fault may pose a significant seismic threat. This discovery...

The degree of soil development associated with geomorphic surfaces in the San Timoteo Badlands area (STB), California allows correlation of the surfaces. Soil development indices, based on field descriptions and laboratory analysis, provide a basis for comparison of these soils to each other and to dated soil chronosequences at Cajon Pass, Merced, and Anza, California. The soils in this...