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Educational Publications
Selected publications about earthquakes In plain language.
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Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults Direct evidence for fluid pressure, dilatancy, and compaction affecting slip in isolated faults
Earthquake instability occurs as a result of strength loss during sliding on a fault. It has been known for over 50 years that fault compaction or dilatancy may cause significant weakening or strengthening by dramatically changing the fluid pressure trapped in faults. Despite this fundamental importance, we have no real understanding of the exact conditions that lead to compaction or...
Authors
Brooks P. Proctor, David A. Lockner, Brian D. Kilgore, Thomas M. Mitchell, Nicholas M. Beeler
Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods
Introduction To understand the behavior of potentially damaging ground motions during earthquakes, seismic-site effects are routinely characterized by using the dispersion of surface waves. Many methods exist to measure dispersion; these methods have various advantages and disadvantages, but they all yield dispersion data that must be inverted for shear-wave velocity. This report...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Alan K. Yong, Antony Martin, William J. Stephenson
Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures
Surface rupture in the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence occurred along two orthogonal cross faults and includes dominantly left‐lateral and northeast‐striking rupture in the Mw 6.4 foreshock and dominantly right‐lateral and northwest‐striking rupture in the Mw 7.1 mainshock. We present >650 field‐based, surface‐displacement observations for these ruptures and synthesize...
Authors
Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, Timothy E. Dawson, Katherine M. Scharer, Katherine J. Kendrick, Sinan Akciz, Stephen J. Angster, Jeffery Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Scott E.K. Bennett, Luke Blair, Benjamin A. Brooks, Thomas Bullard, W. Paul Burgess, Colin Chupik, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, James D. Dolan, Erik Frost, Nick Graehl, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Janis Hernandez, Christopher S. Hitchcock, Kennth Hudnut, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Richard D Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler C. Ladinsky, Christopher Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Alexander Morelan, Brian Olson, Jason Patton, Belle E. Philibosian, Alexandra J. Pickering, Ian Pierce, Daniel J. Ponti, Gordon G. Seitz, Eleanor Spangler, Brian J. Swanson, Kate Thomas, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Alana Williams, Robert Zinke
The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake (California, USA): Ground motions and rupture scenario The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake (California, USA): Ground motions and rupture scenario
We present a synoptic analysis of the ground motions from the 11 March 1933 Mw 6.4 Long Beach, California, earthquake, the largest known earthquake within the central Los Angeles Basin region. Our inferred shaking intensity pattern supports the association of the earthquake with the Newport-Inglewood fault; it further illuminates the concentration of severe damage in the town of Compton...
Authors
Susan E. Hough, Robert Graves
3D fault architecture controls the dynamism of earthquake swarm 3D fault architecture controls the dynamism of earthquake swarm
The vibrant evolutionary patterns made by earthquake swarms are incompatible with standard, effectively two-dimensional (2D) models for general fault architecture. We leverage advances in earthquake monitoring with a deep-learning algorithm to image a fault zone hosting a 4-year-long swarm in southern California. We infer that fluids are naturally injected into the fault zone from below...
Authors
Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, D. Trugman, Jonathan D. Smith
Kinematic rupture and 3D wave propagation simulations of the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake Kinematic rupture and 3D wave propagation simulations of the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake
We model the kinematic rupture process of the 2019 MwMw 7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake using numerical simulations to reproduce the elastodynamic wave field observed by inertial seismometers, high‐rate Global Navigation Satellite System stations, and borehole strainmeters. This was the largest earthquake in Southern California in 20 yr and was widely felt throughout the region...
Authors
Evan Tyler Hirakawa, Andrew J. Barbour
Hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity Hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity
Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is a technique that is used for extracting petroleum resources from impermeable host rocks. In this process, fluid injected under high pressure causes fractures to propagate. This technique has been transformative for the hydrocarbon industry, unlocking otherwise stranded resources; however, environmental concerns make HF controversial. One concern is HF‐induced
Authors
Ryan Schultz, Robert Skoumal, Michael R. Brudzinski, David Eaton, Brian Baptie, William L. Ellsworth
The ocean's impact on slow slip events The ocean's impact on slow slip events
We test the hypothesis that ocean seafloor pressures impart stresses that alter the initiation or termination of transient slow slip events (SSEs) on shallow submarine and near-coastal faults, using simulated seafloor pressures and a new catalog of SSEs in the Hikurangi subduction zone. We show that seafloor pressures may be represented by an average time history over the ~100-km...
Authors
Joan S. Gomberg, Peter J. Baxter, Euan G. C. Smith, Keisuke Ariyoshi, Steve Chiswell
Optimizing earthquake early warning alert distance strategies using the July 2019 Mw6.4 and Mw7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquakes Optimizing earthquake early warning alert distance strategies using the July 2019 Mw6.4 and Mw7.1 Ridgecrest, California, earthquakes
The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system aims to alert people who experience modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) IV+ shaking during an earthquake using source estimates (magnitude and location) to estimate median‐expected peak ground motions with distance, then using these ground motions to determine median‐expected MMI and thus the extent of MMI IV shaking. Because median ground...
Authors
Jessie Kate Saunders, Brad T. Aagaard, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Sarah E. Minson
Repeatable source, path, and site effects from the 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1 earthquake sequence Repeatable source, path, and site effects from the 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1 earthquake sequence
We use a large instrumental dataset from the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence (Rekoske et al., 2019, 2020) to examine repeatable source‐, path‐, and site‐specific ground motions. A mixed‐effects analysis is used to partition total residuals relative to the Boore et al. (2014; hereafter, BSSA14) ground‐motion model. We calculate the Arias intensity stress drop for the earthquakes and...
Authors
Grace Alexandra Parker, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, John Rekoske, Eric M. Thompson
Seismicity rate change at the Coso Geothermal Field following the July 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1 earthquake Seismicity rate change at the Coso Geothermal Field following the July 2019 Ridgecrest M7.1 earthquake
Many geothermal and volcanic regions experience remote and regional triggering following large earthquakes. The transient or permanent changes in stresses acting on faults and fractures can lead to changes in seismicity rates following either the passage of teleseismic waves or the permanent change in stresses following regional events. One such region of prevalent triggering is the Coso
Authors
Joern Kaven
Real-time performance of the PLUM earthquake early warning method during the 2019 M6.4 and M7.1 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquakes Real-time performance of the PLUM earthquake early warning method during the 2019 M6.4 and M7.1 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquakes
We evaluate the timeliness and accuracy of ground‐motion‐based earthquake early warning (EEW) during the July 2019 M6.4 and 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquakes. In 2018, we began retrospective and internal real‐time testing of the propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM) method for earthquake warning in California, Oregon, and Washington, with the potential that PLUM might one day be included...
Authors
Sarah E. Minson, Jessie Kate Saunders, Julian Bunn, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Deborah L. Kilb, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki Kodera