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To catch a quake To catch a quake

A revolution in seismic detection technology is underway, capturing unprecedented observations of earthquakes and their impacts. These sensor innovations provide real-time ground shaking observations that could improve emergency response following damaging earthquakes and may advance our understanding of the physics of earthquake ruptures.
Authors
Elizabeth S. Cochran

Using geologic structures to constrain constitutive laws not accessible in the laboratory Using geologic structures to constrain constitutive laws not accessible in the laboratory

In this essay, we explore a central problem of structural geology today, and in the foreseeable future, which is the determination of constitutive laws governing rock deformation to produce geologic structures. Although laboratory experiments provide much needed data and insights about constitutive laws, these experiments cannot cover the range of conditions and compositions relevant to...
Authors
Johanna Nevitt, Jessica M. Warren, Kathryn M. Kumamoto, David D. Pollard

Why aftershock duration matters for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment Why aftershock duration matters for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment

Most hazard assessments assume that high background seismicity rates indicate a higher probability of large shocks and, therefore, of strong shaking. However, in slowly deforming regions, such as eastern North America, Australia, and inner Honshu, this assumption breaks down if the seismicity clusters are instead aftershocks of historic and prehistoric mainshocks. Here, therefore we...
Authors
Shinji Toda, Ross S. Stein

ShakeMap-based prediction of earthquake-induced mass movements in Switzerland calibrated on historical observations ShakeMap-based prediction of earthquake-induced mass movements in Switzerland calibrated on historical observations

In Switzerland, nearly all historical Mw ~ 6 earthquakes have induced damaging landslides, rockslides and snow avalanches that, in some cases, also resulted in damage to infrastructure and loss of lives. We describe the customisation to Swiss conditions of a globally calibrated statistical approach originally developed to rapidly assess earthquake-induced landslide likelihoods worldwide...
Authors
Carlo Cauzzi, Donat Fah, David J. Wald, John Clinton, Stephane Losey, Stefan Wiemer

Analysis of mean seismic ground motion and its uncertainty based on the UCERF3 geologic slip rate model with uncertainty for California Analysis of mean seismic ground motion and its uncertainty based on the UCERF3 geologic slip rate model with uncertainty for California

The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast v.3 (UCERF3) model (Field et al., 2014) considers epistemic uncertainty in fault‐slip rate via the inclusion of multiple rate models based on geologic and/or geodetic data. However, these slip rates are commonly clustered about their mean value and do not reflect the broader distribution of possible rates and associated probabilities...
Authors
Yuehua Zeng

Landslides triggered by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand Landslides triggered by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand

The 14 November 2016 MwMw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake generated more than 10,000 landslides over a total area of about 10,000  km210,000  km2, with the majority concentrated in a smaller area of about 3600  km23600  km2. The largest landslide triggered by the earthquake had an approximate volume of 20(±2)  M m320(±2)  M m3, with a runout distance of about 2.7 km, forming a dam on the Hapuku...
Authors
C. Massey, D. Townsend, Ellen Rathje, Kate E. Allstadt, B. Lukovic, Yoshihiro Kaneko, Brendon A. Bradley, J. Wartman, Randall W. Jibson, D. N. Petley, Nick Horspool, I. Hamling, J. Carey, S. Cox, John Davidson, S. Dellow, Jonathan W. Godt, Christopher Holden, Katherine D. Jones, Anna E. Kaiser, M. Little, B. Lyndsell, S. McColl, R. Morgenstern, Francis K. Rengers, D. Rhoades, B. Rosser, D. Strong, C. Singeisen, M. Villeneuve

Preface to the Focus Section on the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP): New results and future directions Preface to the Focus Section on the Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP): New results and future directions

The Collaboratory for the Study of Earthquake Predictability (CSEP; Jordan, 2006) carries out fully prospective tests of earthquake forecasts, using fixed and standardized statistical tests and authoritative data sets, to assess the predictive skill of forecast models and to make objective comparisons between models. CSEP conducts prospective experiments at four testing centers around...
Authors
Andrew J. Michael, Maximillian J. Werner

Ensemble smoothed seismicity models for the new Italian Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map Ensemble smoothed seismicity models for the new Italian Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map

We develop a long‐term (a few decades or longer) earthquake rate forecast for Italy based on smoothed seismicity for incorporation in the 2017–2018 Italian Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Maps (IPSHM). Because the earthquake rate models from previous IPSHM were computed using source zones that were drawn around seismicity and tectonic provinces, the present model will be the first...
Authors
Aybige Akinci, Morgan P. Moschetti, Matteo Taroni

Reexamination of the subsurface fault structure in the vicinity of the 1989 moment-magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, central California, using steep-reflection, earthquake, and magnetic data Reexamination of the subsurface fault structure in the vicinity of the 1989 moment-magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, central California, using steep-reflection, earthquake, and magnetic data

We reexamine the geometry of the causative fault structure of the 1989 moment-magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in central California, using seismic-reflection, earthquake-hypocenter, and magnetic data. Our study is prompted by recent interpretations of a two-part dip of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) accompanied by a flower-like structure in the Coachella Valley, in southern California...
Authors
Edward Zhang, Gary S. Fuis, Rufus D. Catchings, Daniel S. Scheirer, Mark Goldman, Klaus Bauer

Broadband ground‐motion simulation of the 2011 Mw 6.2 Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquake Broadband ground‐motion simulation of the 2011 Mw 6.2 Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquake

This study presents the details and results of hybrid broadband (0–10 Hz) ground‐motion simulations for the 2011 MwMw 6.2 Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquake. The simulations utilize a 3D velocity model and a kinematic source model with stochastic realizations of the slip amplitude, rise time, and rake angle. The resulting ground motions capture the salient basin amplification effects...
Authors
Hoby N. T. Razafindrakoto, Brendon A. Bradley, Robert Graves

Development of a United States community shear wave velocity profile database Development of a United States community shear wave velocity profile database

We present the details of a multi-institutional effort to develop an open-access shear-wave velocity (VS) profile database (PDB), which will include a public repository for VS profile data in the United States. VS profiles are an essential resource for ground motion modeling and other applications. The minimum requirements for a site to be included in the database are in situ geophysical...
Authors
Sean K. Ahdi, Shamsher Sadiq, Okan Ilhan, Yousef Bozorgnia, Youssef M. A. Hashash, Dong Youp Kwak, Duhee Park, Alan Yong, Jonathan P. Stewart
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