Publications
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Geologic input databases for the 2025 Puerto Rico – U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model update: Crustal faults component Geologic input databases for the 2025 Puerto Rico – U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model update: Crustal faults component
The last National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (PRVI) was published in 2003. In advance of the 2025 PRVI NSHM update, we created three geologic input databases to summarize new onshore and offshore fault source information in the northern Caribbean region between 62°–70° W and 16°–21° N. These databases, of fault sections, fault‐zone polygons...
Authors
Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Richard W. Briggs, Uri S. ten Brink, Thomas L. Pratt, K. Stephen Hughes, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Christopher DuRoss, Nadine G. Reitman, Julie A. Herrick, Sylvia R. Nicovich, Camille Collett, Katherine M. Scharer, Stephen B. DeLong
Evaluation of an open earthquake early warning system in Mexico, and laboratory tests of their sensors Evaluation of an open earthquake early warning system in Mexico, and laboratory tests of their sensors
Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers are useful for seismological and engineering applications because of their ability to record unsaturated large seismic signals. Recent advances in MEMS technologies enable the design of instruments with improved capabilities that also allow the recording of small signals. As a result, MEMS can be useful across a broad dynamic range and...
Authors
Vaclav Kuna, Adam T. Ringler, Diego Melgar
Preliminary observations of the April 5th, 2024, Mw4.8 New Jersey earthquake Preliminary observations of the April 5th, 2024, Mw4.8 New Jersey earthquake
On 5 April 2024, 10:23 a.m. local time, a moment magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, about 65 km west of New York City. Millions of people from Virginia to Maine and beyond felt the ground shaking, resulting in the largest number (>180,000) of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) “Did You Feel It?” reports of any earthquake. A team deployed by the Geotechnical...
Authors
Oliver S. Boyd, William D. Barnhart, James Bourke, Martin C. Chapman, Paul S. Earle, Guo-chin Dino Huang, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Won-Young Kim, Frederick Link, Mairi Maclean Litherland, Andrew Lloyd, Maureen Long, Sara K. McBride, Andrew J. Michael, Walter D. Mooney, Gregory Moutain, Sissy Nikolaou, Alexandros Savvaidas, Felix Waldhauser, Cecily J. Wolfe, Clara Yoon
Framework for mapping liquefaction hazard–Targeted design ground motions Framework for mapping liquefaction hazard–Targeted design ground motions
Liquefaction-induced ground failure poses substantial challenges to geotechnical earthquake engineering design. Current approaches for designing against liquefaction hazards, as specified in most seismic provisions, focus on estimating a liquefaction factor of safety (𝐹𝑆𝐿) and typically characterize earthquake loading using design parameters based on probabilistic or deterministic...
Authors
Andrew James Makdisi, Steven L. Kramer
The value of hyperparameter optimization in phase-picking neural networks The value of hyperparameter optimization in phase-picking neural networks
The effectiveness of using neural networks for picking seismic phase arrival times has been demonstrated through several case studies, and seismic monitoring programs are starting to adopt the technology into their workflows. However, published models were designed and trained using rather arbitrary choices of hyperparameters, limiting their performance. In this study, we use phase picks...
Authors
Yongsoo Park, David R. Shelly
A benchmark dataset and workflow for landslide susceptibility zonation A benchmark dataset and workflow for landslide susceptibility zonation
Landslide susceptibility shows the spatial likelihood of landslide occurrence in a specific geographical area and is a relevant tool for mitigating the impact of landslides worldwide. As such, it is the subject of countless scientific studies. Many methods exist for generating a susceptibility map, mostly falling under the definition of statistical or machine learning. These models try...
Authors
Massimiliano Alvioli, Marco Loche, Liesbet Jacobs, Carlos H. Grohmann, Minu Treesa Abraham, Kunal Gupta, Neelima Satyam, Gianvito Scaringi, Txomin Bornaetxea, Mauro Rossi, Ivan Marchesini, Luigi Lombardo, Mateo Moreno, Stefan Steger, Corrado Camera, Greta Bajni, Guruh Samodra, Erwin Eko Wahyudi, Nanang Susyanto, Marko Sincic, Sanja Bernat Gazibara, Flavius Sirbu, Jewgenij Torizin, Nick Schussler, Benjamin B. Mirus, Jacob Bryson Woodard, Hector Aguilera, Jhonatan Steven Rivera-Rivera
Neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico Neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is part of the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands microplate, along the Caribbean–North American plate boundary between the Puerto Rico trench subduction zone and the Muertos Trough incipient subduction zone. Despite recent seismicity and geodetically constrained deformation of ~3 mm/yr of left-lateral shear across the island, Quaternary fault locations remain largely uncertain...
Authors
Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Richard W. Briggs, K. Stephen Hughes, J. Joyce, Ryan D. Gold, Shannon A. Mahan, Harrison J. Gray, Laura E. Strickland
Parsimonious high-resolution landslide susceptibility modeling at continental scales Parsimonious high-resolution landslide susceptibility modeling at continental scales
Landslide susceptibility maps are fundamental tools for risk reduction, but the coarse resolution of current continental-scale models is insufficient for local application. Complex relations between topographic and environmental attributes characterizing landslide susceptibility at local scales are not transferrable across areas without landslide data. Existing maps with multiple...
Authors
Benjamin B. Mirus, Gina Marie Belair, Nathan J. Wood, Jeanne M. Jones, Sabrina N. Martinez
Precariously balanced rocks in northern New York and Vermont, U.S.A.: Ground-motion constraints and implications for fault sources Precariously balanced rocks in northern New York and Vermont, U.S.A.: Ground-motion constraints and implications for fault sources
Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) and other fragile geologic features have the potential to constrain the maximum intensity of earthquake ground shaking over millennia. Such constraints may be particularly useful in the eastern United States (U.S.), where few earthquake‐source faults are reliably identified, and moderate earthquakes can be felt at great distances due to low seismic...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Thomas L. Pratt
Reply to “comment on ‘an evaluation of the timing accuracy of global and regional seismic stations and networks’ by Yang et al. (2021)” by Xin Zhang and Lianxing Wen Reply to “comment on ‘an evaluation of the timing accuracy of global and regional seismic stations and networks’ by Yang et al. (2021)” by Xin Zhang and Lianxing Wen
The finding of Yang et al. (2021; hereafter, YSR21) casts fundamental doubts on all the previous studies on the temporal changes of the inner core (IC) surface that are based on absolute arrival times, including Wen (2006; hereafter, WEN06) and its follow‐up studies. The reports of small time shifts of the IC‐reflected phase (PKiKP) likely misinterpreted station‐related issues (clock...
Authors
Yi Yang, Xiaodong Song, Adam T. Ringler
Challenging ring-current models of the Carrington storm Challenging ring-current models of the Carrington storm
A detailed analysis is made of horizontal-component geomagnetic-disturbance data acquired at the Colaba observatory in India recording the Carrington magnetic storm of September 1859. Prior to attaining its maximum absolute value, disturbance at Colaba increased with an e-folding timescale of 0.46 hr (28 min). Following its maximum, absolute disturbance at Colaba decreased as a trend...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Kalevi Mursula
RegionGrow3D: A deterministic analysis for characterizing discrete three-dimensional landslide source areas on a regional scale RegionGrow3D: A deterministic analysis for characterizing discrete three-dimensional landslide source areas on a regional scale
Regional-scale characterization of shallow landslide hazards is important for reducing their destructive impact on society. These hazards are commonly characterized by (a) their location and likelihood using susceptibility maps, (b) landslide size and frequency using geomorphic scaling laws, and (c) the magnitude of disturbance required to cause landslides using initiation thresholds...
Authors
Nicolas Wahde Mathews, Ben Leshchinksy, Benjamin B. Mirus, Michael J. Olsen, Adam M. Booth