Women in Science - Responding to Ridgecrest, CA earthquake July 2019

USGS scientist Kate Scharer provides Commanding Officer CAPT Paul Dale (Navy) with the field team’s initial mapping product, showing the surface fault rupture at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWSCL) as well as the temporarily deployed seismic and GPS sensors that were rapidly deployed. Field data were provided by California Geological Survey (CGS) and USGS (from within the base), and from Univ. of Nevada - Reno, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Southern California earthquake Center (SCEC), the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association (GEER) team, and many others (outside the base). On this occasion, Kate Scharer rotated into position as lead USGS point-of-contact for all USGS field operations within NAWSCL. Scharer took over from the early rapid response strike team that was led by Janis Hernandez (CGS) and by Ken Hudnut (USGS) after the M6.4 foreshock.

Prior to the M7.1 mainshock, Hernandez and Hudnut performed ground-based reconnaissance with Kelly Blake (Navy) followed by aerial reconnaissance to map the surface rupture on the SW-NE fault associated with the M6.4 foreshock. Hernandez and Hudnut then briefed the Commanding Officer and Navy Emergency Operations Center (EOC) staff, the Mayor of Ridgecrest and City Emergency Operations Center staff. Photo credit: Ken Hudnut, USGS