Publications

At the very heart of volcanology lies the search for the 'plumbing systems' that form the inner workings of Earth’s active volcanoes. By their very nature, however, the magmatic reservoirs and conduits that underlie these active volcanic systems are elusive; mostly they are observable only through circumstantial evidence, using indirect, and often ambiguous, surficial measurements. Of...

This field guide consists of eleven stops at sites that illustrate the geological, geophysical, geographic, and engineering aspects of the Hayward fault in the East Bay. Section I (Stops 1–4) consists of stops that are part of the University of California at Berkeley (UC-Berkeley), including research facilities, retrofit of campus buildings, and geomorphic features along the fault...

a global study of radiated seismic energies ER and apparent stresses τ a reveals systematic patterns. earthquakes with the highest apparent stress occur in regions of intense deformation and rupture strong lithosphere. in oceanic settings, these are strike-slip earthquakes (τ a up to 27 Mpa) occurring intraplate or at evolving ends of transform faults. at subduction zones and...

This book recounts the life and achievements of Clarence King, widely recognized as one of America’s most gifted intellectuals of the nineteenth century, and a legendary figure in the American West. King’s genius, singular accomplishments, and near-death adventures unfold in a narrative centered on his personal relationship with his lifelong friend and colleague, James Gardner. The two...

During the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, liquefaction-induced lateral spreading and resultant ground displacements damaged bridges, buried utilities, and lifelines, conventional structures, and other developed works. This paper presents an improved engineering tool for the prediction of maximum displacement due to liquefaction-induced lateral spreading. A semi-empirical approach is...

GPS/INS and infrared optical sensors propel USGS's transformation of a remote-controlled one-quarter scale recreational aircraft into a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle designed for environmental particulate collection.

An International Tsunami Survey Team (ITST) consisting of scientists from the United States, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka evaluated the impacts of the 26 December 2004 transoceanic tsunami in Sri Lanka two weeks after the event. Tsunami runup height, inundation distance, morphological changes, and sedimentary characteristics of deposits were recorded and analyzed along the southwest and...

Sediment deposited around oceanic volcanic ares potentially provides the most complete record of the tectonic and geochemical evolution of active margins. The use of such tectonic and geochemical records requires an accurate understanding of sedimentary dynamics in an arc setting: processes of deposition and reworking that affect the degree to which sediments represent the...

No abstract available.

Scientific knowledge from the past century is commonly represented by two-dimensional figures and graphs, as presented in manuscripts and maps. Using today's computer technology, this information can be extracted and projected into three- and four-dimensional perspectives. Computer models can be applied to datasets to provide additional insight into complex spatial and temporal systems...

Worldwide, local-scale anthropogenic stress combined with global climate change is driving shifts in the state of reef benthic communities from coral-rich to micro- or macroalgal-dominated (Knowlton, 1992; Done, 1999). Such phase shifts in reef benthic communities may be either abrupt or gradual, and case studies from diverse ocean basins demonstrate that recovery, while uncertain...

Massive rock failures pose one of the greatest hazards at stratovolcanoes; more than 20,000 fatalities have resulted worldwide from historical volcano edifice collapses. Although numerous processes can destabilize an edifice, gravitational instability is strongly influenced by the interplay of topography, variable potential failure surfaces, and the three-dimensional (3-D) distributions...