Publications
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Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3): Global dune distribution and wind pattern observations Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3): Global dune distribution and wind pattern observations
The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) is complete and now extends from 90°N to 90°S latitude. The recently released south pole (SP) portion (MC-30) of MGD3 adds ∼60,000 km2 of medium to large-size dark dune fields and ∼15,000 km2 of sand deposits and smaller dune fields to the previously released equatorial (EQ, ∼70,000 km2), and north pole (NP, ∼845,000 km2) portions of the...
Authors
Rosalyn K. Hayward, Lori Fenton, Timothy N. Titus
Soil diversity and hydration as observed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars Soil diversity and hydration as observed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars
The ChemCam instrument, which provides insight into martian soil chemistry at the submillimeter scale, identified two principal soil types along the Curiosity rover traverse: a fine-grained mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained felsic type. The mafic soil component is representative of widespread martian soils and is similar in composition to the martian dust. It possesses a...
Authors
P.-Y. Meslin, O. Gasnault, O. Forni, S. Schroder, A. Cousin, G. Berger, S.M. Clegg, J. Lasue, S. Maurice, V. Sautter, S. Le Mouélic, R. C. Wiens, C. Fabre, W. Goetz, D.L. Bish, N. Mangold, B. Ehlmann, N. Lanza, A.-M. Harri, Ryan B. Anderson, E. Rampe, T.H. McConnochie, P. Pinet, D. Blaney, D. Archer, B. Barraclough, S. Bender, D. Blake, J.G. Blank, N. Bridges, B. C. Clark, L. DeFlores, D. Delapp, G. Dromart, M.D. Dyar, M. R. Fisk, B. Gondet, J. Grotzinger, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. Johnson, J.-L. Lacour, Y. Langevin, L. Leshin, E. Lewin, M.B. Madsen, N. Melikechi, Alissa Mezzacappa, M.A. Mischna, J.E. Moores, H. Newsom, A. Ollila, N. Renno, J.B. Sirven, R. Tokar, M. de la Torre, L. d’Uston, D. Vaniman, A. Yingst
Environmental impact of the landslides caused by the 12 May 2008, Wenchuan, China earthquake Environmental impact of the landslides caused by the 12 May 2008, Wenchuan, China earthquake
The magnitude 7.9 (Mw) Wenchuan, China, earthquake of May 12, 2008 caused at least 88,000 deaths of which one third are estimated to be due to the more than 56,000 earthquake-induced landslides. The affected area is mountainous, featuring densely-vegetated, steep slopes through which narrowly confined rivers and streams flow. Numerous types of landslides occurred in the area, including...
Authors
Lynn M. Highland, Ping Sun
Operational Group Sandy technical progress report Operational Group Sandy technical progress report
Hurricane Sandy made US landfall near Atlantic City, NJ on 29 October 2012, causing 72 direct deaths, displacing thousands of individuals from damaged or destroyed dwellings, and leaving over 8.5 million homes without power across the northeast and mid-Atlantic. To coordinate federal rebuilding activities in the affected region, the President established the cabinet-level Hurricane Sandy
Authors
GEM Building Taxonomy (Version 2.0) GEM Building Taxonomy (Version 2.0)
This report documents the development and applications of the Building Taxonomy for the Global Earthquake Model (GEM). The purpose of the GEM Building Taxonomy is to describe and classify buildings in a uniform manner as a key step towards assessing their seismic risk, Criteria for development of the GEM Building Taxonomy were that the Taxonomy be relevant to seismic performance of...
Authors
S. Brzev, C. Scawthorn, A.W. Charleson, L. Allen, M. Greene, Kishor Jaiswal, V. Silva
Metadata for selecting or submitting generic seismic vulnerability functions via GEM's vulnerability database Metadata for selecting or submitting generic seismic vulnerability functions via GEM's vulnerability database
This memo lays out a procedure for the GEM software to offer an available vulnerability function for any acceptable set of attributes that the user specifies for a particular building category. The memo also provides general guidelines on how to submit the vulnerability or fragility functions to the GEM vulnerability repository, stipulating which attributes modelers must provide so that...
Authors
Kishor Jaiswal
Wildfire and landscape change Wildfire and landscape change
Wildfire is a worldwide phenomenon that is expected to increase in extent and severity in the future, due to fuel accumulations, shifting land management practices, and climate change. It immediately affects the landscape by removing vegetation, depositing ash, influencing water-repellent soil formation, and physically weathering boulders and bedrock. These changes typically lead to...
Authors
P. Santi, S. Cannon, J. DeGraff
Clustering of GPS velocities in the Mojave Block, southeastern California Clustering of GPS velocities in the Mojave Block, southeastern California
We find subdivisions within the Mojave Block using cluster analysis to identify groupings in the velocities observed at GPS stations there. The clusters are represented on a fault map by symbols located at the positions of the GPS stations, each symbol representing the cluster to which the velocity of that GPS station belongs. Fault systems that separate the clusters are readily...
Authors
James C. Savage, Robert W. Simpson
Volcanic earthquakes in Alaska's national parks Volcanic earthquakes in Alaska's national parks
Alaska’s national parks contain 11 historically active volcanoes (Figure 2), which produce thousands of small earthquakes every year. These earthquakes are voices of the magmatic and geothermal systems within the volcanoes. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), a joint program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska...
Authors
Stephanie G. Prejean, Seth C. Moran, John A. Power, Michael J. West
The effect of complex fault rupture on the distribution of landslides triggered by the 12 January 2010, Haiti earthquake The effect of complex fault rupture on the distribution of landslides triggered by the 12 January 2010, Haiti earthquake
The MW 7.0, 12 January 2010, Haiti earthquake triggered more than 7,000 landslides in the mountainous terrain south of Port-au-Prince over an area that extends approximately 50 km to the east and west from the epicenter and to the southern coast. Most of the triggered landslides were rock and soil slides from 25°–65° slopes within heavily fractured limestone and deeply weathered basalt...
Authors
Edwin L. Harp, Randall W. Jibson, Richard L. Dart
The magnetic tides of Honolulu The magnetic tides of Honolulu
We review the phenomenon of time-stationary, periodic quiet-time geomagnetic tides. These are generated by the ionospheric and oceanic dynamos, and, to a lesser-extent, by the quiet-time magnetosphere, and they are affected by currents induced in the Earth's electrically conducting interior. We examine historical time series of hourly magnetic-vector measurements made at the Honolulu...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Erin Joshua Rigler
U.S. Geological Survey natural hazards science strategy— Promoting the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation U.S. Geological Survey natural hazards science strategy— Promoting the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation
Executive Summary The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in natural hazards is to develop and apply hazard science to help protect the safety, security, and economic well-being of the Nation. The costs and consequences of natural hazards can be enormous, and each year more people and infrastructure are at risk. USGS scientific research—founded on detailed observations and...
Authors
Robert R. Holmes, Lucile M. Jones, Jeffery C. Eidenshink, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen H. Kirby, Jeffrey J. Love, Christina A. Neal, Nathaniel G. Plant, Michael L. Plunkett, Craig S. Weaver, Anne Wein, Suzanne C. Perry