Publications

To ensure a successful touchdown and subsequent surface operations, the Mars Exploration Program 2007 Phoenix Lander must land within 65° to 72° north latitude, at an elevation less than −3.5 km. The landing site must have relatively low wind velocities and rock and slope distributions similar to or more benign than those found at the Viking Lander 2 site. Also, the site must have a soil...

Uncertainty remains on the origin of distal mass deposition maxima observed in many recent tephra fall deposits. In this study the link between ash aggregation and the formation of distal mass deposition maxima is investigated through reanalysis of tephra fallout from the Mount St. Helens 18 May 1980 (MSH80) eruption. In addition, we collate all the data needed to model distal ash...

Ages of paleoearthquakes (events), i.e., evidence of earthquakes inferred from the geologic record, provide a critical constraint on estimation of the seismic hazard posed by an active fault. The radiocarbon calibration program OxCal (4.0.3 and above; Bronk Ramsey 2007, 2001) provides paleoseismologists with a straightforward but rigorous means of estimating these event ages and their

Joint measurements of ground deformation and micro-gravity changes are an indispensable component for any volcano monitoring strategy. A number of analytical mathematical models are available in the literature that can be used to fit geodetic data and infer source location, depth and density. Bootstrap statistical methods allow estimations of the range of the inferred parameters...

Thorium (Th) data from the Lunar Prospector gamma ray spectrometer (LP‐GRS) are used to constrain the composition of lunar pyroclastic glass deposits on top of the Aristarchus plateau. Our goal is to use forward modeling of LP‐GRS Th data to measure the Th abundances on the plateau and then to determine if the elevated Th abundances on the plateau are associated with the pyroclastic...

We photogeologically mapped the SP Mountain region of the San Francisco Volcanic Field in northern Arizona, USA to evaluate and improve the fidelity of approaches used in geologic mapping of Mars. This test site, which was previously mapped in the field, is chiefly composed of Late Cenozoic cinder cones, lava flows, and alluvium perched on Permian limestone of the Kaibab Formation...

A new comprehensive areal model of earthquake-induced landslides (CAMEL) has been developed to assist in planning decisions related to disaster risk reduction. CAMEL provides an integrated framework for modeling all types of earthquake-induced landslides using fuzzy logic systems and geographic information systems. CAMEL is designed to facilitate quantitative and qualitative...

A suite of 23 basaltic to dacitic lavas erupted over the last 350 kyr from the Mount Adams volcanic field has been analyzed for U–Th isotope compositions to evaluate the roles of mantle versus crustal components during magma genesis. All of the lavas have (230Th/238U) > 1 and span a large range in (230Th/232Th) ratios, and most basalts have higher (230Th/232Th) ratios than andesites and...

Loss of life and property caused by landslides triggered by extreme rainfall events demonstrates the need for landslide-hazard assessment in developing countries where recovery from such events often exceeds the country's resources. Mapping landslide hazards in developing countries where the need for landslide-hazard mitigation is great but the resources are few is a challenging, but not

In the late morning of 12 July 2008, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) received an unexpected call from the U.S. Coast Guard, reporting an explosive volcanic eruption in the central Aleutians in the vicinity of Okmok volcano, a relatively young (~2000-year-old) caldera. The Coast Guard had received an emergency call requesting assistance from a family living at a cattle ranch on the...

In two previous articles we presented a formulation for inferring the strains and rotations of the ground beneath a seismic array having a finite footprint. In this article we derive expressions for the error covariance matrices of the inferred strains and rotations, and we present software for the calculation of ground strains, rotations, and their variances from short baseline array...

The region of western Utopia Planitia (80-105 degreesE, 40-55 degrees N) displays several types of landforms similar to Earth periglacial features, including scallop-shaped depressions and networks of polygonal terrains. The scalloped depressions have been proposed to originate from thermokarstic processes such as sublimation and/or melting of near-surface ground ice. Using HiRISE...