Publications

Data from instruments on the currently orbiting Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) suggest that as an alternative interpretation to lacustrine deposits, widespread sediments on Mars may be tephra deposits of variable age, formed in part by volcano-ice interactions. The materials are often associated with outcrops of mapped geological units that have each been previously interpreted as volcanic...

We describe the three-dimensional geometry and Quaternary slip history of the Puente Hills blind-thrust system (PHT) using seismic reflection profiles, petroleum well data, and precisely located seismicity. The PHT generated the 1987 Whittier Narrows (moment magnitude [Mw] 6.0) earthquake and extends for more than 40 km along strike beneath the northern Los Angeles basin. The PHT...

Central to the model of the evolution of the martian hydrosphere by Clifford and Parker [2001] is a permanent freezing of the planet at the end of the Noachian and recharge of the global groundwater system by basal melting of ice-rich polar deposits. Acquisition of MOLA data by Mars Global Surveyor provides a means of testing the model, since discharge of water onto the surface, after...

Post-earthquake field investigations of landslide occurrence have provided a basis for understanding, evaluating, and mapping the hazard and risk associated with earthquake-induced landslides. This paper traces the historical development of knowledge derived from these investigations. Before 1783, historical accounts of the occurrence of landslides in earthquake are typically so...

Based on the first arrival P and S data of 4 625 regional earthquakes recorded at 174 stations dispersed in the Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, the 3-D velocity structure of crust and upper mantle in the region is determined, incorporating with previous deep geophysical data. In the upper crust, a positive anomaly velocity zone exists in the Sichuan basin, whereas a negative anomaly...

The following report is the principal product of an international workshop titled “Intraslab Earthquakes in the Cascadia Subduction System: Science and Hazards” and was sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada and the University of Victoria. This meeting was held at the University of Victoria’s Dunsmuir Lodge, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada on...

As of the time of this writing, the San Francisco Bay region is home to about 6.8 million people, ranking fifth among population centers in the United States. Most of these people live on the coastal lands along San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento River delta, and the Pacific coast. The region straddles the tectonic boundary between the Pacific and North American Plates and is crossed by...

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a summary of the seismic velocity structure of the continental lithosphere, i.e., the crust and uppermost mantle. We define the crust as the outer layer of the Earth that is separated from the underlying mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho). We adopted the usual convention of defining the seismic Moho as the level in the Earth where the...

Stereogrammetric measurement of the shape of Eros using images obtained by NEAR's Multispectral Imager provides a survey of the major topographic features and slope processes on this asteroid. This curved asteroid has radii ranging from 3.1 to 17.7 km and a volume of 2535±20 km3. The center of figure is within 52 m of the center of mass provided by the Navigation team; this minimal...

A pockmark field was discovered during EM-300 multi-beam bathymetric surveys on the lower continental slope off the Big Sur coast of California. The field contains ??? 1500 pockmarks which are between 130 and 260 m in diameter, and typically are 8-12 m deep located within a 560 km2 area. To investigate the origin of these features, piston cores were collected from both the interior and...

Malea and Hesperia Plana form large sectors of the rim of Hellas basin that display partly eroded volcanic shields and plains. These regions have topographic profiles that appear to be several hundred meters lower than those of adjacent rim sectors and lack prominent massifs of remnant basement that would be expected to stand above the lava plains. We interpret that before the volcanic...

The paucity of strong-motion stations near the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake makes it impossible to make instrumental studies of key questions about near-fault strong-motion patterns associated with this event. However, observations of displaced rocks allow a qualitative investigation of these problems. By observing the slope of the desert surface and the frictional coefficient between...