Publications

Seismic anisotropy provides evidence for the physical state and tectonic evolution of the lithosphere. We discuss the origin of anisotropy at various depths, and relate it to tectonic stress, geotherms and rheology. The anisotropy of the uppermost mantle is controlled by the orthorhombic mineral olivine, and may result from ductile deformation, dynamic recrystallization or annealing...

We present a P wave velocity model derived from active source seismic data collected during the 1994 Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment. Our model extends previously published upper crustal velocity models to mantle depths. Our model was developed by both ray tracing through a layered model and calculating travel times through a gridded model. It includes an 8-km-thick crustal root...

Historic accretion of sediment on the Palos Verdes margin off Los Angeles County, CA, is dominated by two sources, effluent from Whites Point outfall and sediment eroded from the toe of Portuguese Bend landslide. In this paper, we document the recent history of sedimentation from these non-marine sources from 1937 until the late 1990s, and attempt to estimate the amount of material...

The topographic and geologic characteristics of grooves and groove-like features in the south polar layered deposits near the Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 landing sites are evaluated using Mariner 9 images and their derived photoclinometry, normalized using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data. Although both Mariner 9 and Viking images of the south polar layered deposits were available at...

A series of ERS radar interferograms that collectively span the time interval from July 1992 to August 2000 reveal that a presumed magma body located 6.6 ??? 0.5 km beneath the southwest flank of the Mount Peulik volcano inflated 0.051 ??? 0.005 km3 between October 1996 and September 1998. Peulik has been active only twice during historical time, in 1814 and 1852, and the volcano was...

We present a new set of contour maps of the seismic structure of North America and the surrounding ocean basins. These maps include the crustal thickness, whole-crustal average P-wave and S-wave velocity, and seismic velocity of the uppermost mantle, that is, Pn and Sn. We found the following: (1) The average thickness of the crust under North America is 36.7 km (standard deviation [s.d...

We infer the fine structure of a sub-Moho boundary layer (SMBL) at the top of the lithospheric mantle from high-resolution seismic observations of Peaceful Nuclear Explosions (PNE) on superlong-range profiles in Russia. Densely recorded seismograms permit recognition of previously unknown features of teleseismic propagation of the well known Pn and Sn phases, such as a band of incoherent

Arc volcanism in Alaska is strongly correlated with the 100 km depth contour of the western Aluetian Wadati-Benioff zone. Above the eastern portion of the Wadati-Benioff zone however, there is a distinct lack of volcanism (the Denali volcanic gap). We observe high Poisson's ratio values (0.29-0.33) over the entire length of the Alaskan subduction zone mantle wedge based on regional...

We compare two methods of seismic-intensity estimation from ground-motion records for the two recent strong earthquakes: the 1999 (M 7.1) Hector Mine, California, and the 1999 (M 7.6) Chi-Chi, Taiwan. The first technique utilizes the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and velocity (PGV), and it is used for rapid generation of the instrumental intensity map in California. The other method is...

We introduce a quantitative approach to paleoearthquake dating and apply it to paleoseismic data from the Wrightwood and Pallett Creek sites on the southern San Andreas fault. We illustrate how stratigraphic ordering, sedimentological, and historical data can be used quantitatively in the process of estimating earthquake ages. Calibrated radiocarbon age distributions are used directly...

The Hayward fault, a major branch of the right-lateral San Andreas fault system, traverses the densely populated eastern San Francisco Bay region, California. We conducted a paleoseismic investigation to better understand the Hayward fault's past earthquake behavior. The site is near the south end of Tyson's Lagoon, a sag pond formed in a right step of the fault in Fremont. Because the...

An overview of seismic, thermal, and petrological evidence on the structure of Precambrian lithosphere suggests that its local maximum thickness is highly variable (140-350 km), with a bimodal distribution for Archean cratons (200-220 km and 300-350 km). We discuss the origin of such large differences in lithospheric thickness, and propose that the lithospheric base can have large depth...