Publications

Damaging ground motions from the 2011 Mw 5.8 Virginia earthquake were likely increased due to site amplification from the unconsolidated sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP), highlighting the need to understand site response on these widespread strata along the coastal regions of the eastern United States. The horizontal‐to‐vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) method, using either...

Mars exhibits diverse surface changes at all latitudes and all seasons. Active processes include impact cratering, aeolian sand and dust transport, a variety of slope processes, changes in polar ices, and diverse effects of seasonal CO2 frost. The extent of surface change has been surprising and indicates that the present climate is capable of reshaping the surface. Activity has...

The strong increase of seismicity rates in the contiguous USA over the last 10 years is linked to the injection of huge amounts of wastewater from oil and gas production in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs. We calculated 549 moment tensors of induced earthquakes (MW ≤ 4.9) in southern Kansas to study their source mechanisms and their relation to injection activity. Seventeen percent...

The Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault (QC-FF) system off the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska is a highly active dextral strike-slip plate boundary that accommodates ∼50 mm/yr of relative motion between the Pacific and North America plates. Nine MW ≥ 6.7 earthquakes have occurred along the QC-FF system since 1910, including a MS(G-R)8.1 event in 1949. Two recent earthquakes...

While there is significant evidence for healing in natural faults, geothermal reservoirs, and lab experiments, the thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical interactions that influence healing are poorly understood. We present preliminary results of triaxial slide-hold-slide experiments to constrain rates and mechanisms of healing. Experiments were conducted on gouge composed of...

The ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover provides chemical compositions of Martian rocks and soils using remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The elemental calibration is stable as a function of distance for Ti, Fe, Mg, and Ca. The calibration shows small, systematically increasing abundance trends as a function of distance for Al, Na, K, and to some extent, Si. The...

The 55‐km‐long Sargent fault connects the creeping Calaveras fault with the locked San Andreas fault through the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Gilroy, California. The position of the Sargent fault between these two faults may have implications for slip transfer and strain accumulation between a creeping and locked fault. The detection and measurement of creep on the Sargent fault would...

We examine the effects that Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) strata have on ground motions in the eastern and southeastern United States. The ACP strata consist of widespread, nearly flat‐lying sediments, the upper portions of which are unconsolidated or semiconsolidated. The ACP sediments are deposited primarily on crystalline basement rocks, creating large velocity and density contrasts...

We have used high-precision, high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and Mars 2020 rover landing sites based on mosaicked images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (MRO HiRISE) camera as a reference data set to evaluate DTMs based on Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (MEX HRSC) images...

A collection of points representing an object in space is commonly called a point cloud. There are several techniques for collecting point clouds. This research is focused on a comparison study of two approaches: (1) collecting point clouds with a surveying grade terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and (2) generating point clouds from drone-taken still images by utilizing Structure-from...

Landslide detection and warning systems are important tools for mitigation of potential hazards in landslide prone areas. Traditionally, warning systems for shallow landslides have been informed by rainfall intensity-duration thresholds. More recent advances have introduced the concept of hydrometeorological thresholds that are informed not only by rainfall, but also by subsurface...

An International Virtual Workshop on Global Seismology and Tectonics (IVWGST‐2020) was organized by the Geoscience and Technology Division of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research—North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, India from 14 to 25 September 2020. This workshop predominantly catered to undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. students, scientists, and...