Publications
Educational Publications
Educational Publications
Selected publications about earthquakes In plain language.
Filter Total Items: 2785
Development of the Global Earthquake Model’s neotectonic fault database Development of the Global Earthquake Model’s neotectonic fault database
The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) aims to develop uniform, openly available, standards, datasets and tools for worldwide seismic risk assessment through global collaboration, transparent communication and adapting state-of-the-art science. GEM Faulted Earth (GFE) is one of GEM’s global hazard module projects. This paper describes GFE’s development of a modern neotectonic fault database...
Authors
Annemarie Christophersen, Nicola Litchfield, Kelvin Berryman, Richard Thomas, Roberto Basili, Laura Wallace, William Ries, Gavin P. Hayes, Kathleen M. Haller, Toshikazu Yoshioka, Richard D. Koehler, Dan Clark, Monica Wolfson-Schwehr, Margaret S. Boettcher, Pilar Villamor, Nick Horspool, Teraphan Ornthammarath, Ramon Zuniga, Robert M. Langridge, Mark W. Stirling, Tatiana Goded, Carlos Costa, Robert Yeats
Blind identification of the Millikan Library from earthquake data considering soil–structure interaction Blind identification of the Millikan Library from earthquake data considering soil–structure interaction
The Robert A. Millikan Library is a reinforced concrete building with a basement level and nine stories above the ground. Located on the campus of California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena California, it is among the most densely instrumented buildings in the U.S. From the early dates of its construction, it has been the subject of many investigations, especially regarding...
Authors
S. F. Ghahari, F. Abazarsa, O. Avci, Mehmet Çelebi, E. Taciroglu
Regional seismic-wave propagation from the M5.8 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia, earthquake Regional seismic-wave propagation from the M5.8 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia, earthquake
The M5.8 23 August 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake was felt over nearly the entire eastern United States and was recorded by a wide array of seismic broadband instruments. The earthquake occurred ~200 km southeast of the boundary between two distinct geologic belts, the Piedmont and Blue Ridge terranes to the southeast and the Valley and Ridge Province to the northwest. At a dominant...
Authors
Frederick Pollitz, Walter D. Mooney
A quick SEED tutorial A quick SEED tutorial
Introduction A number of different government-funded seismic data centers offer free open-access data (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), and Data Management System), which can be freely downloaded and shared among different members of the community (Lay, 2009). To efficiently share data, it...
Authors
Adam T. Ringler, John R. Evans
Widespread groundwater-level offsets caused by the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake of 23 August 2011 Widespread groundwater-level offsets caused by the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake of 23 August 2011
Groundwater levels were offset in bedrock observation wells, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey or others, as far as 553 km from the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake on 23 August 2011. Water levels dropped as much as 0.47 m in 34 wells and rose as much as 0.15 m in 12 others. In some wells, which are as much as 213 m deep, the water levels recovered from these deviations in...
Authors
Evelyn A. Roeloffs, David L. Nelms, Rodney A. Sheets
Landslides and megathrust splay faults captured by the late Holocene sediment record of eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska Landslides and megathrust splay faults captured by the late Holocene sediment record of eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska
We present new marine seismic‐reflection profiles and bathymetric maps to characterize Holocene depositional patterns, submarine landslides, and active faults beneath eastern and central Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, which is the eastern rupture patch of the 1964 Mw 9.2 earthquake. We show evidence that submarine landslides, many of which are likely earthquake triggered, repeatedly...
Authors
S.P. Finn, Lee M. Liberty, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Pratt
Stress orientations in subduction zones and the strength of subduction megathrust faults Stress orientations in subduction zones and the strength of subduction megathrust faults
Subduction zone megathrust faults produce most of the world’s largest earthquakes. Although the physical properties of these faults are difficult to observe directly, their frictional strength can be estimated indirectly by constraining the orientations of the stresses that act on them. A global investigation of stress orientations in subduction zones finds that the maximum compressive...
Authors
Jeanne L. Hardebeck
Slip pulse and resonance of Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal imaged with space geodesy Slip pulse and resonance of Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal imaged with space geodesy
Detailed geodetic imaging of earthquake rupture enhances our understanding of earthquake physics and induced ground shaking. The April 25, 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake is the first example of a large continental megathrust rupture beneath a high-rate (5 Hz) GPS network. We use GPS and InSAR data to model the earthquake rupture as a slip pulse of ~20 km width, ~6 s duration, and...
Authors
John Galetzka, D. Melgar, J.F. Genrich, J. Geng, S. Owen, E. O. Lindsey, X. Xu, Y. Bock, J.-P. Avouac, L. B. Adhikari, B. N. Upreti, B. Pratt-Sitaula, T. N. Bhattarai, B. P. Sitaula, A. Moore, Kenneth W. Hudnut, W. Szeliga, J. Normandeau, M. Fend, M Flouzat, L. Bollinger, P. Shrestha, B. Koirala, U. Gautam, M. Bhatterai, R. Gupta, T. Kandel, C. Timsina, S.N. Sapkota, S. Rajaure, N. Maharjan
Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity
The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the convergence of the Africa Plate with the Eurasia plate. Present day Africa-Eurasia motion ranges from ~4 millimeters per year (mm/yr) in a northwest-southeast direction in the western Mediterranean to ~10 mm/yr (north-south) in the eastern Mediterranean. The Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is complex, and includes extensional and
Authors
Matthew W. Herman, Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Rebecca Turner, Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Sian Davies, Amy Parker, Allison Sinclair, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
Ground motion simulation for the 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia earthquake using physics-based and stochastic broadband methods Ground motion simulation for the 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia earthquake using physics-based and stochastic broadband methods
Three broadband simulation methods are used to generate synthetic ground motions for the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake and compare with observed motions. The methods include a physics‐based model by Hartzell et al. (1999, 2005), a stochastic source‐based model by Boore (2009), and a stochastic site‐based model by Rezaeian and Der Kiureghian (2010, 2012). The ground‐motion dataset...
Authors
Xiaodan Sun, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian
Changes in seismic velocity during the first 14 months of the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington Changes in seismic velocity during the first 14 months of the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
Mount St. Helens began erupting in late 2004 following an 18 year quiescence. Swarms of repeating earthquakes accompanied the extrusion of a mostly solid dacite dome over the next 4 years. In some cases the waveforms from these earthquakes evolved slowly, likely reflecting changes in the properties of the volcano that affect seismic wave propagation. We use coda-wave interferometry to...
Authors
A.J. Hotovec-Ellis, J.E. Vidale, Joan S. Gomberg, Weston A. Thelen, Seth C. Moran
Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 5–24, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2010–2012) Photomosaics and event evidence from the Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site, trench 1, cuts 5–24, San Andreas Fault Zone, southern California (2010–2012)
The Frazier Mountain paleoseismic site is located within the northern Big Bend of the southern San Andreas Fault (lat 34.8122° N., lon 118.9034° W.), in a small structural basin formed by the fault (fig. 1). The site has been the focus of over a decade of paleoseismic study due to high stratigraphic resolution and abundant dateable material. Trench 1 (T1) was initially excavated as a 50...
Authors
Katherine M. Scharer, Tom E. Fumal, Ray J. Weldon, Ashley R. Streig