Publications
Educational Publications
Educational Publications
Selected publications about earthquakes In plain language.
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Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013 East African Rift Seismicity of the Earth 1900-2013 East African Rift
The East African Rift system (EARS) is a 3,000-km-long Cenozoic age continental rift extending from the Afar triple junction, between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, to western Mozambique. Sectors of active extension occur from the Indian Ocean, west to Botswana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the only rift system in the world that is active on a continent...
Authors
Gavin P. Hayes, Eric S. Jones, Timothy J. Stadler, William D. Barnhart, Daniel E. McNamara, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
Key recovery factors for the August 24, 2014, South Napa Earthquake Key recovery factors for the August 24, 2014, South Napa Earthquake
Through discussions between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) following the South Napa earthquake, it was determined that several key decision points would be faced by FEMA for which additional information should be sought and provided by USGS and its partners. This report addresses the four tasks that were agreed to. These tasks are (1)
Authors
Kenneth W. Hudnut, Thomas M. Brocher, Carol S. Prentice, John Boatwright, Benjamin A. Brooks, Brad T. Aagaard, J. Luke Blair, Jon Peter B. Fletcher, Jemile Erdem, Charles W. Wicks, Jessica R. Murray, Fred F. Pollitz, John O. Langbein, Jerry L. Svarc, David P. Schwartz, Daniel J. Ponti, Suzanne Hecker, Stephen B. DeLong, Carla M. Rosa, Brenda Jones, Rynn M. Lamb, Anne M. Rosinski, Timothy P. McCrink, Timothy E. Dawson, Gordon G. Seitz, Craig Glennie, Darren Hauser, Todd Ericksen, Dan Mardock, Don F. Hoirup, Jonathan D. Bray, Ron S. Rubin
Structure and seismic hazard of the Ventura Avenue anticline and Ventura fault, California: Prospect for large, multisegment ruptures in the Western Transverse Ranges Structure and seismic hazard of the Ventura Avenue anticline and Ventura fault, California: Prospect for large, multisegment ruptures in the Western Transverse Ranges
The Ventura Avenue anticline is one of the fastest uplifting structures in southern California, rising at ∼5 mm/yr. We use well data and seismic reflection profiles to show that the anticline is underlain by the Ventura fault, which extends to seismogenic depth. Fault offset increases with depth, implying that the Ventura Avenue anticline is a fault‐propagation fold. A decrease in the...
Authors
Judith Hubbard, John H. Shaw, James F. Dolan, Thomas L. Pratt, Lee J. McAuliffe, Thomas K. Rockwell
History of late Holocene earthquakes at the Willow Creek site on the Nephi segment, Wasatch fault zone, Utah History of late Holocene earthquakes at the Willow Creek site on the Nephi segment, Wasatch fault zone, Utah
This 43-page report presents new data from the Willow Creek site that provides well-defined and narrow bounds on the times of the three youngest earthquakes on the southern strand of the Nephi segment, Wasatch Fault zone, and refines the time of the youngest earthquake to about 200 years ago. This is the youngest surface rupture on the entire Wasatch fault zone, which occurred about a...
Authors
Anthony J. Crone, Stephen F. Personius, Christopher B. DuRoss, Michael N. Machette, Shannon A. Mahan
CyberShake-derived ground-motion prediction models for the Los Angeles region with application to earthquake early warning CyberShake-derived ground-motion prediction models for the Los Angeles region with application to earthquake early warning
Real-time applications such as earthquake early warning (EEW) typically use empirical ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) along with event magnitude and source-to-site distances to estimate expected shaking levels. In this simplified approach, effects due to finite-fault geometry, directivity and site and basin response are often generalized, which may lead to a significant under-...
Authors
Maren Bose, Robert Graves, David Gill, Scott Callaghan, Phillip J. Maechling
A method and example of seismically imaging near‐surface fault zones in geologically complex areas using Vp, Vs, and their ratios A method and example of seismically imaging near‐surface fault zones in geologically complex areas using Vp, Vs, and their ratios
The determination of near‐surface (vadose zone and slightly below) fault locations and geometries is important because assessment of ground rupture, strong shaking, geologic slip rates, and rupture histories occurs at shallow depths. However, seismic imaging of fault zones at shallow depths can be difficult due to near‐surface complexities, such as weathering, groundwater saturation...
Authors
Rufus D. Catchings, Michael J. Rymer, Mark R. Goldman, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
Seismometer Self-Noise and Measuring Methods Seismometer Self-Noise and Measuring Methods
Seismometer self-noise is usually not considered when selecting and using seismic waveform data in scientific research as it is typically assumed that the self-noise is negligibly small compared to seismic signals. However, instrumental noise is part of the noise in any seismic record, and in particular, at frequencies below a few mHz, the instrumental noise has a frequency-dependent...
Authors
Adam T. Ringler, R. Sleeman, Charles R. Hutt, Lind S. Gee
Relation of landslides triggered by the Kiholo Bay earthquake to modeled ground motion Relation of landslides triggered by the Kiholo Bay earthquake to modeled ground motion
The 2006 Kiholo Bay, Hawaii, earthquake triggered high concentrations of rock falls and slides in the steep canyons of the Kohala Mountains along the north coast of Hawaii. Within these mountains and canyons a complex distribution of landslides was triggered by the earthquake shaking. In parts of the area, landslides were preferentially located on east‐facing slopes, whereas in other...
Authors
Edwin L. Harp, Stephen H. Hartzell, Randall W. Jibson, L. Ramirez-Guzman, Robert G. Schmitt
The 17 May 2012 M4.8 earthquake near Timpson, East Texas: An event possibly triggered by fluid injection The 17 May 2012 M4.8 earthquake near Timpson, East Texas: An event possibly triggered by fluid injection
This study summarizes our investigation of the 17 May 2012 MW-RMT4.8 earthquake near Timpson, Texas, the largest earthquake recorded historically in eastern Texas. To identify preshocks and aftershocks of the 17 May event we examined the arrivals recorded at Nacogdoches (NATX) 30 km from the 17 May epicenter, at nearby USArray Transportable Array stations, and at eight temporary stations...
Authors
Cliff Frohlich, William L. Ellsworth, Wesley Brown, Michael Brunt, James Luetgert, Tim G. MacDonald, Steven Walters
Geodetic constraints on the 2014 M 6.0 South Napa earthquake Geodetic constraints on the 2014 M 6.0 South Napa earthquake
On 24 August 2014, the M 6.0 South Napa earthquake shook much of the San Francisco Bay area, leading to significant damage in the Napa Valley. The earthquake occurred in the vicinity of the West Napa fault (122.313° W, 38.22° N, 11.3 km), a mapped structure located between the Rodger’s Creek and Green Valley faults, with nearly pure right‐lateral strike‐slip motion (strike 157°, dip 77°...
Authors
William D. Barnhart, Jessica R. Murray, S H Yun, Jerry L. Svarc, SV Samsonov, EJ Fielding, Benjamin A. Brooks, Pietro Milillo
Rocking behavior of an instrumented unique building on the MIT campus identified from ambient shaking data Rocking behavior of an instrumented unique building on the MIT campus identified from ambient shaking data
A state-of-the-art seismic monitoring system comprising 36 accelerometers and a data-logger with real-time capability was recently installed at Building 54 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Cambridge, MA, campus. The system is designed to record translational, torsional, and rocking motions, and to facilitate the computation of drift between select pairs of floors. The...
Authors
Mehmet Çelebi, Nafi Toksoz, Oral Buyukozturk
Probing reservoir-triggered earthquakes in Koyna, India, through scientific deep drilling Probing reservoir-triggered earthquakes in Koyna, India, through scientific deep drilling
We report here the salient features of the recently concluded International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) workshop in Koyna, India. This workshop was a sequel to the earlier held ICDP workshop in Hyderabad and Koyna in 2011. A total of 49 experts (37 from India and 12 from 8 other countries) spent 3 days reviewing the work carried out during the last 3 years based on the
Authors
H. Gupta, Shailesh Nayak, William L. Ellsworth, Y. J. B. Rao, S. Rajan, B.K. Bansal, N. Purnachandra Rao, S. Roy, K. Arora, R. Mohan, V. M. Tiwari, H. V. S. Satyanarayana, P. K. Patro, D. Shashidhar, K. Mallika