Danny Brothers
I currently lead a project called "U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards" and I spend about 6-10 weeks per year at sea collecting marine geophysical data.
Biography
I received my Ph.D. in 2009 from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, then moved to Woods Hole, MA, for a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2013, I moved to Santa Cruz, CA, where I currently work as a Research Geophysicist at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. I grew up in Colorado and spent four years at CU Boulder for undergraduate studies in geophysics.
My research is focused on the following topics:
- Development and application of geophysical approaches to offshore earthquake, landslide and tsunami hazard assessments
- Marine paleoseismology
- Understanding the interplay between tectonic, sedimentary, climatic processes along continental margins
- Combining basic and applied research to study the geomorphic development of continental margins, including substrate fluid flow
Publications:
Liberty, L.M., Brothers, D.S., Haeussler, P.J., 2019, Tsunamigenic splay faults imply a long‐term asperity in southern Prince William Sound, Alaska, Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2018GL081528
Kluesner, J., Brothers, D.S., Hart, P., Miller, N., & Hatcher, G. (2018). Practical approaches to maximizing the resolution of sparker seismic reflection data. Marine Geophysical Research, 1-23, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-018-9367-2.
Brothers, D.S., J. Elliot, J.E. Conrad, P. Haeussler, 2018, Strain partitioning in southeastern Alaska: is the Chatham Strait Fault active? Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 481, p. 362-371.
Edwards, J., J.W. Kluesner, E.A Silver, E.E. Brodsky, D.S Brothers, N.L. Bangs, J.D. Kirkpatrick, R. Wood, K. Okamoto, 2018, Corrugated megathrust revealed offshore Costa Rica, Nature Geoscience, 11, 3, p197-201.
Brothers, D.S., K.L. Maier, J.M. Kluesner, J.C. Conrad, J.D. Chaytor, 2019, The Santa Cruz Basin Submarine Landslide Complex, Southern California: Repeated Failure of Uplifted Basin Sediment. In: K. Marsaglia, R. Schwalbach, R. Behl, eds., From the Mountains To the Abyss: The California Borderland As An Archive of Southern California Geologic Evolution; SEPM Special Volume v. 110. https://doi.org/10.2110/sepmsp.110.05
Conrad, J.E., D.S. Brothers, K.L. Maier, H. Ryan, P. Dartnell, R. Sliter, 2019, Right-Lateral Fault Motion Along the Slope–Basin Transition, Gulf Of Santa Catalina, Southern California. In: K. Marsaglia, R. Schwalbach, R. Behl, eds., From the Mountains To the Abyss: The California Borderland As An Archive of Southern California Geologic Evolution; SEPM Special Volume v. 110. https://doi.org/10.2110/sepmsp.110.07
Conrad, J.E., M. Walton, N. Prouty, J.W. Kluesner, E. Roland, K.L Maier, D.S Brothers, P. Dartnel, 2018, Seafloor fluid seeps on Kimki Ridge, offshore southern California: Links to active strike-slip faulting, Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, v. 150, p. 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.11.001
Brothers, D.S., Andrews, B.D., Walton, M.A.L., Greene, H.G., Barrie, J.V., Miller, N.C., ten Brink, U., East, A.E., Haeussler, P.J., Kluesner, J.W., and Conrad, J.E., 2019, Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, southeastern Alaska; In, Lintern, D.G., et al., Subaqueous Mass Movements and their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications and Economic Significance of Subaqueous Landslides: Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 477, no. 1:, p. 69–83. https://doi.org/10.1144/Sp477.30
Greene, G., V. Barrie, Brothers, D.S., J. Conrad, K. Conway, A. East, R. Enkin, K. Maier, S. Nishenko, M. Walton, K. Rohr, 2018, Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, western British Columbia; In, Lintern, D.G., et al., Subaqueous Mass Movements and their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications and Economic Significance of Subaqueous Landslides: Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 477, no. 1:, p. 85-106.
Hill, J., D.S. Brothers, D. Sawyer, D. Shillington, M. Hornbach, 2018, Subsurface controls on the development of the Cape Fear Slide Complex, central US Atlantic Margin; In, Lintern, D.G., et al., Subaqueous Mass Movements and their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications and Economic Significance of Subaqueous Landslides: Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 477, no. 1:, p. 169-182.
Maier, K. L., Roland, E. C., Walton, M. A., Conrad, J. E., Brothers, D. S., Dartnell, P., & Kluesner, J. W. (2018). The Tectonically Controlled San Gabriel Channel–Lobe Transition Zone, Catalina Basin, Southern California Borderland. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 88(8), 942-959.
ten Brink, U. S., Miller, N. C., Andrews, B. D., Brothers, D. S., & Haeussler, P. J. (2018). Deformation of the Pacific/North America plate boundary at Queen Charlotte Fault: The possible role of rheology. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 123(5), 4223-4242.
Barrie, J V; Greene, H G; Brothers, D; Conway, K W; Enkin, R J; Conrad, J E; Lauer, R M; McGann, M; Neelands, P J; East, A; The Queen Charlotte - Fairweather fault zone: a submarine transform fault, offshore British Columbia and southeastern Alaska, cruise report of 2017003PGC CCGS Vector and 2017004PGC CCGS John P. Tully: Geological Survey of Canada Open File 8398, 161 p., 10.4095/308327
Brothers, D.S., P. Haeussler, A. East, B.D. Andrews, U.S. ten Brink, N.C. Miller, J.W. Kluesner, P. Dartnell, 2017, A closer look at an undersea source of Alaskan earthquakes, EOS, v. 98, 10.1029/2017EO079019.
Maier, K.L., C.K. Paull, D.S. Brothers, D.W. Caress, M. McGann, E.M. Lundsten, K. Anderson, R. Gwiazda, 2017, Investigation of late Pleistocene and Holocene activity in the San Gregorio fault zone on the continental slope north of Monterey Canyon, offshore central California, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 107, n. 3, p. 1094–1106.
Hill, J., D.S. Brothers, B.K. Craig, U.S. ten Brink, J.D. Chaytor, C. Flores, 2017, Geologic controls on submarine slope failure along the central U.S. Atlantic margin: Insights from the Currituck Slide Complex, Marine Geology, v. 385, p.114-130, DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2016.10.007. [Link]
Maier, K.L., D.S. Brothers, C.K. Paull, M. McGann, D.W. Caress, J.E. Conrad, 2017, Records of continental slope sediment flow morphodynamic responses to gradient and active faulting from integrated AUV and ROV data, offshore Palos Verdes, southern California borderland, Marine Geology, in press, DOI: 10.1016/j.margeo.2016.10.001. [Link]
Chaytor, J.D., A.W.J. Demopoulos, U.S. ten Brink, C. Baxter, A.M. Quattrini, D.S. Brothers, 2016, Assessment of Canyon Wall Failure Process from Multibeam Bathymetry and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Observations, US Atlantic Continental Margin; Submarine Mass Movements and their Consequences, v. 41, 103-113, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-20979-1_10. [Link]
Kluesner, J., D.S. Brothers, 2016, Seismic attribute detection of faults and fluid pathways within an active strike-slip shear zone: New insights from high-resolution 3D P-Cable™ seismic data along the Hosgri Fault, offshore California, Interpretation, 4, 1, DOI: 10.1190/INT-2015-0143.1.
Brothers, D.S., P.J. Haeussler, L. Liberty, D. Finlayson, E. Geist, K. Labay, M. Byerly, 2016, A submarine landslide source for the devastating 1964 Chenega tsunami, southern Alaska; Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 438, 112–121.
Dartnell, P. N.W. Driscoll, D.S. Brothers, J.E. Conrad, J. Kluesner, G.M. Kent, 2015, Colored shaded-relief bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, and selected perspective views of the Inner Continental Borderland, southern California; USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3324, 3 sheets. [Link]
Klotsko, S., N.W. Driscoll, G.M. Kent, D.S. Brothers, 2015, Continental shelf morphology and stratigraphy offshore San Onofre, California: the interplay between rates of eustatic change and sediment supply; Marine Geology, doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2015.08.003. [Link]
Brothers, D.S., J.E. Conrad, K.L. Maier, C.K. Paull, M. McGann, D.W. Caress, 2015, The Palos Verdes Fault offshore Southern California: Late Pleistocene to present tectonic geomorphology, seascape evolution, and slip rate estimate based on AUV and ROV surveys; Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 120, 4734–4758, doi:10.1002/2015JB011938.
Obelcz, J. D.S. Brothers, U. ten Brink, J. Chaytor, C. Worley, E. Moore, 2014, Chirp seismic reflection data from Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk Canyons, U.S. Mid-Atlantic Margin; USGS Open File Report, 2014-1118. [Link]
Skarke, A., C. Ruppel, M. Kodis, D. Brothers, E. Lobecker, Widespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin, 2014; Nature Geoscience, 7, 657–661.
Brothers, D.S., C. Ruppel, J. Kluesner, J.D. Chaytor, U.S. ten Brink, J.C Hill, C. Flores, B. Andrews, 2014, Seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic margin; Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1002/2013GL058048.
Obelcz, J., D.S. Brothers, J.D. Chaytor, U.S. ten Brink, S. Ross, S. Brooke, 2014, Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin; Deep Sea Research II, v. 104, p. 106–119.
U.S. ten Brink, J.D. Chaytor, E. Geist, D.S Brothers, B. Andrews, 2014, Assessment of tsunami hazards to the U.S. Atlantic margin; Marine Geology, v. 353, p. 31–54.
Andrews, B.D., J.D. Chaytor, U.S. ten Brink, D.S. Brothers, J.V. Gardner, 2013, Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic Margin for marine geological investigations; U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1266, 11 p. [Link]
Brothers, D.S., K. Luttrell, J. Chaytor, 2013, Sea-level–induced seismicity and submarine landslide occurrence; Geology, v. 41, no. 9, 979–982.
Brothers, D.S., U. ten Brink, B. Andrews, 2013, Geomorphic process fingerprints in submarine canyons; Marine Geology, v. 338, p.46–63.
Brothers, D.S., U. ten Brink, B. Andrews, J. Chaytor, D. Twichell, 2013, Geomorphic characterization of the US Atlantic continental margin; Marine Geology, v. 337, p.53–66.
Brothers, D.S., A.J. Harding, A. Gonzalez-Fernandez, W.S. Holbrook, G.M. Kent, N.W. Driscoll, J. Fletcher, D. Lizarralde, P.J. Umhoeffer, G. Axen, 2012, Farallon slab detachment and deformation of the Magdalena Shelf, southern Baja California; Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL050828.
Kleppe, J.A., D.S. Brothers, G.M. Kent, F. Biondi, S. Jensen, N.W. Driscoll, 2011, Duration and severity of Medieval drought in the Lake Tahoe Basin; Quaternary Science Reviews, 30, 3269–3279.
Brothers, D.S., D.K. Kilb, K. Luttrell, N. Driscoll, G. Kent, 2011, Loading of the San Andreas fault by flood-induced rupture of faults beneath the Salton Sea; Nature Geoscience, 4, 486-492.
Brothers, D.S., N.W. Driscoll, G.M. Kent, A.J. Harding, J.M. Babcock, R.L. Baskin, 2009, Tectonic evolution of the Salton Sea inferred from seismic reflection data; Nature Geoscience, 2, 581-584.
News and Outreach:
February 2, 2016, FOX NEWS, "USGS discovers source of Alaska tsunami that decimated village in 1964"
July 6, 2011 LA Times, “Scientists tie Colorado River flooding to San Andreas Quakes”
July 3, 2011 San Francisco Chronicle, “Big quake near Salton Sea may be long overdue”
June 29, 2011 Discovery News, “Smaller Salton Sea silences seismic shocks”
June 29, 2011 USA Today, “Salton Sea floods flipped San Andreas earthquake trigger”
January 9, 2010 Nature News, “Floods linked to San Andreas quakes”
July 28, 2009 LA Times feature “More earthquake faults discovered at the Salton Sea”
May 15, 2009 CBS 5, “Lake Tahoe may be due for huge quake, tsunami”
Science and Products
EXPRESS: Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems
EXPRESS is a multi-year, multi-institution cooperative research campaign in deep sea areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, including the continental shelf and slope. EXPRESS data and information are intended to guide wise use of living marine resources and habitats, inform ocean energy and mineral resource decisions, and improve offshore hazard assessments.
Read the June 11, 2020...
Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards
Societal Issue: Uncertainty related to rupture extent, slip distribution, and recurrence of past subduction megathrust earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest (northern CA, OR, WA, and southern BC) leads to ambiguity in earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments and hinders our ability to prepare for future events.
2019 Lake Ozette
Collected bathymetric data, seismic data, and sediment cores from Lake Ozette in 2019, a USGS-US National Park Service partnership
Ecosystems: EXPRESS
The continental shelf and slope offshore California, Oregon, and Washington are home to deep-sea corals, chemosynthetic communities, and other sensitive habitats that could be impacted by the development of energy and mineral resources. The EXPRESS campaign will map and...
U.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards
Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
Devastating earthquakes in Japan (2011) and Chile (2010) that spawned pan-oceanic tsunamis sent a sobering reminder that U.S. coastlines are also vulnerable to natural disasters that originate in...
Seafloor Faults off Southern California
More than 22 million people live along Southern California’s coast, and many more migrate there every year. Faults and earthquake threats in this region have been heavily studied on land. USGS aims to boost our knowledge about faults on the seafloor, so they can be included in hazard assessments.
Hazards: EXPRESS
Marine geohazards including earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis lie offshore of densely populated areas of California, Oregon, and Washington. One goal of EXPRESS is to improve assessments of these hazards.
Resources: EXPRESS
Along the U.S. west coast, the Pacific Ocean, ocean floor, and winds above contain potentially vast energy and mineral resources. Developing these resources safely and wisely requires detailed information for each area of interest. One goal of EXPRESS is to inform ocean...
Earthquake Hazards in Southeastern Alaska
Over the last 100 years, the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system has produced large-magnitude earthquakes affecting both Canada and the U.S. To fill in missing details about its offshore location and structure, USGS uses sophisticated techniques to truly understand the fault’s hazard potential.
Systematic characterization of morphotectonic variability along the Cascadia convergent margin: Implications for shallow megathrust behavior and tsunami hazards
Studies of recent destructive megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis along subduction margins in Japan, Sumatra, and Chile have linked forearc morphology and structure to megathrust behavior. This connection is based on the idea that spatial variations in the frictional behavior of the megathrust influence the tectono-morphological evolution of...
Watt, Janet; Brothers, Daniel Focused fluid flow and methane venting along the Queen Charlotte fault, offshore Alaska (USA) and British Columbia (Canada)
Fluid seepage along obliquely deforming plate boundaries can be an important indicator of crustal permeability and influence on fault-zone mechanics and hydrocarbon migration. The ~850-km-long Queen Charlotte fault (QCF) is the dominant structure along the right-lateral transform boundary that separates the Pacific and North American tectonic...
Prouty, Nancy G.; Brothers, Daniel; Kluesner, Jared; Barrie, J. Vaughn; Andrews, Brian D.; Lauer, Rachel; Greene, Gary; Conrad, James E.; Lorenson, Thomas; Law, Michael D.; Sahy, Diana; Conway, Kim; McGann, Mary; Dartnell, Peter Morphology, structure, and kinematics of the San Clemente and Catalina faults based on high-resolution marine geophysical data, southern California Inner Continental Borderland
Catalina Basin, located within the southern California Inner Continental Borderland (ICB), is traversed by two active submerged fault systems that are part of the broader North America-Pacific plate boundary: the San Clemente fault (along with a prominent splay, the Kimki fault) and the Catalina fault. Previous studies have suggested that the San...
Walton, Maureen A. L.; Brothers, Daniel; Conrad, James E.; Maier, Katherine L.; Roland, Emily C.; Kluesner, Jared; Dartnell, Peter Structural controls on slope failure within the western Santa Barbara Channel based on 2D and 3D seismic imaging
The Santa Barbara Channel, offshore California, contains several submarine landslides and ample evidence for incipient failure. This region hosts active thrust and reverse faults that accommodate several mm/yr of convergence, yet the relationships between tectonic deformation and slope failure remain unclear. We present 3‐D and 2‐D multichannel...
Kluesner, Jared; Brothers, Daniel; Wright, Alexis L; Johnson, Samuel Submarine canyons, slope failures and mass transport processes in southern Cascadia
The marine turbidite record along the southern Cascadia Subduction Zone has been used to interpret paleoseismicity and suggest a shorter recurrence interval for large (>M7) earthquakes along this portion of the margin; however, the sources and pathways of these turbidity flows are poorly constrained. We examine the spatial distribution of...
Hill, Jenna C.; Watt, Janet; Brothers, Daniel; Kluesner, Jared Right-lateral fault motion along the slope-basin transition, Gulf of Santa Catalina, southern California
An active fault system carrying a significant component of right-lateral strike-slip motion extends for ~60 km along the slope–basin transition, ~10 to 20 km offshore of the southern California coast from La Jolla to Dana Point. From south to north, this fault system includes the Carlsbad, San Onofre, and San Mateo fault zones. High-resolution...
Cochran, Susan; Conrad, James; Brothers, Daniel; Coble, Katherine; Holly F. Ryan; Dartnell, Peter; Sliter, Ray The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment
The Santa Cruz Basin (SCB) is one of several fault-bounded basins within the California Continental Borderland that has drawn interest over the years for its role in the tectonic evolution of the region, but also because it contains a record of a variety of modes of sedimentary mass transport (i.e., open slope vs. canyon-confined systems). Here,...
Brothers, Daniel S.; Maier, Katherine L.; Kluesner, Jared W.; Conrad, James E.; Chaytor, Jason Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault Zone, western British Columbia
Multibeam echosounder (MBES) images, 3.5 kHz seismic-reflection profiles and piston cores obtained along the southern Queen Charlotte Fault Zone are used to map and date mass-wasting events at this transform margin – a seismically active boundary that separates the Pacific Plate from the North American Plate. Whereas the upper continental slope...
Greene, H. G.; Barrie, J. Vaughn; Brothers, Daniel; Conrad, James E.; Conway, Kim; East, Amy E.; Enkin, Randolph J.; Maier, Katherine L.; Walton, Maureen A. L.; Rohr, K .M. M. Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, southeastern Alaska
The Queen Charlotte Fault defines the Pacific–North America transform plate boundary in western Canada and southeastern Alaska for c. 900 km. The entire length of the fault is submerged along a continental margin dominated by Quaternary glacial processes, yet the geomorphology along the margin has never been systematically examined due to the...
Brothers, Daniel; Andrews, Brian D.; Walton, Maureen A. L.; H. Gary Greene; J. Vaughn Barrie; Miller, Nathaniel C.; ten Brink, Uri S.; East, Amy E.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Kluesner, Jared W.; Conrad, James E. The tectonically controlled San Gabriel Channel–Lobe Transition Zone, Catalina Basin, Southern California Borderland
High-resolution geophysical data across the Catalina Basin, offshore southern California, USA, reveal a complex channel–lobe transition zone (CLTZ) and provide an opportunity to characterize an entire seafloor CLTZ in a tectonically active and confined-basin setting. The seafloor morphology, distribution of depositional and erosional features, and...
Maier, Katherine L.; Roland, Emily C.; Walton, Maureen A. L.; Conrad, James E.; Brothers, Daniel S.; Dartnell, Peter; Kluesner, Jared W. Subsurface controls on the development of the Cape Fear Slide Complex, central US Atlantic Margin
The Cape Fear Slide is one of the largest (>25 000 km3) submarine slope failure complexes on the US Atlantic margin. Here we use a combination of new high-resolution multichannel seismic data (MCS) from the National Science Foundation Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting Margins (NSF GeoPRISMS) Community Seismic Experiment and legacy...
Hill, Jenna C.; Brothers, Daniel S.; Hornbach, Matthew J.; Sawyer, Derek E.; Shillington, Donna J.; Bécel, Anne Practical approaches to maximizing the resolution of sparker seismic reflection data
Sparkers are a type of sound source widely used by the marine seismic community to provide high-resolution imagery of the shallow sub-bottom (i.e., < 1000 m). Although sparkers are relatively simple, inexpensive, and high-frequency (100–2500 Hz) sources, they have several potential pitfalls due to their complicated and...
Kluesner, Jared; Brothers, Daniel; Hart, Patrick E.; Miller, Nathaniel C.; Hatcher, GerryPre-USGS Publications
Laboratory collaboration to study earthquake hazards off southeast Alaska and western Canada
Studying the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault
Giant grooves discovered on an earthquake fault offshore Costa Rica
Imagine dragging your outstretched fingers through wet beach sand, leaving long grooves behind. Scientists recently discovered enormous grooves buried under the seafloor near Costa Rica. The detailed three-dimensional data they used to uncover these corrugations can help them better understand large subduction zone earthquakes and related tsunamis worldwide.
Expedition along a Hazardous, Fast-Moving Fault off Southeast Alaska—the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault
USGS scientists hope to learn more about the earthquake hazards that this large, fast-moving fault poses to communities and tourists in Alaska and Canada.
U.S. and Canadian Scientists Explore Major Undersea Earthquake Fault
An international team of scientists just finished probing the depths of the Pacific Ocean offshore of Alaska and British Columbia, to better understand the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault. During the past century, the 700-mile-long fault has generated at least half a dozen major earthquakes, and future shocks threaten coastal communities in both the United States and Canada.
Research Geologist Jenna Hill Joins the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center welcomes research geologist Jenna Hill.
Striking New Seafloor Imagery of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault in the Gulf of Alaska
In 2016 the USGS led two geophysical surveys of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault off the coast of southeast Alaska, using multibeam sonar to map the ocean floor in detail, and multichannel seismic reflection to image deeper layers of sediment.
50-Year-Old Mystery Solved: Seafloor Mapping Reveals Cause of 1964 Tsunami that Destroyed Alaskan Village
Minutes after the 1964 magnitude-9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake began shaking, a series of tsunami waves swept through the village of Chenega in Prince William Sound, destroying all but two of the buildings and killing 23 of the 75 inhabitants.