Danny Brothers
I currently lead a project called "Marine Geohazards of the U.S. West Coast and Alaska" and I spend about 6-10 weeks per year at sea collecting marine geophysical data. You can learn more about the project and its members here
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, https://doi.org/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, 2018, Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment, Santa Cruz Basin, southern California. In: California Continental Borderlands: from the Mountains to the Abyss, an SEPM Special Volume. Editors: K. Marsaglia, R. Schwalbach, v. 110.
Conrad, J.E., D.S. Brothers, K.L. Maier, R. Sliter, H. Ryan, P. Dartnell, 2018, Active, base of slope, shear along the southern California continental margin. In: California Continental Borderlands: from the Mountains to the Abyss, an SEPM Special Volume. Editors: K. Marsaglia, R. Schwalbach, v. 110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.11.001.
Conrad, J.E., M. Walton, N. Prouty, J.W. Kluesner, E. Roland, K.L Maier, D.S Brothers, P. Dartnel, 2018, Fault controls on active seabed gas seepage along the Kimki Ridge, southern California, Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, v. 150, p. 82-89.
Brothers, D.S., B.D. Andrews, M. Walton, G. Greene, V. Barrie, N.C. Miller, U.S. ten Brink, A.E. East, P. Haeussler, J. Kluesner, J. Conrad, 2018, Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, southeastern Alaska, in Subaqueous Mass Movements and Their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications, eds. C. Campbell, G. Lintern, P. Bobrowski, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 477.
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 wasting processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, western British Columbia, in Subaqueous Mass Movements and Their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications, eds. C. Campbell, G. Lintern, P. Bobrowski, Geological Society of London Special Volume, v. 477.
Hill, J., D.S. Brothers, D. Sawyer, D. Shillington, M. Hornbach, 2018, Cape Fear Slide, in Subaqueous Mass Movements and Their Consequences: Assessing Geohazards, Environmental Implications, eds. C. Campbell, G. Lintern, P. Bobrowski, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 477.
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; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8398, 2018, 161 pages, https://doi.org/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, 2018, A closer look at an undersea source of Alaskan earthquakes, EOS, v. 98, https://doi.org/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 San Gregorio Fault Zone late Pleistocene and Holocene activity 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. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
Brothers, D.S., C. Ruppel, J. Kluesner, J.D. Chaytor, U.S. ten Brink, J.C Hill, C. Flores, B. Andrews, 2014, Evidence for seabed fluid expulsion along the upper slope and outer shelf of the U.S. Atlantic margin; Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1002/2013GL058048. [Download File]
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, U.S. Atlantic margin; Deep Sea Research II, v. 104, p. 106–119. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
Brothers, D.S., U. ten Brink, B. Andrews, 2013, Geomorphic process fingerprints in submarine canyons; Marine Geology, v. 338, p.46–63. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
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. [Download File]
Kleppe, J.A., D.S. Brothers, G.M. Kent, F. Biondi, S. Jensen, N.W. Driscoll, 2011, Timing and severity of Medieval drought in the Lake Tahoe Basin; Quaternary Science Reviews, 30, 3269–3279. [Download File]
Brothers, D.S., D.K. Kilb, K. Luttrell, G. Kent, N. Driscoll, 2011, Flood induced rupture of faults beneath the Salton Sea; Nature Geoscience, 4, 486-492. [Download File]
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.[Download File]
Brothers, D.S., G.M. Kent, N.W. Driscoll, S.B. Smith, R. Karlin, J.A. Dingler, A.J. Harding, G.G. Seitz, J.M. Babcock, 2009, New constraints on deformation, slip rate, and timing o the most recent earthquake on the West Tahoe-Dollar Point Fault, Lake Tahoe Basin, California; Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 99, 2A, 499–519. [Download File]
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
2019 Lake Ozette
Objectives: Conduct surveys to reconstruct the timing of large earthquakes in northern Cascadia from earthquake-triggered landslide deposits in Lake Ozette, WA.
These surveys are part of the USGS project, “Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards.”
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.
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...
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...
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.
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 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 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 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, Gerry Deformation of the Pacific/North America plate boundary at Queen Charlotte Fault: The possible role of rheology
The Pacific/North America (PA/NA) plate boundary between Vancouver Island and Alaska is similar to the PA/NA boundary in California in its kinematic history and the rate and azimuth of current relative motion, yet their deformation styles are distinct. The California plate boundary shows a broad zone of parallel strike slip and thrust faults and...
ten Brink, Uri S.; Miller, Nathaniel C.; Andrews, Brian D.; Brothers, Daniel; Haeussler, Peter J. Corrugated megathrust revealed offshore from Costa Rica
Exhumed faults are rough, often exhibiting topographic corrugations oriented in the direction of slip; such features are fundamental to mechanical processes that drive earthquakes and fault evolution. However, our understanding of corrugation genesis remains limited due to a lack of in situ observations at depth, especially at subducting plate...
Edwards, Joel H.; Kluesner, Jared; Silver, Eli A.; Brodsky, Emily E.; Brothers, Daniel; Bangs, Nathan L.; Kirkpatrick, James D.; Wood, Ruby; Okamato, Kristina Strain partitioning in southeastern Alaska: Is the Chatham Strait Fault active?
A 1200 km-long transform plate boundary passes through southeastern Alaska and northwestern British Columbia and represents one of the most seismically active, but poorly understood continental margins of North America. Although most of the plate motion is accommodated by the right-lateral Queen Charlotte–Fairweather Fault (QCFF) System,...
Brothers, Daniel; Elliott, Julie L.; Conrad, James E.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Kluesner, Jared Seafloor fluid seeps on Kimki Ridge, offshore southern California: Links to active strike-slip faulting
The Kimki Ridge fluid seeps are located in western Catalina Basin about 60 km southwest of the southern California mainland and at a water depth of approximately 1100 m. Multichannel seismic reflection profiles collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2014 show acoustic transparency within the Kimki...
Conrad, James E.; Prouty, Nancy G.; Walton, Maureen A. L.; Kluesner, Jared W.; Maier, Katherine L.; McGann, Mary; Brothers, Daniel; Roland, Emily C.; Dartnell, Peter Investigation of late Pleistocene and Holocene activity in the San Gregorio fault zone on the continental slope north of Monterey Canyon, offshore central California
We provide an extensive high‐resolution geophysical, sediment core, and radiocarbon dataset to address late Pleistocene and Holocene fault activity of the San Gregorio fault zone (SGFZ), offshore central California. The SGFZ occurs primarily offshore in the San Andreas fault system and has been accommodating dextral strike‐slip motion between the...
Maier, Katherine L.; Paull, Charles K.; Brothers, Daniel; Caress, David W.; McGann, Mary; Lundsten, Eve M.; Anderson, Krystle; Gwiazda, Roberto
Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information and tools to build resilience in communities exposed to subduction zone earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Improving the application of USGS science to successfully reduce risk from these events relies on whole community efforts...
Gomberg, Joan S.; Ludwig, K.A.; Bekins, Barbara; Brocher, Thomas M.; Brock, John C.; Brothers, Daniel; Chaytor, Jason D.; Frankel, Arthur; Geist, Eric L.; Haney, Matthew M.; Hickman, Stephen H.; Leith, William S.; Roeloffs, Evelyn A.; Schulz, William H.; Sisson, Thomas W.; Wallace, Kristi; Watt, Janet; Wein, Anne M.
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.