David J Wald
Dr. Wald is a Seismologist with the USGS in Golden. He is involved in research, development & operations of several real-time earthquake information systems at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. He developed and manages “ShakeMap”, “Did You Feel it?”, & is responsible for developing other systems for post-earthquake response & pre-earthquake mitigation, including ShakeCas
Wald's scientific interests include the characterization of rupture processes from complex recent and historic earthquakes using combined geodetic, teleseismic, and strong motion data; waveform modelling and inversion; analysis of ground motion hazards and site effects; earthquake source physics; and modelling earthquake-induced landslides, liquefaction, and losses, macroseismic intensity, building damage, financial and human impact, rapid damage and impact assessment, earthquake scenario development and mitigation planning and drills, and communication with the media, public, and emergency managers.
Previously at Caltech, and now at the Colorado School of Mines, Wald has advised dozens of post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate student research projects. Wald directly supervises 10 PhD level scientists and 5 five BS and MS level support staff, and supervises several students. Wald serves on several PhD committees at this time. This research has resulted in more than 450 professional publications that David has authored or co-authored, including journal papers, USGS publication series, conference papers, and published abstracts.
Education:
Post-doctoral Fellow, Geophysics, National Research Council, USGS, Pasadena, 1995
Ph.D., Geophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 1993
M.S., Geophysics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1986
B.S., Geology & Physics, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, 1984
Science and Products
New research and tools lead to improved earthquake alerting protocols
Developing framework to constrain the geometry of the seismic rupture plane on subduction interfaces a priori - A probabilistic approach
ShakeCast: Caltrans deploys a tool for rapid postearthquake response
Using shakecast and shakemap for lifeline post-earthquake response and earthquake scenario planning
PAGER-CAT: A composite earthquake catalog for calibrating global fatality models
On the use of high-resolution topographic data as a proxy for seismic site conditions (VS30)
An Atlas of ShakeMaps and population exposure catalog for earthquake loss modeling
Advancing techniques to constrain the geometry of the seismic rupture plane on subduction interfaces a priori: Higher-order functional fits
Rapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
WHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
An atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes
Quantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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New research and tools lead to improved earthquake alerting protocols
What’s the best way to get alerted about the occurrence and potential impact of an earthquake? The answer to that question has changed dramatically of late, in part due to improvements in earthquake science, and in part by the implementation of new research in the delivery of earthquake informationAuthorsDavid J. WaldDeveloping framework to constrain the geometry of the seismic rupture plane on subduction interfaces a priori - A probabilistic approach
A key step in many earthquake source inversions requires knowledge of the geometry of the fault surface on which the earthquake occurred. Our knowledge of this surface is often uncertain, however, and as a result fault geometry misinterpretation can map into significant error in the final temporal and spatial slip patterns of these inversions. Relying solely on an initial hypocentre and CMT mechanAuthorsG.P. Hayes, D. J. WaldShakeCast: Caltrans deploys a tool for rapid postearthquake response
[No abstract available]AuthorsL.L. Turner, D. Wald, K.-W. LinUsing shakecast and shakemap for lifeline post-earthquake response and earthquake scenario planning
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeCast system is a freely-available, post-earthquake situational awareness application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking data from ShakeMap, compares intensity measures against users' facilities, sends notifications of potential damage to responsible parties, and generates facility damage assessment maps and other Web-based products for emergencyAuthorsK.-W. Lin, D. J. Wald, L.L. TurnerPAGER-CAT: A composite earthquake catalog for calibrating global fatality models
We have described the compilation and contents of PAGER-CAT, an earthquake catalog developed principally for calibrating earthquake fatality models. It brings together information from a range of sources in a comprehensive, easy to use digital format. Earthquake source information (e.g., origin time, hypocenter, and magnitude) contained in PAGER-CAT has been used to develop an Atlas of Shake MapsAuthorsT.I. Allen, K. D. Marano, P.S. Earle, D. J. WaldOn the use of high-resolution topographic data as a proxy for seismic site conditions (VS30)
An alternative method has recently been proposed for evaluating global seismic site conditions, or the average shear velocity to 30 m depth (VS30), from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 30 arcsec digital elevation models (DEMs). The basic premise of the method is that the topographic slope can be used as a reliable proxy for VS30 in the absence of geologically and geotechnically based sAuthorsT.I. Allen, D. J. WaldAn Atlas of ShakeMaps and population exposure catalog for earthquake loss modeling
We present an Atlas of ShakeMaps and a catalog of human population exposures to moderate-to-strong ground shaking (EXPO-CAT) for recent historical earthquakes (1973-2007). The common purpose of the Atlas and exposure catalog is to calibrate earthquake loss models to be used in the US Geological Survey's Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER). The full ShakeMap Atlas currentlyAuthorsT.I. Allen, D. J. Wald, P.S. Earle, K. D. Marano, A.J. Hotovec, K. Lin, M.G. HearneAdvancing techniques to constrain the geometry of the seismic rupture plane on subduction interfaces a priori: Higher-order functional fits
Ongoing developments in earthquake source inversions incorporate nonplanar fault geometries as inputs to the inversion process, improving previous approaches that relied solely on planar fault surfaces. This evolution motivates advancing the existing framework for constraining fault geometry, particularly in subduction zones where plate boundary surfaces that host highly hazardous earthquakes areAuthorsG.P. Hayes, D. J. Wald, K. KeranenRapid exposure and loss estimates for the May 12, 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system
One half-hour after the May 12th Mw 7.9 Wenchuan, China earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system distributed an automatically generated alert stating that 1.2 million people were exposed to severe-to-extreme shaking (Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII or greater). It was immediately clear that a large-scale disaster had occurred. ThAuthorsP.S. Earle, D. J. Wald, T.I. Allen, K. S. Jaiswal, K.A. Porter, M.G. HearneWHE-PAGER Project: A new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vulnerability
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquake’s Response (PAGER) Project and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia (WHE) are creating a global database of building stocks and their earthquake vulnerability. The WHE already represents a growing, community-developed public database of global housing and its detailed structural characteristiAuthorsK.A. Porter, K. S. Jaiswal, D. J. Wald, M. Greene, Craig ComartinAn atlas of ShakeMaps for selected global earthquakes
An atlas of maps of peak ground motions and intensity 'ShakeMaps' has been developed for almost 5,000 recent and historical global earthquakes. These maps are produced using established ShakeMap methodology (Wald and others, 1999c; Wald and others, 2005) and constraints from macroseismic intensity data, instrumental ground motions, regional topographically-based site amplifications, and publishedAuthorsTrevor I. Allen, David J. Wald, Alicia J. Hotovec, Kuo-Wan Lin, Paul S. Earle, Kristin D. MaranoQuantifying and Qualifying USGS ShakeMap Uncertainty
We describe algorithms for quantifying and qualifying uncertainties associated with USGS ShakeMap ground motions. The uncertainty values computed consist of latitude/longitude grid-based multiplicative factors that scale the standard deviation associated with the ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) used within the ShakeMap algorithm for estimating ground motions. The resulting grid-based 'uncAuthorsDavid J. Wald, Kuo-Wan Lin, Vincent QuitorianoNon-USGS Publications**
References in Google Scholar**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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