Devin McPhillips, PhD
As an earthquake geologist, I investigate fault systems, fault activity, and ground shaking intensity. I am particularly interested in records of past earthquakes that are preserved in the landscape. My research methods include field observation, geochronology, and quantitative analysis. My goals are to quantify seismic hazard and reduce risk.
Professional Experience
Research Geologist: USGS-ESC, 2023-present
Geologist: USGS-ESC, 2016-2023
Research Associate: Syracuse University, 2013-2105
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Vermont, 2011-2013
Education and Certifications
PhD: Yale University, 2011
BA: Carleton College, 2003
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 24
Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures
Surface rupture in the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence occurred along two orthogonal cross faults and includes dominantly left‐lateral and northeast‐striking rupture in the Mw 6.4 foreshock and dominantly right‐lateral and northwest‐striking rupture in the Mw 7.1 mainshock. We present >650 field‐based, surface‐displacement observations for these ruptures and synthesize...
Authors
Christopher DuRoss, Ryan Gold, Timothy Dawson, Katherine M. Scharer, Katherine Kendrick, Sinan Akciz, Stephen Angster, Jeffery Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Scott Bennett, Luke Blair, Benjamin Brooks, Thomas Bullard, W. Burgess, Colin Chupik, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, James Dolan, Erik Frost, Nick Graehl, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Hatem, Janis Hernandez, Christopher Hitchcock, Kennth Hudnut, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Richard Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler Ladinsky, Christopher Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Alexander Morelan, Brian Olson, Jason Patton, Belle Philibosian, Alexandra Pickering, Ian Pierce, Daniel Ponti, Gordon Seitz, Eleanor Spangler, Brian Swanson, Kate Thomas, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Alana Williams, Robert Zinke
Activation of optimally and unfavourably oriented faults in a uniform local stress field during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, sequence Activation of optimally and unfavourably oriented faults in a uniform local stress field during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, sequence
The orientations of faults activated relative to the local principal stress directions can provide insights into the role of pore pressure changes in induced earthquake sequences. Here, we examine the 2011 M 5.7 Prague earthquake sequence that was induced by nearby wastewater disposal. We estimate the local principal compressive stress direction near the rupture as inferred from shear...
Authors
Elizabeth Cochran, Robert Skoumal, Devin McPhillips, Z. Ross, Katie Keranen
Late Quaternary slip rate of the Central Sierra Madre fault, southern California: Implications for slip partitioning and earthquake hazard Late Quaternary slip rate of the Central Sierra Madre fault, southern California: Implications for slip partitioning and earthquake hazard
The Sierra Madre fault system accommodates contraction within a large restraining bend area of the San Andreas fault along the northern margin of the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. Reverse slip along this fault system during earthquakes controls growth of the San Gabriel Mountains and poses a significant seismic hazard to the region. Here, we measure the late...
Authors
Reed J. Burgette, Austin Hanson, Katherine M. Scharer, Tammy Rittenour, Devin McPhillips
Preliminary report on engineering and geological effects of the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence Preliminary report on engineering and geological effects of the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
The Ridgecrest Earthquake sequence included a foreshock event on July 4 2019 (M6.4) and a M7.1 mainshock event on July 5 2019. These events occurred in the Eastern California Shear Zone, near Indian Wells Valley, south of China Lake and west of Searles Valley. GEER has partnered with several organizations to collect perishable data and document the important impacts of these events...
Authors
Scott Brandenberg, Pengfei Wang, Chukwuebuka Nweke, Kenneth Hudson, Silvia Mazzoni, Yousef Bozorgnia, Kenneth Hudnut, Craig Davis, Sean Ahdi, Farzin Zareian, Jawad Fayaz, Richard Koehler, Colin Chupik, Ian Pierce, Alana Williams, Sinan Akciz, Martin Hudson, Tadahiro Kishida, Benjamin Brooks, Ryan Gold, Daniel Ponti, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Christopher DuRoss, Todd Ericksen, Janis Hernandez, Jay Patton, Brian Olson, Timothy Dawson, Jerome Treiman, Kelly Blake, Jeffrey Buchhuber, Chris Madugo, Joseph Sun, Andrea Donnellan, Greg Lyzenga, Erik Conway
Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California
Studies of historic earthquake ground surface ruptures show that displacements along strike are spatially variable. As a result, latest Quaternary slip rates developed from a spatially restricted set of cumulative displacement measurements may not accurately represent fault velocity. Here we examine the uncertainties associated with slip on the Cucamonga Fault, which is part of a network...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Katherine M. Scharer
Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience
The five-mile-long Elizabeth Tunnel, which crosses the San Andreas fault (SAF) zone near Lake Hughes, California, is part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (LAA) that delivers water from Owens Valley to the City of Los Angeles. Geologic characterization of the Elizabeth Tunnel alignment is focused on developing a better understanding of fault displacement hazards at the SAF crossing to support...
Authors
Scott Lindvall, Scott Kerwin, Chris Heron, Craig Davis, Jeff Tyson, Jim Chestnut, Kevin Mass, Mike Farr, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 24
Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures
Surface rupture in the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence occurred along two orthogonal cross faults and includes dominantly left‐lateral and northeast‐striking rupture in the Mw 6.4 foreshock and dominantly right‐lateral and northwest‐striking rupture in the Mw 7.1 mainshock. We present >650 field‐based, surface‐displacement observations for these ruptures and synthesize...
Authors
Christopher DuRoss, Ryan Gold, Timothy Dawson, Katherine M. Scharer, Katherine Kendrick, Sinan Akciz, Stephen Angster, Jeffery Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Scott Bennett, Luke Blair, Benjamin Brooks, Thomas Bullard, W. Burgess, Colin Chupik, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, James Dolan, Erik Frost, Nick Graehl, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Hatem, Janis Hernandez, Christopher Hitchcock, Kennth Hudnut, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Richard Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler Ladinsky, Christopher Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Alexander Morelan, Brian Olson, Jason Patton, Belle Philibosian, Alexandra Pickering, Ian Pierce, Daniel Ponti, Gordon Seitz, Eleanor Spangler, Brian Swanson, Kate Thomas, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Alana Williams, Robert Zinke
Activation of optimally and unfavourably oriented faults in a uniform local stress field during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, sequence Activation of optimally and unfavourably oriented faults in a uniform local stress field during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma, sequence
The orientations of faults activated relative to the local principal stress directions can provide insights into the role of pore pressure changes in induced earthquake sequences. Here, we examine the 2011 M 5.7 Prague earthquake sequence that was induced by nearby wastewater disposal. We estimate the local principal compressive stress direction near the rupture as inferred from shear...
Authors
Elizabeth Cochran, Robert Skoumal, Devin McPhillips, Z. Ross, Katie Keranen
Late Quaternary slip rate of the Central Sierra Madre fault, southern California: Implications for slip partitioning and earthquake hazard Late Quaternary slip rate of the Central Sierra Madre fault, southern California: Implications for slip partitioning and earthquake hazard
The Sierra Madre fault system accommodates contraction within a large restraining bend area of the San Andreas fault along the northern margin of the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. Reverse slip along this fault system during earthquakes controls growth of the San Gabriel Mountains and poses a significant seismic hazard to the region. Here, we measure the late...
Authors
Reed J. Burgette, Austin Hanson, Katherine M. Scharer, Tammy Rittenour, Devin McPhillips
Preliminary report on engineering and geological effects of the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence Preliminary report on engineering and geological effects of the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
The Ridgecrest Earthquake sequence included a foreshock event on July 4 2019 (M6.4) and a M7.1 mainshock event on July 5 2019. These events occurred in the Eastern California Shear Zone, near Indian Wells Valley, south of China Lake and west of Searles Valley. GEER has partnered with several organizations to collect perishable data and document the important impacts of these events...
Authors
Scott Brandenberg, Pengfei Wang, Chukwuebuka Nweke, Kenneth Hudson, Silvia Mazzoni, Yousef Bozorgnia, Kenneth Hudnut, Craig Davis, Sean Ahdi, Farzin Zareian, Jawad Fayaz, Richard Koehler, Colin Chupik, Ian Pierce, Alana Williams, Sinan Akciz, Martin Hudson, Tadahiro Kishida, Benjamin Brooks, Ryan Gold, Daniel Ponti, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Christopher DuRoss, Todd Ericksen, Janis Hernandez, Jay Patton, Brian Olson, Timothy Dawson, Jerome Treiman, Kelly Blake, Jeffrey Buchhuber, Chris Madugo, Joseph Sun, Andrea Donnellan, Greg Lyzenga, Erik Conway
Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California Quantifying uncertainty in cumulative surface slip along the Cucamonga Fault, a crustal thrust fault in southern California
Studies of historic earthquake ground surface ruptures show that displacements along strike are spatially variable. As a result, latest Quaternary slip rates developed from a spatially restricted set of cumulative displacement measurements may not accurately represent fault velocity. Here we examine the uncertainties associated with slip on the Cucamonga Fault, which is part of a network...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Katherine M. Scharer
Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience Characterizing the Los Angeles Aqueduct crossing of the San Andreas Fault for improved earthquake resilience
The five-mile-long Elizabeth Tunnel, which crosses the San Andreas fault (SAF) zone near Lake Hughes, California, is part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (LAA) that delivers water from Owens Valley to the City of Los Angeles. Geologic characterization of the Elizabeth Tunnel alignment is focused on developing a better understanding of fault displacement hazards at the SAF crossing to support...
Authors
Scott Lindvall, Scott Kerwin, Chris Heron, Craig Davis, Jeff Tyson, Jim Chestnut, Kevin Mass, Mike Farr, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips