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
Holocene depositional history inferred from single-grain luminescence ages in southern California, North America Holocene depositional history inferred from single-grain luminescence ages in southern California, North America
Significant sediment flux and deposition in a sedimentary system are influenced by climate changes, tectonics, lithology, and the sedimentary system's internal dynamics. Identifying the timing of depositional periods from stratigraphic records is a first step to critically evaluate the controls of sediment flux and deposition. Here, we show that ages of single-grain K-feldspar...
Authors
Sourav Saha, Seulgi Moon, Nathan Brown, Edward Rhodes, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Sally McGill, Bryan Castillo
Prehistoric earthquakes on the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault, North Palm Springs, California Prehistoric earthquakes on the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault, North Palm Springs, California
We studied a paleoseismic trench excavated in 2017 across the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault and herein provide the first detailed record of ground-breaking earthquakes on this important fault in Southern California. The trench exposed an ~40-m-wide fault zone cutting through alluvial sand, gravel, silt, and clay deposits. We evaluated the paleoseismic record using a new metric...
Authors
Bryan Castillo, Sally McGill, Katherine M. Scharer, Doug Yule, Devin McPhillips, James McNeil, Sourav Saha, Nathan Brown, Seulgi Moon
Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas
Induced seismicity predominantly occurs along faults that are optimally oriented to the local principal compressive stress direction, and the characterization of these stress orientations is an important component of understanding seismic hazards. The seismicity rate in southern Kansas rapidly increased in 2013 primarily due to the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into the...
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth Cochran, Kayla Kroll, Justin Rubinstein, Devin McPhillips
Evaluation of seismic hazard models with fragile geologic features Evaluation of seismic hazard models with fragile geologic features
We provide an overview of a 2019 workshop on the use of fragile geologic features (FGFs) to evaluate seismic hazard models. FGFs have been scarcely utilized in the evaluation of seismic hazard models, despite nearly 30 yr having passed since the first recognition of their potential value. Recently, several studies have begun to focus on the implementation of FGFs in seismic hazard...
Authors
Mark Stirling, Mike Oskin, J. Ramon Arrowsmith, Anna Rood, Christine Goulet, Lisa Grant Ludwig, Tamarah King, Albert Kottke, Julian Lozos, Chris Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Dylan Rood, Norman Sleep, Christine Wittich
Documentation of Surface Fault Rupture and Ground‐Deformation Features Produced by the 4 and 5 July 2019 Mw 6.4 and Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence Documentation of Surface Fault Rupture and Ground‐Deformation Features Produced by the 4 and 5 July 2019 Mw 6.4 and Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence
The MwMw 6.4 and MwMw 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence occurred on 4 and 5 July 2019 within the eastern California shear zone of southern California. Both events produced extensive surface faulting and ground deformation within Indian Wells Valley and Searles Valley. In the weeks following the earthquakes, more than six dozen scientists from government, academia, and the private sector...
Authors
Daniel Ponti, James Blair, Rosa M, Kate Thomas, Alexandra Pickering, Sinan Akciz, Stephen Angster, Jean-Philipe Avouac, Jeffrey Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Nicolas Barth, S. Bennett, Kelly Blake, Stephan Bork, Benjamin Brooks, Thomas Bullard, Paul Burgess, Colin Chupik, Timothy Dawson, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, Stephen DeLong, James Dolan, Andrea Donnellan, Christopher DuRoss, Todd Ericksen, Erik Frost, Gareth Funning, Ryan Gold, Nicholas A Graehl, Carlos Gutierrez, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Hatem, John Helms, Janis Hernandez, Christopher Hitchcock, Peter Holland, Kenneth Hudnut, Katherine Kendrick, Richard Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler Ladinsky, Robert Leeper, Christopher Madugo, Maxime Mareschal, James McDonald, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Daniel Mongovin, Alexander Morelan, Stephanie Nale, Johanna Nevitt, Matt O’Neal, Brian Olsen, Michael Oskin, Salena Padilla, Jason Patton, Belle Philibosian, Ian Pierce, Cynthia Pridmore, Nathaniel Roth, David Sandwell, Katherine M. Scharer, Gordon Seitz, Drake Singleton, Bridget Smith-Konter, Eleanor Spangler, Brian Swanson, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Joshua Vanderwal, Alana Williams, Xiaohua Xu, Judith Zachariasen, Jade Zimmerman, Robert Zinke
Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods
Introduction To understand the behavior of potentially damaging ground motions during earthquakes, seismic-site effects are routinely characterized by using the dispersion of surface waves. Many methods exist to measure dispersion; these methods have various advantages and disadvantages, but they all yield dispersion data that must be inverted for shear-wave velocity. This report...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Alan Yong, Antony Martin, William Stephenson
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
Holocene depositional history inferred from single-grain luminescence ages in southern California, North America Holocene depositional history inferred from single-grain luminescence ages in southern California, North America
Significant sediment flux and deposition in a sedimentary system are influenced by climate changes, tectonics, lithology, and the sedimentary system's internal dynamics. Identifying the timing of depositional periods from stratigraphic records is a first step to critically evaluate the controls of sediment flux and deposition. Here, we show that ages of single-grain K-feldspar...
Authors
Sourav Saha, Seulgi Moon, Nathan Brown, Edward Rhodes, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Sally McGill, Bryan Castillo
Prehistoric earthquakes on the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault, North Palm Springs, California Prehistoric earthquakes on the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault, North Palm Springs, California
We studied a paleoseismic trench excavated in 2017 across the Banning strand of the San Andreas fault and herein provide the first detailed record of ground-breaking earthquakes on this important fault in Southern California. The trench exposed an ~40-m-wide fault zone cutting through alluvial sand, gravel, silt, and clay deposits. We evaluated the paleoseismic record using a new metric...
Authors
Bryan Castillo, Sally McGill, Katherine M. Scharer, Doug Yule, Devin McPhillips, James McNeil, Sourav Saha, Nathan Brown, Seulgi Moon
Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas Characterizing stress orientations in southern Kansas
Induced seismicity predominantly occurs along faults that are optimally oriented to the local principal compressive stress direction, and the characterization of these stress orientations is an important component of understanding seismic hazards. The seismicity rate in southern Kansas rapidly increased in 2013 primarily due to the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into the...
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth Cochran, Kayla Kroll, Justin Rubinstein, Devin McPhillips
Evaluation of seismic hazard models with fragile geologic features Evaluation of seismic hazard models with fragile geologic features
We provide an overview of a 2019 workshop on the use of fragile geologic features (FGFs) to evaluate seismic hazard models. FGFs have been scarcely utilized in the evaluation of seismic hazard models, despite nearly 30 yr having passed since the first recognition of their potential value. Recently, several studies have begun to focus on the implementation of FGFs in seismic hazard...
Authors
Mark Stirling, Mike Oskin, J. Ramon Arrowsmith, Anna Rood, Christine Goulet, Lisa Grant Ludwig, Tamarah King, Albert Kottke, Julian Lozos, Chris Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Dylan Rood, Norman Sleep, Christine Wittich
Documentation of Surface Fault Rupture and Ground‐Deformation Features Produced by the 4 and 5 July 2019 Mw 6.4 and Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence Documentation of Surface Fault Rupture and Ground‐Deformation Features Produced by the 4 and 5 July 2019 Mw 6.4 and Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence
The MwMw 6.4 and MwMw 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence occurred on 4 and 5 July 2019 within the eastern California shear zone of southern California. Both events produced extensive surface faulting and ground deformation within Indian Wells Valley and Searles Valley. In the weeks following the earthquakes, more than six dozen scientists from government, academia, and the private sector...
Authors
Daniel Ponti, James Blair, Rosa M, Kate Thomas, Alexandra Pickering, Sinan Akciz, Stephen Angster, Jean-Philipe Avouac, Jeffrey Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Nicolas Barth, S. Bennett, Kelly Blake, Stephan Bork, Benjamin Brooks, Thomas Bullard, Paul Burgess, Colin Chupik, Timothy Dawson, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, Stephen DeLong, James Dolan, Andrea Donnellan, Christopher DuRoss, Todd Ericksen, Erik Frost, Gareth Funning, Ryan Gold, Nicholas A Graehl, Carlos Gutierrez, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Hatem, John Helms, Janis Hernandez, Christopher Hitchcock, Peter Holland, Kenneth Hudnut, Katherine Kendrick, Richard Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler Ladinsky, Robert Leeper, Christopher Madugo, Maxime Mareschal, James McDonald, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Daniel Mongovin, Alexander Morelan, Stephanie Nale, Johanna Nevitt, Matt O’Neal, Brian Olsen, Michael Oskin, Salena Padilla, Jason Patton, Belle Philibosian, Ian Pierce, Cynthia Pridmore, Nathaniel Roth, David Sandwell, Katherine M. Scharer, Gordon Seitz, Drake Singleton, Bridget Smith-Konter, Eleanor Spangler, Brian Swanson, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Joshua Vanderwal, Alana Williams, Xiaohua Xu, Judith Zachariasen, Jade Zimmerman, Robert Zinke
Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods
Introduction To understand the behavior of potentially damaging ground motions during earthquakes, seismic-site effects are routinely characterized by using the dispersion of surface waves. Many methods exist to measure dispersion; these methods have various advantages and disadvantages, but they all yield dispersion data that must be inverted for shear-wave velocity. This report...
Authors
Devin McPhillips, Alan Yong, Antony Martin, William Stephenson
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