Dr. Elizabeth S. Cochran is an observational seismologist at the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena, California. She conducts research on human-induced earthquakes, earthquake early warning, earthquake triggering, rupture processes, and seismic wave propagation.
Elizabeth has led several large seismic deployments following significant earthquakes in the United States. She served as Acting Director of the Earthquake Science Center in 2021. Elizabeth was the Project Chief of the Induced Seismicity project in the Earthquake Science Center from 2018-2021 and Chief Scientist of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning project from 2016-17. She was the co-founder of the Quake Catcher Network, a crowd-sourced seismic network that detected earthquakes using low-cost sensors connected to desktop or inside of laptops and phones. Elizabeth received a B.S. in geophysics from University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in geophysics and space physics from the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2010, she was recognized with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Experience
2011 – Present Research Geophysicist, US Geological Survey
2011 – Present Visiting Associate in Geophysics, California Institute of Technology
2007 – 2011 Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside
2005 – 2007 Postdoctoral Scholar, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps
2000 – 2005 Research Assist./Assoc., Department of Earth and Space Science, University of California, Los Angeles
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara Geophysics B.S., 2000
University of California, Los Angeles Geophysics and Space Physics M.S., 2003
University of California, Los Angeles Geophysics and Space Physics Ph.D., 2005
Honors and Activities
· Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2010.
· NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, 2010.
· Geological Society of America, Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science Award, 2006.
· Young Fellow of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, 2004.
· Southern California Earthquake Center Seismology Discipline Co-Chair, 2009-2017.
· IRIS Standing Committee Member; Data Management (2008-2010), Education and Public Outreach (2012-2014).
Science and Products
Earthquake Early Warning – Fine-Tuning for Best Alerts
Quantifying site effects and their influence on earthquake source parameter estimations using a dense array in Oklahoma
A detailed view of the 2020-2023 southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence with deep learning
Fault roughness at seismogenic depths and links to earthquake behavior
The 2020 Westmorland, California earthquake swarm as aftershocks of a slow slip event sustained by fluid flow
What to expect when you are expecting earthquake early warning
Stress heterogeneity as a driver of aseismic slip during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma aftershock sequence
Real-time earthquake detection and alerting behavior of PLUM ground-motion-based early warning in the United States
Very low frequency earthquakes in between the seismogenic and tremor zones in Cascadia?
Quantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array
A unified perspective of seismicity and fault coupling along the San Andreas Fault
Fast rupture of the 2009 Mw 6.9 Canal de Ballenas earthquake in the Gulf of California dynamically triggers seismicity in California
Alert optimization of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm for the western United States
Science and Products
- Science
Earthquake Early Warning – Fine-Tuning for Best Alerts
Release Date: OCTOBER 8, 2019 The goal of an earthquake early warning (EEW) system is to provide an alert to people and automatic systems after an earthquake begins but before the shaking reaches their location. As the USGS and its partners are developing an EEW system, called ShakeAlert®, for the West Coast, the benefits, costs, capabilities, and limitations are being investigated. Two recent... - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 74
Quantifying site effects and their influence on earthquake source parameter estimations using a dense array in Oklahoma
We investigate the effects of site response on source parameter estimates using earthquakes recorded by the LArge-n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO). While it is well known that near-surface unconsolidated sediments can cause an apparent breakdown of earthquake self-similarity, the influence of laterally varying site conditions remains unclear. We analyze site conditions across the 1825-stationAuthorsHilary Chang, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Nori Nakata, Colin Pennington, Kilian B. Kemna, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Rebecca M. HarringtonA detailed view of the 2020-2023 southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence with deep learning
The 2020–2023 southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence, still ongoing in 2023, is remarkable for its multiple‐fault rupture complexity and elevated aftershock productivity. We applied an automatic workflow to continuous data from 43 seismic stations in Puerto Rico to build an enhanced earthquake catalog with ∼180,000 events for the 3+ yr sequence from 28 December 2019 to 1 January 2023. This workAuthorsClara Yoon, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Elizabeth A. Vanacore, Victor Huerfano, Gisela Báez-Sánchez, John D. Wilding, Jonathan D. SmithFault roughness at seismogenic depths and links to earthquake behavior
Fault geometry affects the initiation, propagation, and cessation of earthquake rupture, as well as, potentially, the statistical behavior of earthquake sequences. We analyze 18,250 (−0.27 < M < 4.4) earthquakes of the 2016–2019 Cahuilla, California, swarm and, for the first time, use these high‐resolution earthquake locations to map, in detail, the roughness across an active fault surface at deptAuthorsElizabeth S. Cochran, Morgan T. Page, Nicholas van der Elst, Zachary E. Ross, Daniel T. TrugmanThe 2020 Westmorland, California earthquake swarm as aftershocks of a slow slip event sustained by fluid flow
Swarms are bursts of earthquakes without an obvious mainshock. Some have been observed to be associated with transient aseismic fault slip, while others are thought to be related to fluids. However, the association is rarely quantitative due to insufficient data quality. We use high-quality GPS/GNSS, InSAR, and relocated seismicity to study a swarm of >2,000 earthquakes which occurred between 30 SAuthorsK. Sirorattanakul, Z.E. Ross, M. Khoshmanesh, Elizabeth S. Cochran, M. Acosta, J.-P. AvouacWhat to expect when you are expecting earthquake early warning
We present a strategy for earthquake early warning (EEW) alerting that focuses on providing users with a target level of performance for their shaking level of interest (for example, ensuring that users receive warnings for at least 95 per cent of the occurrences of that shaking level). We explore the factors that can affect the accuracy of EEW shaking forecasts including site conditions (which caAuthorsSarah E. Minson, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Jessie Kate Saunders, Sara McBride, Stephen Wu, Annemarie S. Baltay, Kevin R. MilnerStress heterogeneity as a driver of aseismic slip during the 2011 Prague, Oklahoma aftershock sequence
The interaction of aseismic and seismic slip before and after an earthquake is fundamental for both earthquake nucleation and postseismic stress relaxation. However, it can be difficult to determine where and when aseismic slip occurs within the seismogenic zone because geodetic techniques are limited to detecting moderate to large slip amplitudes or long duration small slip amplitudes. Here, we uAuthorsKristina Okamoto, Heather Savage, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Katie M. KeranenReal-time earthquake detection and alerting behavior of PLUM ground-motion-based early warning in the United States
We examine the real‐time earthquake detection and alerting behavior of the Propagation of Local Undamped Motion (PLUM) earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm and compare PLUM’s performance with the real‐time performance of the current source‐characterization‐based ShakeAlert System. In the United States (U.S.), PLUM uses a two‐station approach to detect earthquakes. Once a detection is confirmedAuthorsJessie Kate Saunders, Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Julian J Bunn, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Deborah L. Kilb, Colin T O'Rourke, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki KoderaVery low frequency earthquakes in between the seismogenic and tremor zones in Cascadia?
Megathrust earthquakes and their associated tsunamis cause some of the worst natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, a wide range of slip behaviors are present at subduction zones, including slow earthquakes that span multiple orders of spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these events may shed light on the stress or strength conditions of the megathrust fault. Out of all types of sloAuthorsWenyuan Fan, Andrew Barbour, Jeffrey McGuire, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Ryo OkuwakiQuantifying the sensitivity of microearthquake slip inversions to station distribution using a dense nodal array
To investigate the sensitivity of slip inversions to station distribution and choice of empirical Green’s function (EGF), we examine three microearthquakes that occurred within the high‐density LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) nodal seismic array. The LASSO array’s dense distribution of 1825 geophones provides an exceptional level of spatial and azimuthal coverage, allowing for more accuAuthorsColin Nathanael Pennington, Hilary Chang, Justin Rubinstein, Rachel E Abercrombie, Nori Nakata, Takahiko Uchide, Elizabeth S. CochranA unified perspective of seismicity and fault coupling along the San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault (SAF) showcases the breadth of possible earthquake sizes and occurrence behavior; in particular, the central SAF is a microcosm of such diversity. This section also exhibits the spectrum of fault coupling from locked to creeping. Here, we show that the observations of aseismic slip, temporal clustering of seismicity, and spatial variations in earthquake size distributions areAuthorsY.-K. Liu, Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, N. LapustaFast rupture of the 2009 Mw 6.9 Canal de Ballenas earthquake in the Gulf of California dynamically triggers seismicity in California
In the Gulf of California, Mexico, the relative motion across the North America-Pacific boundary is accommodated by a series of marine transform faults and spreading centers. About 40 M>6 earthquakes have occurred in the region since 1960. On 3 August 2009, an Mw 6.9 earthquake occurred near Canal de Ballenas in the region. The earthquake was a strike-slip event with a shallow hypocenter that is lAuthorsWenyuan Fan, Ryo Okuwaki, Andrew Barbour, Yihe Huang, Guoqing Lin, Elizabeth S. CochranAlert optimization of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm for the western United States
We determine an optimal alerting configuration for the propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM) earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm for use by the U.S. ShakeAlert system covering California, Oregon, and Washington. All EEW systems should balance the primary goal of providing timely alerts for impactful or potentially damaging shaking while limiting alerts for shaking that is too low to beAuthorsElizabeth S. Cochran, Jessie Kate Saunders, Sarah E. Minson, Julian Bunn, Annemarie S. Baltay, Debi Kilb, Colin T O'Rourke, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki Kodera