Elizabeth S Cochran
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
Determining Moho depth beneath sedimentary basins using regional Pn multiples
Event detection performance of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm in southern California
Peak ground displacement saturates exactly when expected: Implications for earthquake early warning
Slow-growing and extended-duration seismicity swarms: Reactivating joints or foliations in the Cahuilla Valley Pluton, Central Peninsular Ranges, Southern California
Delayed dynamic triggering of disposal-induced earthquakes observed by a dense array in Northern Oklahoma
The limits of earthquake early warning accuracy and best alerting strategy
Revised technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert system—An earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States
Lessons from Mexico’s earthquake early warning system
Induced earthquake families reveal distinctive evolutionary patterns near disposal wells
Research to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility
To catch a quake
The limits of earthquake early warning: Timeliness of ground motion estimates
Science and Products
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Determining Moho depth beneath sedimentary basins using regional Pn multiples
The study of the Moho beneath thick sedimentary basins involving natural earthquakes is challenging, as low‐velocity materials often cause strong reverberations that mask Moho signals. Here, we develop a method to determine the depth of the Moho by taking advantage of the presence of the sediments. The method utilizes the first Pn crustal multiple from regional earthquakes PnPn and its differentiaAuthorsC. Yu, Z. Zhan, E. Hauksson, Elizabeth S. Cochran, D. HelmbergerEvent detection performance of the PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm in southern California
We test the Japanese ground‐motion‐based earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm, propagation of local undamped motion (PLUM), in southern California with application to the U.S. ShakeAlert system. In late 2018, ShakeAlert began limited public alerting in Los Angeles to areas of expected modified Mercalli intensity (IMMI) 4.0+ for magnitude 5.0+ earthquakes. Most EEW systems, including ShakeAleAuthorsElizabeth S. Cochran, Julian Bunn, Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Deborah L. Kilb, Y. Kodera, Mitsuyuki HoshibaPeak ground displacement saturates exactly when expected: Implications for earthquake early warning
The scaling of rupture properties with magnitude is of critical importance to earthquake early warning (EEW) systems that rely on source characterization using limited snapshots of waveform data. ShakeAlert, a prototype EEW system that is being developed for the western United States, provides real-time estimates of earthquake magnitude based on P-wave peak ground displacements measured at stationAuthorsDaniel T. Trugman, Morgan T. Page, Sarah E. Minson, Elizabeth S. CochranSlow-growing and extended-duration seismicity swarms: Reactivating joints or foliations in the Cahuilla Valley Pluton, Central Peninsular Ranges, Southern California
Three prolific earthquake swarms and numerous smaller ones have occurred since 1980 in the Mesozoic igneous plutonic rocks of the Perris block of the Peninsular Ranges, Southern California. The major swarms occurred in 1980–1981, 1983–1984, and 2016–2018, with the latest swarm still ongoing. These swarms have no clear mainshock, with the largest events of ML 3.6, ML 3.7, and Mw 4.4. Each successivAuthorsE. Hauksson, Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. CochranDelayed dynamic triggering of disposal-induced earthquakes observed by a dense array in Northern Oklahoma
Recent increases in earthquake occurrence rates in Oklahoma have been linked to the injection of large volumes of saltwater, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. Here we present a detailed study of remote earthquake triggering in an area of active injection‐induced seismicity in northern Oklahoma using data from the LArge‐n Seismic Survey in Oklahoma (LASSO) temporary array and nearby permanentAuthorsA. Pena Castro, Sara L. Dougherty, R. M. Harrington, Elizabeth S. CochranThe limits of earthquake early warning accuracy and best alerting strategy
We explore how accurate earthquake early warning (EEW) can be, given our limited ability to forecast expected shaking even if the earthquake source is known. Because of the strong variability of ground motion metrics, such as peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV), we find that correct alerts (i.e., alerts that accurately predict the observed ground motion above a predetermAuthorsSarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Thomas C. Hanks, Morgan T. Page, Sara McBride, Kevin R. Milner, Men-Andrin MeierRevised technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert system—An earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), along with partner organizations, has developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system called ShakeAlert for the highest risk areas of the United States: namely, California, Oregon, and Washington. The purpose of the system is to reduce the impact of earthquakes and save lives and property by providing alerts to institutional users and the public. Using networkAuthorsDoug Given, Richard M. Allen, Annemarie S. Baltay, Paul Bodin, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Kenneth Creager, Robert M. de Groot, Lind S. Gee, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Margaret Hellweg, Jessica R. Murray, Valerie I. Thomas, Douglas Toomey, Thomas S. YelinLessons from Mexico’s earthquake early warning system
The devastating 2017 Puebla quake provides an opportunity to assess how citizens perceive and use the Mexico City earthquake early warning system.AuthorsRichard M. Allen, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Thomas J. Huggins, Scott Miles, Diego OteguiInduced earthquake families reveal distinctive evolutionary patterns near disposal wells
The timing of events in seismic sequences can provide insights into the physical processes controlling fault slip. In southern Kansas, the rate of earthquakes rose rapidly starting in 2013 following expansion of energy production into the area, demanding the disposal of large volumes of wastewater into deep wells. Seismicity catalogs that are complete to low magnitudes can provide insights into thAuthorsElizabeth S. Cochran, Zachary E. Ross, Rebecca M. Harrington, Sara L. Dougherty, Justin L. RubinsteinResearch to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility
Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the rapid detection of an earthquake and issuance of an alert or notification to people and vulnerable systems likely to experience potentially damaging ground shaking. The level of ground shaking that is considered damaging is defined by the specific application; for example, manufacturing equipment may experience damage at a lower intensity ground shaking than wAuthorsElizabeth S. Cochran, Brad T. Aagaard, Richard M. Allen, Jennifer Andrews, Annemarie S. Baltay, Andrew J. Barbour, Paul Bodin, Benjamin A. Brooks, Angela Chung, Brendan W. Crowell, Doug Given, Thomas C. Hanks, J. Renate Hartog, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Sara McBride, Men-Andrin Meier, Diego Melgar, Sarah E. Minson, Jessica R. Murray, Jennifer A. Strauss, Douglas ToomeyTo catch a quake
A revolution in seismic detection technology is underway, capturing unprecedented observations of earthquakes and their impacts. These sensor innovations provide real-time ground shaking observations that could improve emergency response following damaging earthquakes and may advance our understanding of the physics of earthquake ruptures.AuthorsElizabeth S. CochranThe limits of earthquake early warning: Timeliness of ground motion estimates
The basic physics of earthquakes is such that strong ground motion cannot be expected from an earthquake unless the earthquake itself is very close or has grown to be very large. We use simple seismological relationships to calculate the minimum time that must elapse before such ground motion can be expected at a distance from the earthquake, assuming that the earthquake magnitude is not predictabAuthorsSarah E. Minson, Men-Andrin Meier, Annemarie S. Baltay, Thomas C. Hanks, Elizabeth S. Cochran - News