Emerson M Lynch, PhD
Emerson Lynch is a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow in the Earthquake Hazards Program at the Geologic Hazards Science Center. Their work focuses on active faulting, primarily in Puerto Rico.
Education and Certifications
2023: PhD, Earth Science, Northern Arizona University
2015: BA, Mathematics, Smith College
Science and Products
Supporting data for Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico Supporting data for Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico
This Data Release contains machine-readable files accompanying the study “Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico” by Lynch et al. in Seismological Research Letters. The data release includes neotectonic mapping of fault-related features along the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone (GSPRFZ), and data documenting a focused site along the...
Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone, Puerto Rico Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone, Puerto Rico
Several onshore faults in southern Puerto Rico have recently been recognized as Quaternary active. However, the kinematics of these faults, particularly any lateral component, remain largely unconstrained. It is difficult to characterize low strain‐rate faults, partially due to extensive erosional and anthropogenic landscape modification, steep relief, and frequent landsliding, limiting...
Authors
Emerson Lynch, Jessica Jobe, Richard Briggs, M. Tan, Victor Ortega Díaz, K. Hughes
Discovery of an active forearc fault in an urban region: Holocene rupture on the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Discovery of an active forearc fault in an urban region: Holocene rupture on the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Subduction forearcs are subject to seismic hazard from upper plate faults that are often invisible to instrumental monitoring networks. Identifying active faults in forearcs therefore requires integration of geomorphic, geologic, and paleoseismic data. We demonstrate the utility of a combined approach in a densely populated region of Vancouver Island, Canada, by combining remote sensing...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Theron Finley, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Edwin Nissen, Eleanor McLeod, Emerson Lynch, Guy Salomon, Israporn Sethanant
Paleoseismic study of the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault: A newly identified Holocene fault in thenorthern Cascadia forearc near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Paleoseismic study of the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault: A newly identified Holocene fault in thenorthern Cascadia forearc near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
High-resolution topographic data show a tectonic scarp formed in Quaternary sediments near the city of Victoria in the northern Cascadia forearc on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. A paleoseismic trench excavation across the structure, the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault, shows evidence for a Holocene (after 12.2 cal ka BP) surface-rupturing reverse-slip earthquake that produced a...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Theron Finley, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Edwin Nissen, Eleanor McLeod, Emerson Lynch, Guy Salomon, Israporn Sethanant
Paleoseismic trenching reveals late quaternary kinematics of the Leech River Fault: Implications for forearc strain accumulation in Northern Cascadia Paleoseismic trenching reveals late quaternary kinematics of the Leech River Fault: Implications for forearc strain accumulation in Northern Cascadia
New paleoseismic trenching indicates late Quaternary oblique right‐lateral slip on the Leech River fault, southern Vancouver Island, Canada, and constrains permanent forearc deformation in northern Cascadia. A south‐to‐north reduction in northward Global Navigation Satellite System velocities and seismicity across the Olympic Mountains, Strait of Juan de Fuca (JDF), and the southern...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Emerson Lynch, Edwin Nissen
Influence of the megathrust earthquake cycle on upper-plate deformation in the Cascadia forearc of Washington State, USA Influence of the megathrust earthquake cycle on upper-plate deformation in the Cascadia forearc of Washington State, USA
The influence of subduction zone earthquake cycle processes on permanent forearc deformation is poorly understood. In the Cascadia subduction zone forearc of Washington State, USA, deformed and incised fluvial terraces serve as archives of longer-term (103–104 yr) strain manifest as both fluvial incision and slip on upper-plate faults. We focus on comparing these geomorphic records in...
Authors
Jaime Delano, Colin Amos, John Loveless, Tammy Rittenour, Brian Sherrod, Lynch Emerson
Non-USGS Publications**
Harrichhausen, N., Morell, K.D., Regalla, C., Lynch, E.M., Leonard, L.J., 2022. Eocene terrane accretion in northern Cascadia recorded by brittle left-lateral slip on the San Juan fault. Tectonics, v. 41, n. 10. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022TC007317
Regalla, C., Kirby, E., Mahan, S., McDonald, E., Pangrcic, H., Binkley, A., Schottenfels, E., LaPlante, A., Sethanant, I., Lynch, E.M., 2022. Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5432
**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.
Science and Products
Supporting data for Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico Supporting data for Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico
This Data Release contains machine-readable files accompanying the study “Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone, Puerto Rico” by Lynch et al. in Seismological Research Letters. The data release includes neotectonic mapping of fault-related features along the Great Southern Puerto Rico fault zone (GSPRFZ), and data documenting a focused site along the...
Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone, Puerto Rico Late Pleistocene kinematics of the Great Southern Puerto Rico Fault Zone, Puerto Rico
Several onshore faults in southern Puerto Rico have recently been recognized as Quaternary active. However, the kinematics of these faults, particularly any lateral component, remain largely unconstrained. It is difficult to characterize low strain‐rate faults, partially due to extensive erosional and anthropogenic landscape modification, steep relief, and frequent landsliding, limiting...
Authors
Emerson Lynch, Jessica Jobe, Richard Briggs, M. Tan, Victor Ortega Díaz, K. Hughes
Discovery of an active forearc fault in an urban region: Holocene rupture on the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Discovery of an active forearc fault in an urban region: Holocene rupture on the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Subduction forearcs are subject to seismic hazard from upper plate faults that are often invisible to instrumental monitoring networks. Identifying active faults in forearcs therefore requires integration of geomorphic, geologic, and paleoseismic data. We demonstrate the utility of a combined approach in a densely populated region of Vancouver Island, Canada, by combining remote sensing...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Theron Finley, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Edwin Nissen, Eleanor McLeod, Emerson Lynch, Guy Salomon, Israporn Sethanant
Paleoseismic study of the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault: A newly identified Holocene fault in thenorthern Cascadia forearc near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Paleoseismic study of the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault: A newly identified Holocene fault in thenorthern Cascadia forearc near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
High-resolution topographic data show a tectonic scarp formed in Quaternary sediments near the city of Victoria in the northern Cascadia forearc on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. A paleoseismic trench excavation across the structure, the XEOLXELEK–Elk Lake fault, shows evidence for a Holocene (after 12.2 cal ka BP) surface-rupturing reverse-slip earthquake that produced a...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Theron Finley, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Edwin Nissen, Eleanor McLeod, Emerson Lynch, Guy Salomon, Israporn Sethanant
Paleoseismic trenching reveals late quaternary kinematics of the Leech River Fault: Implications for forearc strain accumulation in Northern Cascadia Paleoseismic trenching reveals late quaternary kinematics of the Leech River Fault: Implications for forearc strain accumulation in Northern Cascadia
New paleoseismic trenching indicates late Quaternary oblique right‐lateral slip on the Leech River fault, southern Vancouver Island, Canada, and constrains permanent forearc deformation in northern Cascadia. A south‐to‐north reduction in northward Global Navigation Satellite System velocities and seismicity across the Olympic Mountains, Strait of Juan de Fuca (JDF), and the southern...
Authors
Nicolas Harrichhausen, Kristin Morell, Christine Regalla, Scott Bennett, Lucinda Leonard, Emerson Lynch, Edwin Nissen
Influence of the megathrust earthquake cycle on upper-plate deformation in the Cascadia forearc of Washington State, USA Influence of the megathrust earthquake cycle on upper-plate deformation in the Cascadia forearc of Washington State, USA
The influence of subduction zone earthquake cycle processes on permanent forearc deformation is poorly understood. In the Cascadia subduction zone forearc of Washington State, USA, deformed and incised fluvial terraces serve as archives of longer-term (103–104 yr) strain manifest as both fluvial incision and slip on upper-plate faults. We focus on comparing these geomorphic records in...
Authors
Jaime Delano, Colin Amos, John Loveless, Tammy Rittenour, Brian Sherrod, Lynch Emerson
Non-USGS Publications**
Harrichhausen, N., Morell, K.D., Regalla, C., Lynch, E.M., Leonard, L.J., 2022. Eocene terrane accretion in northern Cascadia recorded by brittle left-lateral slip on the San Juan fault. Tectonics, v. 41, n. 10. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022TC007317
Regalla, C., Kirby, E., Mahan, S., McDonald, E., Pangrcic, H., Binkley, A., Schottenfels, E., LaPlante, A., Sethanant, I., Lynch, E.M., 2022. Late Holocene rupture history of the Ash Hill fault, Eastern California Shear Zone, and the potential for seismogenic strain transfer between nearby faults. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5432
**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.