Gavin P Hayes
I am a seismologist and program coordinator with the USGS, based in in Golden, CO. I oversee the activities of the Earthquake Hazards, Geomagnetism, and Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Programs within the Natural Hazards Mission Area.
Biography
Gavin Hayes (Ph.D., Penn State, 2007)
Gavin Hayes is the Senior Science Advisor for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards at USGS. In this position, he oversees the Earthquake Hazards, Geomagnetism, and Global Seismographic Network (GSN) Programs. Hayes joined the USGS in 2007, after receiving a doctoral degree in geosciences from Pennsylvania State University, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Leeds in England. He was a post-doctoral scholar with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center before being hired permanently in 2012, and was a Research Geophysicist with that group from 2012-2020.
As part of the NEIC, Hayes helped to lead the USGS real time response to domestic and global earthquakes, rapidly characterizing the source properties of earthquakes, and interpreting events within their regional tectonic context. Hayes has over 80 publications in the areas of seismology, tectonics, geodesy and natural hazards, and in the applications of these subjects to earthquake safety, hazard and risk mitigation.
Science and Products
Collection of 3D Geometries of Global Subduction Zones
Release Date: NOVEMBER 12, 2018
A new picture of the geometry of subducting slabs around the world, the locations of the world’s largest earthquakes.
Future Opportunities in Regional and Global Seismic Network Monitoring and Science
The past decade has seen improvements in computational efficiency, seismic data coverage, and communication technology - driven by societal expectation for timely, accurate information. While aspects of earthquake research have taken advantage of this evolution, the adoption of improvements in earthquake monitoring has not been fully leveraged. In real-time monitoring, earthquakes are...
Joint USGS - GEM Group on Global Probabilistic Modeling of Earthquake Recurrence Rates and Maximum Magnitudes
Despite the best monitoring networks, the highest rate of earthquakes and the longest continuous recorded history in the world, this year’s M=9.0 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake was completely unforeseen. The Japanese had expected no larger than a M=8 quake in the Japan trench, 1/30 th the size of the Tohoku temblor. This year also saw the devastating M=6.3 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake and...
Leveraging deep learning in global 24/7 real-time earthquake monitoring at the National Earthquake Information Center
Machine‐learning algorithms continue to show promise in their application to seismic processing. The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) is exploring the adoption of these tools to aid in simultaneous local, regional, and global real‐time earthquake monitoring. As a first step, we describe a simple framework to...
Yeck, William L.; Patton, John; Ross, Zachary E.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Guy, Michelle; Ambruz, Nicholas; Shelly, David R.; Benz, Harley M.; Earle, Paul S. Geometric controls on megathrust earthquakes
The role of subduction zone geometry in the nucleation and propagation of great-sized earthquake ruptures is an important topic for earthquake hazard, since knowing how big an earthquake can be on a given fault is fundamentally important. Past studies have shown subducting bathymetric features (e.g. ridges, fracture zones, seamount chains) may...
Plescia, Steven M.; Hayes, Gavin P. Structural control on megathrust rupture and slip behavior: Insights from the 2016 Mw 7.8 Pedernales Ecuador earthquake
The heterogeneous seafloor topography of the Nazca Plate as it enters the Ecuador subduction zone provides an opportunity to document the influence of seafloor roughness on slip behavior and megathrust rupture. The 2016 Mw 7.8 Pedernales Ecuador earthquake was followed by a rich and active postseismic sequence. An internationally coordinated rapid...
Soto-Cordero, Lillian; Meltzer, Anne; Bergman, Eric A.; Hoskins, Mariah; Stachnik, Joshua C.; Agurto-Detzel, Hans; Alvarado, Alexandra; Beck, Susan L.; Charvis, Philippe; Font, Yvonne; Hayes, Gavin P.; Hernandez, Stephen; Leon-Rios, Sergio; Lynner, Colton; Nocquet, Jean-Mathieu; Regnier, Marc; Rietbrock, Andreas; Rolandone, Frederique; Ruiz, Mario
Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2018
This map illustrates 119 years of global seismicity in the context of global plate tectonics and the Earth’s physiography. Primarily designed for use by earth scientists, engineers, and educators, this map provides a comprehensive overview of strong (magnitude [M] 5.5 and larger) earthquakes since 1900. The map clearly identifies the locations of...
Hayes, Gavin P.; Smoczyk, Gregory M.; Villaseñor, Antonio H.; Furlong, Kevin P.; Benz, Harley M. USGS near-real-time products-and their use-for the 2018 Anchorage earthquake
In the minutes to hours after a major earthquake, such as the recent 2018 Mw">Mw 7.1 Anchorage event, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) produces a suite of interconnected earthquake products that provides diverse information ranging from basic earthquake source parameters to loss estimates. The 2018 Anchorage earthquake is the first...
Thompson, Eric M.; McBride, Sara; Hayes, Gavin P.; Allstadt, Kate; Wald, Lisa; Wald, David J.; Knudsen, Keith L.; Worden, Charles; Marano, Kristin; Jibson, Randall W.; Grant, Alex R. R. Characterizing large earthquakes before rupture is complete
Whether large and very large earthquakes are distinguishable from each other early on in the rupture process has been a subject often debated over the past several decades. Studies have shown that the frequency content of radiated seismic energy in the first few seconds of an earthquake scales with the final magnitude of the event, implying...
Melgar, Diego; Hayes, Gavin P. Global earthquake response with imaging geodesy: recent examples from the USGS NEIC
The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center leads real-time efforts to provide rapid and accurate assessments of the impacts of global earthquakes, including estimates of ground shaking, ground failure, and the resulting human impacts. These efforts primarily rely on analysis of the seismic wavefield to characterize the...
Barnhart, William D.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Wald, David J.
National earthquake information center strategic plan, 2019–23
Executive SummaryDamaging earthquakes occur regularly around the world; since the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of earthquakes have caused significant loss of life and (or) millions of dollars or more in economic losses. While most of these did not directly affect the United States and its Territories, by studying worldwide seismicity we can...
Hayes, Gavin P.; Earle, Paul S.; Benz, Harley M.; Wald, David J.; Yeck, William L. The 12 November 2017 Mw 7.3 Ezgeleh–Sarpolzahab (Iran) earthquake and active tectonics of the Lurestan arc
The 12 November 2017 Mw 7.3 Ezgeleh‐Sarpolzahab earthquake is the largest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the Zagros Simply Folded Belt by a factor of ∼10 in seismic moment. Exploiting local, regional, and teleseismic data and synthetic aperture radar interferometry imagery, we characterize the rupture, its aftershock...
Nissen, Edwin; Ghods, Abdolreza; Karasözen, Ezgi; Elliott, John R.; Barnhart, Wiliam D.; Bergman, Eric A.; Hayes, Gavin P.; Jamal-Reyhani, Mohammadreza; Nemati, Majid; Tan, Fengzhou; Abdulnaby, Wathiq; Benz, Harley M.; Shahvar, Mohammad P.; Talebian, Morteza; Chen, Ling Incorporating teleseismic tomography data into models of upper mantle slab geometry
Earthquake-based models of slab geometry are limited by the distribution of earthquakes within a subducting slab, which is often heterogeneous. The fast seismic velocity signature of slabs in tomography studies is independent of the distribution of earthquakes within the slab, providing a critical constraint on slab geometry when earthquakes are...
Portner, Daniel E.; Hayes, Gavin P. Slab2, a comprehensive subduction zone geometry model
Subduction zones are home to the most seismically active faults on the planet. The shallow megathrust interfaces of subduction zones host our largest earthquakes and are likely the only faults capable of magnitude 9+ ruptures. Despite these facts, our knowledge of subduction zone geometry—which likely plays a key role in determining the spatial...
Hayes, Gavin P.; Moore, Ginevra; Portner, Daniel E.; Hearne, Mike; Flamme, Hanna E.; Furtney, Maria; Smoczyk, Gregory M. Systematic observations of the slip pulse properties of large earthquake ruptures
In earthquake dynamics there are two end member models of rupture: propagating cracks and self-healing pulses. These arise due to different properties of faults and have implications for seismic hazard; rupture mode controls near-field strong ground motions. Past studies favor the pulse-like mode of rupture; however, due to a variety of...
Melgar, Diego; Hayes, Gavin P.
Slab2
A three-dimensional compilation of global subduction geometries, separated into regional models for each major subduction zone.
Bill Barnhart Selected as the Earthquake Hazards Program Office Assistant Coordinator
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program is pleased to announce that Bill Barnhart has been selected as the Earthquake Hazards Program Office Assistant Coordinator.
National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) Leads Meeting on the Future of Earthquake Research and Monitoring
What are the next goals for the NEIC?