Boyd, O. S., R. Smalley, and Y. Zeng (2015), Crustal Deformation in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and the Role of Postseismic Processes, J. Geophys. Res., 120(8), 5782–5803, doi:10.1002/2015JB012049.
Oliver S Boyd, Ph.D.
Research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey studying various aspects of seismic hazard with a concentration on the central and eastern United States
Biography
I began with the National Seismic Hazards Mapping Project in Golden, CO in 2004 and now spend most of my activities within the Central and Eastern U.S. Seismic Hazards Project. I am an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis where I help students to better understand seismic hazards. Much of my research focuses on several aspects of earthquake hazards including time-dependent earthquake probabilities, declustering of foreshocks and aftershocks, and parameters related to earthquake sources. I helped update the central and eastern United States source models for the 2008 and 2014 updates of the National Seismic Hazard Maps. Other recent projects include a time-dependent seismic hazard map of Alaska and a seismic hazard analysis of Afghanistan, the latter being done in conjunction with other U.S. Agency for International Development’s reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Prior to joining the Survey, I obtained my Ph.D. in Geophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder where I performed laboratory experiments on seismic wave attenuation and produced and interpreted tomographic images of seismic wave attenuation and velocity beneath the western United States.
Science and Products
Year Published: 2019
Status of three-dimensional geological mapping and modeling activities in the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), created in 1879, is the national geological survey for the United States and the sole science agency within its cabinet-level bureau, the Department of the Interior. The USGS has a broad mission, including: serving the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth;...
Sweetkind, Donald; Graymer, Russell; Higley, D.K.; Boyd, Oliver S.
Year Published: 2019
Petrologic and mineral physics database for use with the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model
We present a petrologic and mineral physics database as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model (NCM). Each of 209 geologic units, 134 of which are currently part of the geologic framework within the NCM, was assigned a mineralogical composition according to generalized classifications with some refinement for specific geologic...
Sowers, Theron; Boyd, Oliver S.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Earthquake Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, United States of America
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Sowers, T., and Boyd, O.S., 2019, Petrologic and mineral physics database for use with the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1035, 17 p.,https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191035.
Year Published: 2019
The USGS National crustal model for seismic hazard studies: 2019 update
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Crustal Model (NCM) is being developed to assist in the modeling of seismic hazards across the conterminous United States, specifically by improving estimates of site response. The NCM is composed of geophysical profiles, extending from the Earth’s surface into the upper mantle, constructed from...
Boyd, Oliver S.
Year Published: 2018
Preliminary 2018 national seismic hazard model for the conterminous United States
The 2014 U.S. Geological Survey national seismic hazard model for the conterminous U.S. will be updated in 2018 and 2020 to coincide with the Building Seismic Safety Council’s Project 17 timeline for development of new building code design criteria. The two closely timed updates are planned to allow more time for the Provisions Update Committee to...
Petersen, Mark D.; Shumway, Allison; Powers, Peter M.; Mueller, Charles; Rezaeian, Sanaz; Moschetti, Morgan P.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Thompson, Eric M.; Boyd, Oliver S.; Luco, Nicolas; Hoover, Susan M.; Rukstales, Kenneth S.
Year Published: 2018
Depth to basement and thickness of unconsolidated sediments for the western United States—Initial estimates for layers of the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model
We present numeric grids containing estimates of the thickness of unconsolidated sediments and depth to the pre-Cenozoicbasement for the western United States. Values for these grids were combined and integrated from previous studies or deriveddirectly from gravity analyses. The grids are provided with 1-kilometer grid-node spacing in ScienceBase...
Shah, Anjana K.; Boyd, Oliver S.Attribution: Geology, Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, United States of America
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Shah, A.K, and Boyd, O.S., 2018, Depth to basement and thickness of unconsolidated sediments for the western United States—Initial estimates for layers of the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1115, 13 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181115.
Year Published: 2018
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Knowledge of the state of stress in the Earth’s crust is key to understanding the forces and processes responsible for earthquakes. Historically, low rates of natural seismicity in the central and eastern United States have complicated efforts to understand intraplate stress, but recent improvements in seismic networks and the spread of human-...
Levandowski, Will; Hermann, Robert B; Briggs, Richard W.; Boyd, Oliver S.; Gold, Ryan D.
Year Published: 2018
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
For more than 20 yrs, damage patterns and instrumental recordings have highlighted the influence of the local 3D geologic structure on earthquake ground motions (e.g., M">MM 6.7 Northridge, California, Gao et al., 1996; M">MM 6.9 Kobe, Japan, Kawase, 1996; M">MM 6.8 Nisqually,...
Moschetti, Morgan P.; Luco, Nicolas; Frankel, Arthur; Petersen, Mark D.; Aagaard, Brad T.; Baltay, Annemarie S.; Blanpied, Michael; Boyd, Oliver S.; Briggs, Richard W.; Gold, Ryan D.; Graves, Robert; Hartzell, Stephen H.; Rezaeian, Sanaz; Stephenson, William J.; Wald, David J.; Williams, Robert A.; Withers, Kyle
Year Published: 2017
Influence of lithostatic stress on earthquake stress drops in North America
We estimate stress drops for earthquakes in and near the continental United States using the method of spectral ratios. The ratio of acceleration spectra between collocated earthquakes recorded at a given station removes the effects of path and recording site and yields source parameters including corner frequency for, and the ratio of seismic...
Boyd, Oliver S.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Hartzell, Stephen H.; Choy, GeorgeAttribution: Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, United States of America, North America
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Boyd, O. S., D. E. McNamara, S. Hartzell, and G. Choy (2017), Influence of Lithostatic Stress on Earthquake Stress Drops in North America, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 107(2), doi:10.1785/0120160219.
Year Published: 2016
2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report
Report on the Eastern Section Seismological Society of America Meeting.
Pratt, Thomas L.; Goulet, Christine A.; Boyd, Oliver S.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, United States of America
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Pratt, T., Goulet, C., and Boyd, O., 2016, 2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report, Seismological Research Letters, v. 88, p. 224-262. DOI: 10.1785/0220160205
Year Published: 2016
A rare moderate‐sized (Mw 4.9) earthquake in Kansas: Rupture process of the Milan, Kansas, earthquake of 12 November 2014 and its relationship to fluid injection
The largest recorded earthquake in Kansas occurred northeast of Milan on 12 November 2014 (Mw 4.9) in a region previously devoid of significant seismic activity. Applying multistation processing to data from local stations, we are able to detail the rupture process and rupture geometry of the mainshock, identify the causative fault plane, and...
Choy, George; Rubinstein, Justin L.; Yeck, William L.; McNamara, Daniel E.; Mueller, Charles; Boyd, Oliver S.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, Kansas, United States of America
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George L. Choy, Justin L. Rubinstein, William L. Yeck, Daniel E. McNamara, Charles S. Mueller, Oliver S. Boyd
DOI: 10.1785/0220160100 Published on November 2016, First Published on September 14, 2016
Year Published: 2016
St. Louis area earthquake hazards mapping project; seismic and liquefaction hazard maps
We present probabilistic and deterministic seismic and liquefaction hazard maps for the densely populated St. Louis metropolitan area that account for the expected effects of surficial geology on earthquake ground shaking. Hazard calculations were based on a map grid of 0.005°, or about every 500 m, and are thus higher in resolution than any...
Cramer, Chris H.; Bauer, Robert A.; Chung, Jae-won; Rogers, David; Pierce, Larry; Voigt, Vicki; Mitchell, Brad; Gaunt, David; Williams, Robert; Hoffman, David; Hempen, Gregory L.; Steckel, Phyllis; Boyd, Oliver S.; Watkins, Connor M.; Tucker, Kathleen; McCallister, NatashaAttribution: Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, United States of America
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Cramer C.H., Bauer R.A., Chung J.-W., Rogers J.D., Pierce L., Voigt V., Mitchell B., Gaunt D., Williams R.A., Hoffman D., Hempen G.L., Steckel P.J., Boyd O.S., Watkins C.M., Tucker K., McCallister N.S.
St. Louis area earthquake hazards mapping project; seismic and liquefaction hazard maps
Seismological Research Letters, January, 2017, Vol. 88, Issue 1, pp. 206-223
Year Published: 2016
Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone
Knowledge of the local state of stress is critical in appraising intraplate seismic hazard. Inverting earthquake moment tensors, we demonstrate that principal stress directions in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) differ significantly from those in the surrounding region. Faults in the NMSZ that are incompatible with slip in the regional stress...
Levandowski, William Brower; Boyd, Oliver S.; Ramirez-Guzman, LeonardoAttribution: Natural Hazards, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Natural Hazards, Earthquake Hazards, Rocky Mountain, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, United States of America
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Levandowski, W., O. S. Boyd, and L. Ramirez-Guzmán (2016), Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2016GL070175.