Peter J Haeussler, Ph.D.
Most of my research is related to earthquake and tsunami hazards in Alaska, with a focus on paleoseismology, submarine landslides, and active faulting. I am the Alaska Coordinator for the Earthquake Hazards Program of the USGS. I also study various aspects of the framework geology of Alaska, with a focus on neotectonics and tectonics.
I use various tools to understand earthquakes and earthquake hazards in Alaska. I’ve studied the tectonic evolution of parts of Alaska, accretionary prisms along Alaska’s margin, forearc and splay faulting, submarine landslides, mountain building and exhumation, landscape evolution, glacial histories, and sedimentary basins. I’ve worked with marine and terrestrial seismic reflection and potential field data. Current work is focused on lacustrine paleoseismology, splay faulting, and various seismic hazards projects.
Professional Experience
1994 - Present Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK
1992 - 1994 Postdoctoral Researcher, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK
1992 Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
1986 - 1991 Research Assistant, University of California Santa Cruz
1985 - 1988 Teaching Assistant, University of California Santa Cruz
1985 Geologist, Lancer Energy Corporation, Wilmore, KY
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 1991 University of California Santa Cruz Earth Sciences
B.S. 1984 Michigan State University Geology
Affiliations and Memberships*
1985-present, American Geophysical Union
1985-present, Geological Society of America
1992-present, Alaska Geological Society
2010-present, Seismological Society of America
Honors and Awards
Fellow, Geological Society of America
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
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Filter Total Items: 154
Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
A little more than 50 years ago, on 27 March 1964, the Great Alaska earthquake and tsunami struck. At moment magnitude 9.2, this earthquake is notable as the largest in U.S. written history and as the second-largest ever recorded by instruments worldwide. But what resonates today are its impacts on the understanding of plate tectonics, tsunami generation, and earthquake history as well...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, William S. Leith, David J. Wald, John R. Filson, Cecily J. Wolfe, David Applegate
1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history, struck southcentral Alaska (fig. 1). The Great Alaska Earthquake (also known as the Good Friday Earthquake) occurred at a pivotal time in the history of earth science, and helped lead to the acceptance of plate tectonic theory (Cox, 1973; Brocher and others, 2014). All large...
Authors
Evan E. Thoms, Peter J. Haeussler, Rebecca Anderson, Robert G. McGimsey
Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later
Spring was returning to Alaska on Friday 27 March 1964. A two‐week cold snap had just ended, and people were getting ready for the Easter weekend. At 5:36 p.m., an earthquake initiated 12 km beneath Prince William Sound, near the eastern end of what is now recognized as the Alaska‐Aleutian subduction zone. No one was expecting this earthquake that would radically alter the coastal...
Authors
Michael E. West, Peter J. Haeussler, Natalia A. Ruppert, Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska) Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska)
We report stratigraphic evidence of land-level change and tsunami inundation along the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust during prehistoric and historical earthquakes west of Kodiak Island. On Sitkinak Island, cores and tidal outcrops fringing a lagoon reveal five sharp lithologic contacts that record coseismic land-level change. Radiocarbon dates, 137Cs profiles, CT scans, and microfossil...
Authors
Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Alan R. Nelson, Tina Dura, Andrew C. Kemp, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett, Stephen J. Angster, Lee-Ann Bradley
The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies
The magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake that struck south-central Alaska at 5:36 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 1964, is the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history and the second-largest earthquake recorded with modern instruments. The earthquake was felt throughout most of mainland Alaska, as far west as Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands some 480 miles away, and at Seattle...
Authors
Thomas M. Brocher, John R. Filson, Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Holzer, George Plafker, J. Luke Blair
Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska
We used Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance to examine the petroleum source potential of rock samples from the Sheep Creek 1 well in the Susitna basin of south-central Alaska. The results show that Miocene nonmarine coal, carbonaceous shale, and mudstone are potential sources of hydrocarbons and are thermally immature with respect to the oil window. In the samples that we...
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, Paul G. Lillis, Mark J. Pawlewicz, Peter J. Haeussler
By
Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 154
Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Geophysical advances triggered by 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake
A little more than 50 years ago, on 27 March 1964, the Great Alaska earthquake and tsunami struck. At moment magnitude 9.2, this earthquake is notable as the largest in U.S. written history and as the second-largest ever recorded by instruments worldwide. But what resonates today are its impacts on the understanding of plate tectonics, tsunami generation, and earthquake history as well...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, William S. Leith, David J. Wald, John R. Filson, Cecily J. Wolfe, David Applegate
1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history, struck southcentral Alaska (fig. 1). The Great Alaska Earthquake (also known as the Good Friday Earthquake) occurred at a pivotal time in the history of earth science, and helped lead to the acceptance of plate tectonic theory (Cox, 1973; Brocher and others, 2014). All large...
Authors
Evan E. Thoms, Peter J. Haeussler, Rebecca Anderson, Robert G. McGimsey
Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later
Spring was returning to Alaska on Friday 27 March 1964. A two‐week cold snap had just ended, and people were getting ready for the Easter weekend. At 5:36 p.m., an earthquake initiated 12 km beneath Prince William Sound, near the eastern end of what is now recognized as the Alaska‐Aleutian subduction zone. No one was expecting this earthquake that would radically alter the coastal...
Authors
Michael E. West, Peter J. Haeussler, Natalia A. Ruppert, Jeffrey T. Freymueller
Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska) Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska)
We report stratigraphic evidence of land-level change and tsunami inundation along the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust during prehistoric and historical earthquakes west of Kodiak Island. On Sitkinak Island, cores and tidal outcrops fringing a lagoon reveal five sharp lithologic contacts that record coseismic land-level change. Radiocarbon dates, 137Cs profiles, CT scans, and microfossil...
Authors
Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Alan R. Nelson, Tina Dura, Andrew C. Kemp, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett, Stephen J. Angster, Lee-Ann Bradley
The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies
The magnitude 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake that struck south-central Alaska at 5:36 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 1964, is the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history and the second-largest earthquake recorded with modern instruments. The earthquake was felt throughout most of mainland Alaska, as far west as Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands some 480 miles away, and at Seattle...
Authors
Thomas M. Brocher, John R. Filson, Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Holzer, George Plafker, J. Luke Blair
Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska
We used Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance to examine the petroleum source potential of rock samples from the Sheep Creek 1 well in the Susitna basin of south-central Alaska. The results show that Miocene nonmarine coal, carbonaceous shale, and mudstone are potential sources of hydrocarbons and are thermally immature with respect to the oil window. In the samples that we...
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, Paul G. Lillis, Mark J. Pawlewicz, Peter J. Haeussler
By
Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Alaska Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government