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
Eastern Denali Fault Surface Trace Map, Eastern Alaska and Adjacent Canada Eastern Denali Fault Surface Trace Map, Eastern Alaska and Adjacent Canada
This data release provides three geospatical datasets showing the surface trace of the Eastern Denali Fault between the Alaska-Yukon international border and the village of Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada. The datasets are: (1) a photogrammetry-based digital elevation model (DEM; average resolution of 4 m/pixel), (2) 13 digital aerial photo orthomosaics, and (3) a detailed (1:2,000 to 1...
Filter Total Items: 154
Evidence for large Holocene earthquakes along the Denali fault in southwest Yukon, Canada Evidence for large Holocene earthquakes along the Denali fault in southwest Yukon, Canada
The Yukon–Alaska Highway corridor in southern Yukon is subject to geohazards ranging from landslides to floods and earthquakes on faults in the St. Elias Mountains and Shakwak Valley. Here we discuss the late Holocene seismic history of the Denali fault, located at the eastern front of the St. Elias Mountains and one of only a few known seismically active terrestrial faults in Canada...
Authors
Andree Blais-Stevens, J.J. Clague, J. Brahney, P. Lipovsky, Peter J. Haeussler, B. Menounos
Sediment sources and transport by the Kahiltna Glacier and other catchments along the south side of the Alaska Range, Alaska Sediment sources and transport by the Kahiltna Glacier and other catchments along the south side of the Alaska Range, Alaska
Erosion related to glacial activity produces enormous amounts of sediment. However, sediment mobilization in glacial systems is extremely complex. Sediment is derived from headwalls, slopes along the margins of glaciers, and basal erosion; however, the rates and relative contributions of each are unknown. To test and quantify conceptual models for sediment generation and transport in a...
Authors
Ari Matmon, Peter J. Haeussler
Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach
Turbidites embedded in lacustrine sediment sequences are commonly used to reconstruct regional flood or earthquake histories. A critical step for this method to be successful is that turbidites and their trigger mechanisms are determined unambiguously. The latter is particularly challenging for prehistoric proglacial lake records in high-seismicity settings where both earthquake...
Authors
Nore Praet, Maarten Van Daele, Tim Collart, J. Moernaut, Elke Vandekerkhove, P. Kempf, Peter J. Haeussler, M. De Batist
The sedimentary record of the 2018 Anchorage Earthquake in Eklutna Lake, Alaska: Calibrating the lacustrine seismograph The sedimentary record of the 2018 Anchorage Earthquake in Eklutna Lake, Alaska: Calibrating the lacustrine seismograph
The 30 November 2018 Mw 7.1 Anchorage earthquake caused modified Mercalli intensities of V¼ to V½ at Eklutna Lake (south central Alaska). A few hours after the earthquake, a “dirt streak” was observed on the lake surface, followed by a peak in sediment turbidity values (∼80 times normal) at a drinking water facility, which receives water from the lake through a pipe. These observations...
Authors
Maarten Van Daele, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert C. Witter, Nore Praet, Marc De Batist
Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology
Linking fault behavior over many earthquake cycles to individual earthquake behavior is a primary goal in tectonic geomorphology, particularly across an entire plate boundary. Here, we examine the 1150-km-long, right-lateral Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system using comprehensive multibeam bathymetry data acquired along the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) offshore southeastern Alaska...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Nathaniel C. Miller, Vaughn Barrie, Peter J. Haeussler, H. Gary Greene, Brian D. Andrews, Olaf Zielke, Peter Dartnell
The 30 November 2018 Mw7.1 Anchorage Earthquake The 30 November 2018 Mw7.1 Anchorage Earthquake
The Mw 7.1 47 km deep earthquake that occurred on 30 November 2018 had deep societal impacts across southcentral Alaska and exhibited phenomena of broad scientific interest. We document observations that point to future directions of research and hazard mitigation. The rupture mechanism, aftershocks, and deformation of the mainshock are consistent with extension inside the Pacific plate...
Authors
Michael E. West, Adrian Bender, Matthew Gardine, Lea Gardine, Kara Gately, Peter J. Haeussler, Wael Hassan, Franz Meyer, Cole Richards, Natalia Ruppert, Carl Tape, John Thornley, Robert C. Witter
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Eastern Denali Fault Surface Trace Map, Eastern Alaska and Adjacent Canada Eastern Denali Fault Surface Trace Map, Eastern Alaska and Adjacent Canada
This data release provides three geospatical datasets showing the surface trace of the Eastern Denali Fault between the Alaska-Yukon international border and the village of Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada. The datasets are: (1) a photogrammetry-based digital elevation model (DEM; average resolution of 4 m/pixel), (2) 13 digital aerial photo orthomosaics, and (3) a detailed (1:2,000 to 1...
Filter Total Items: 154
Evidence for large Holocene earthquakes along the Denali fault in southwest Yukon, Canada Evidence for large Holocene earthquakes along the Denali fault in southwest Yukon, Canada
The Yukon–Alaska Highway corridor in southern Yukon is subject to geohazards ranging from landslides to floods and earthquakes on faults in the St. Elias Mountains and Shakwak Valley. Here we discuss the late Holocene seismic history of the Denali fault, located at the eastern front of the St. Elias Mountains and one of only a few known seismically active terrestrial faults in Canada...
Authors
Andree Blais-Stevens, J.J. Clague, J. Brahney, P. Lipovsky, Peter J. Haeussler, B. Menounos
Sediment sources and transport by the Kahiltna Glacier and other catchments along the south side of the Alaska Range, Alaska Sediment sources and transport by the Kahiltna Glacier and other catchments along the south side of the Alaska Range, Alaska
Erosion related to glacial activity produces enormous amounts of sediment. However, sediment mobilization in glacial systems is extremely complex. Sediment is derived from headwalls, slopes along the margins of glaciers, and basal erosion; however, the rates and relative contributions of each are unknown. To test and quantify conceptual models for sediment generation and transport in a...
Authors
Ari Matmon, Peter J. Haeussler
Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach
Turbidites embedded in lacustrine sediment sequences are commonly used to reconstruct regional flood or earthquake histories. A critical step for this method to be successful is that turbidites and their trigger mechanisms are determined unambiguously. The latter is particularly challenging for prehistoric proglacial lake records in high-seismicity settings where both earthquake...
Authors
Nore Praet, Maarten Van Daele, Tim Collart, J. Moernaut, Elke Vandekerkhove, P. Kempf, Peter J. Haeussler, M. De Batist
The sedimentary record of the 2018 Anchorage Earthquake in Eklutna Lake, Alaska: Calibrating the lacustrine seismograph The sedimentary record of the 2018 Anchorage Earthquake in Eklutna Lake, Alaska: Calibrating the lacustrine seismograph
The 30 November 2018 Mw 7.1 Anchorage earthquake caused modified Mercalli intensities of V¼ to V½ at Eklutna Lake (south central Alaska). A few hours after the earthquake, a “dirt streak” was observed on the lake surface, followed by a peak in sediment turbidity values (∼80 times normal) at a drinking water facility, which receives water from the lake through a pipe. These observations...
Authors
Maarten Van Daele, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert C. Witter, Nore Praet, Marc De Batist
Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology Plate boundary localization, slip-rates and rupture segmentation of the Queen Charlotte Fault based on submarine tectonic geomorphology
Linking fault behavior over many earthquake cycles to individual earthquake behavior is a primary goal in tectonic geomorphology, particularly across an entire plate boundary. Here, we examine the 1150-km-long, right-lateral Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault system using comprehensive multibeam bathymetry data acquired along the Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) offshore southeastern Alaska...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Nathaniel C. Miller, Vaughn Barrie, Peter J. Haeussler, H. Gary Greene, Brian D. Andrews, Olaf Zielke, Peter Dartnell
The 30 November 2018 Mw7.1 Anchorage Earthquake The 30 November 2018 Mw7.1 Anchorage Earthquake
The Mw 7.1 47 km deep earthquake that occurred on 30 November 2018 had deep societal impacts across southcentral Alaska and exhibited phenomena of broad scientific interest. We document observations that point to future directions of research and hazard mitigation. The rupture mechanism, aftershocks, and deformation of the mainshock are consistent with extension inside the Pacific plate...
Authors
Michael E. West, Adrian Bender, Matthew Gardine, Lea Gardine, Kara Gately, Peter J. Haeussler, Wael Hassan, Franz Meyer, Cole Richards, Natalia Ruppert, Carl Tape, John Thornley, Robert C. Witter
*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