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
Geologic history of Siletzia, a large igneous province in the Oregon and Washington Coast Range: Correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale and implications for a long-lived Yellowstone hotspot
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 as on the d
1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska
Why the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake matters 50 years later
Uplift and subsidence reveal a nonpersistent megathrust rupture boundary (Sitkinak Island, Alaska)
The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and tsunamis: a modern perspective and enduring legacies
Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska
Source and progression of a submarine landslide and tsunami: The 1964 Great Alaska earthquake at Valdez
New imaging of submarine landslides from the 1964 earthquake near Whittier, Alaska, and a comparison to failures in other Alaskan fjords
Modern salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak and Simeonof Islands, southwestern Alaska
Megathrust splay faults at the focus of the Prince William Sound asperity, Alaska
Cenozoic tectono-thermal history of the Tordrillo Mountains, Alaska: Paleocene-Eocene ridge subduction, decreasing relief, and late Neogene faulting
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 146
Geologic history of Siletzia, a large igneous province in the Oregon and Washington Coast Range: Correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale and implications for a long-lived Yellowstone hotspot
Siletzia is a basaltic Paleocene and Eocene large igneous province in coastal Oregon, Washington, and southern Vancouver Island that was accreted to North America in the early Eocene. New U-Pb magmatic, detrital zircon, and 40Ar/39Ar ages constrained by detailed field mapping, global nannoplankton zones, and magnetic polarities allow correlation of the volcanics with the 2012 geologic time scale.AuthorsRay Wells, David Bukry, Richard Friedman, Douglas Pyle, Robert Duncan, Peter J. Haeussler, Joe WoodenByEnergy and Minerals Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Geomagnetism Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science CenterGeophysical 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 as on the d
AuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, William S. Leith, David J. Wald, John R. Filson, Cecily Wolfe, David Applegate1964 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 subduction zonAuthorsEvan E. Thoms, Peter J. Haeussler, Rebecca D. Anderson, Robert G. McGimseyWhy 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 landscape, influAuthorsMichael E. West, Peter J. Haeussler, Natalia A. Ruppert, Jeffrey T. FreymuellerUplift 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 assemblages arAuthorsRichard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Alan R. Nelson, Tina Dura, Andrew C. Kemp, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett, Stephen J. Angster, Lee-Ann BradleyThe 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, Washington, moreAuthorsThomas M. Brocher, John R. Filson, Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Holzer, George Plafker, J. Luke BlairRock-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 studied, coalsAuthorsRichard G. Stanley, Paul G. Lillis, Mark J. Pawlewicz, Peter J. HaeusslerByEnergy 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 CenterSource and progression of a submarine landslide and tsunami: The 1964 Great Alaska earthquake at Valdez
Like many subduction zone earthquakes, the deadliest aspects of the 1964 M = 9.2 Alaska earthquake were the tsunamis it caused. The worst of these were generated by local submarine landslides induced by the earthquake. These caused high runups, engulfing several coastal towns in Prince William Sound. In this paper, we study one of these cases in detail, the Port Valdez submarine landslide and tsunAuthorsThomas E. Parsons, Eric L. Geist, Holly F. Ryan, Homa J. Lee, Peter J. Haeussler, Patrick Lynett, Patrick E. Hart, Ray W. Sliter, Emily C. RolandNew imaging of submarine landslides from the 1964 earthquake near Whittier, Alaska, and a comparison to failures in other Alaskan fjords
The 1964 Alaska M w 9.2 earthquake triggered numerous submarine slope failures in fjords of southern Alaska. These failures generated local tsunamis, such as at Whittier, where they inundated the town within 4 min of the beginning of shaking. Run-up was up to 32 m, with 13 casualties. We collected new multibeam bathymetry and high-resolution sparker seismic data in Passage Canal, and we examined bAuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, Thomas E. Parsons, David P. Finlayson, Patrick J. Hart, Jason D. Chaytor, Holly F Ryan, Homa J. Lee, Keith A. Labay, Andrew Peterson, Lee LibertyModern salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak and Simeonof Islands, southwestern Alaska
We describe the modern distribution of salt-marsh and tidal-flat foraminifera from Sitkinak Island (Trinity Islands) and Simeonof Island (Shumagin Islands), Alaska, to begin development of a dataset for later use in reconstructing relative sea-level changes caused by great earthquakes along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone. Dead foraminifera were enumerated from a total of 58 surface-sediment sAuthorsAndrew C. Kemp, Simon E. Engelhart, Stephen J. Culver, Alan R. Nelson, Richard W. Briggs, Peter J. HaeusslerMegathrust splay faults at the focus of the Prince William Sound asperity, Alaska
High-resolution sparker and crustal-scale air gun seismic reflection data, coupled with repeat bathymetric surveys, document a region of repeated coseismic uplift on the portion of the Alaska subduction zone that ruptured in 1964. This area defines the western limit of Prince William Sound. Differencing of vintage and modern bathymetric surveys shows that the region of greatest uplift related to theAuthorsLee M. Liberty, Shaun P. Finn, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. Pratt, Andrew PetersonCenozoic tectono-thermal history of the Tordrillo Mountains, Alaska: Paleocene-Eocene ridge subduction, decreasing relief, and late Neogene faulting
Topographic development inboard of the continental margin is a predicted response to ridge subduction. New thermochronology results from the western Alaska Range document ridge subduction related orogenesis. K-feldspar thermochronology (KFAT) of bedrock samples from the Tordrillo Mountains in the western Alaska Range complement existing U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and AFT (apatite fission track) data to proviAuthorsJeff A. Benowitz, Peter J. Haeussler, Paul W. Layer, Paul B. O'Sullivan, Wes K. Wallace, Robert J. Gillis - Software
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*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