Rich Briggs
My work focuses on the geology and seismotectonics of large earthquakes, with the goal of understanding how, where, and why they happen.
Research Focus
I characterize active faults for seismic hazard analysis. This requires grappling with structures and processes that control earthquakes. I also work with the USGS National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) to respond to large earthquakes by conducting rapid field studies and analyzing remote sensing products.
Professional Preparation
BS, Geologic and Environmental Science, Stanford University, 1999
PhD, Geology, Center for Neotectonic Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, 2004
Postdoctoral Scholar, Tectonics Observatory, California Institute of Technology, 2005-2008
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, CO, 2008-present
Geologist, Synergetics Incorporated, Fort Collins, CO (contracted to USGS), 2008
Science and Products
Digital datasets documenting subsurface data locations, topographic metrics, fault scarp mapping, and revised fault network for Crowley's Ridge, New Madrid Seismic Zone
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Digital Surface Models for the northern 16 km of the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake rupture, northern Lost River fault zone (Idaho, USA)
Data Set S1 for "Coseismic Sackungen in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, USA"
Quaternary reelfoot fault deformation in the Obion River Valley, Tennessee, USA
Quick and dirty (and accurate) 3-D paleoseismic trench models using coded scale bars
Holocene paleoseismology of the Steamboat Mountain Site: Evidence for full‐Llngth rupture of the Teton Fault, Wyoming
Seismic reflection imaging of the low-angle Panamint normal fault system, eastern California
Evidence for late Quaternary deformation along Crowley's Ridge, New Madrid seismic zone
Offset channels may not accurately record strike-slip fault displacement: Evidence from landscape evolution models
Holocene earthquake history and slip rate of the southern Teton fault, Wyoming, USA
Relaxing segmentation on the Wasatch Fault Zone: Impact on seismic hazard
Variable normal-fault rupture behavior, northern Lost River fault zone, Idaho, USA
Surface rupture and distributed deformation revealed by optical satellite imagery: The intraplate 2016 Mw 6.0 Petermann Ranges earthquake, Australia
Evidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust
Vertical coseismic offsets from differential high-resolution stereogrammetric DSMs: The 2013 Baluchistan, Pakistan earthquake
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 16
Digital datasets documenting subsurface data locations, topographic metrics, fault scarp mapping, and revised fault network for Crowley's Ridge, New Madrid Seismic Zone
This release provides the data and interpretations supporting evidence of late Quaternary faulting along Crowleys Ridge in the New Madrid seismic zone. The release includes location information for seismic reflection and airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data over Crowleys Ridge, a table of topographic metrics derived from analysis of the 10m National Elevation Dataset (NED) digital elevation model (An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Earthquake focal mechanisms and stress inversion results for the conterminous United States.Digital Surface Models for the northern 16 km of the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake rupture, northern Lost River fault zone (Idaho, USA)
We present high-resolution (10-cm pixel) digital surface models (DSMs) generated for the northern 16 km of the surface rupture associated with the 1983 Mw 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake. These DSMs were generated using Agisoft Photoscan (and Metashape) image-based modeling software and low-altitude aerial photographs acquired from unmanned aircraft systems and a tethered balloon. DSM files consist of GData Set S1 for "Coseismic Sackungen in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, USA"
The New Madrid Seismic Zone presents significant seismic hazard to the central and eastern United States. We mapped newly-identified coseismic ridge-spreading features, or sackungen, in the bluffs east of the Mississippi River in western Tennessee. We use this mapping dataset in an accompanying manuscript to show that sackungen form during earthquakes on the Reelfoot fault and may fail in preferre - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 57
Quaternary reelfoot fault deformation in the Obion River Valley, Tennessee, USA
Blind reverse faults are challenging to detect, and earthquake records can be elusive because deep fault slip does not break the surface along readily recognized scarps. The blind Reelfoot fault in the New Madrid seismic zone in the central United States has been the subject of extensive prior investigation; however, the extent of slip at the southern portion of the fault remains unconstrained. InAuthorsJaime Delano, Richard W. Briggs, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Ryan D. Gold, Simon E. EngelhartQuick and dirty (and accurate) 3-D paleoseismic trench models using coded scale bars
Structure‐from‐motion (SfM) modeling has dramatically increased the speed of generating geometrically accurate orthophoto mosaics of paleoseismic trenches, but some aspects of this technique remain time and labor intensive. Model accuracy relies on control points to establish scale, reduce distortion, and orient 3D models. Traditional SfM methods use total station or Global Navigation Satellite SyAuthorsJaime Delano, Richard W. Briggs, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. GoldHolocene paleoseismology of the Steamboat Mountain Site: Evidence for full‐Llngth rupture of the Teton Fault, Wyoming
The 72‐km‐long Teton fault in northwestern Wyoming is an ideal candidate for reconstructing the lateral extent of surface‐rupturing earthquakes and testing models of normal‐fault segmentation. To explore the history of earthquakes on the northern Teton fault, we hand‐excavated two trenches at the Steamboat Mountain site, where the east‐dipping Teton fault has vertically displaced west‐sloping alluAuthorsChristopher DuRoss, Mark S. Zellman, Glenn D. Thackray, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Shannon A. MahanSeismic reflection imaging of the low-angle Panamint normal fault system, eastern California
Shallowly dipping (<30°) low‐angle normal faults (LANFs) have been documented globally; however, examples of active LANFs in continental settings are limited. The western margin of the Panamint Range in eastern California is defined by a LANF that dips west beneath Panamint Valley and has evidence of Quaternary motion. In addition, high‐angle dextral‐oblique normal faults displace middle to late QAuthorsRyan D. Gold, William J. Stephenson, Richard W. Briggs, Christopher DuRoss, Eric Kirby, Edward W Woolery, Jaime Delano, Jackson K. OdumEvidence for late Quaternary deformation along Crowley's Ridge, New Madrid seismic zone
The New Madrid seismic zone has been the source of multiple major (M ~7.0–7.5) earthquakes in the past 2 ka, yet the surface expression of recent deformation remains ambiguous. Crowleys Ridge, a linear ridge trending north‐south for 300+ km through the Mississippi Embayment, has been interpreted as either a fault‐bounded uplift or a nontectonic erosional remnant. New and previously published seismAuthorsJessica Thompson Jobe, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Robert Williams, William J. Stephenson, Jaime E. Delano, Anjana K. Shah, Burke J. MinsleyOffset channels may not accurately record strike-slip fault displacement: Evidence from landscape evolution models
Slip distribution, slip rate, and slip per event for strike‐slip faults are commonly determined by correlating offset stream channels—under the assumption that they record seismic slip—but offset channels are formed by the interplay of tectonic and geomorphic processes. To constrain offset channel development under known tectonic and geomorphic conditions, we use numerical landscape evolution simuAuthorsNadine G. Reitman, Karl J. Mueller, Gregory E. Tucker, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Katherine R. BarnhartHolocene earthquake history and slip rate of the southern Teton fault, Wyoming, USA
The 72-km-long Teton normal fault bounds the eastern base of the Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming, USA. Although geomorphic surfaces along the fault record latest Pleistocene to Holocene fault movement, the postglacial earthquake history of the fault has remained enigmatic. We excavated a paleoseismic trench at the Buffalo Bowl site along the southernmost part of the fault to determine its HoloAuthorsChristopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Jaime E. Delano, Dean A. Ostenaa, Mark Zellman, Nicole Cholewinski, Seth Wittke, Shannon A. MahanRelaxing segmentation on the Wasatch Fault Zone: Impact on seismic hazard
The multisegment Wasatch fault zone is a well-studied normal fault in the western United States that has paleoseismic evidence of recurrent Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes. Along the 270-km-long central part of the fault, four primary structural complexities provide possible along-strike limits to these ruptures and form the basis for models of fault segmentation. Here, we assess the impactAuthorsAlessandro Valentini, Christopher DuRoss, Edward H. Field, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Francesco Visini, Bruno PaceVariable normal-fault rupture behavior, northern Lost River fault zone, Idaho, USA
The 1983 Mw 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake generated ∼36 km of surface rupture along the Thousand Springs and Warm Springs sections of the Lost River fault zone (LRFZ, Idaho, USA). Although the rupture is a well-studied example of multisegment surface faulting, ambiguity remains regarding the degree to which a bedrock ridge and branch fault at the Willow Creek Hills influenced rupture progress. To explAuthorsChristopher DuRoss, Michael P. Bunds, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Nadine G. Reitman, Stephen Personius, Nathan A. TokéSurface rupture and distributed deformation revealed by optical satellite imagery: The intraplate 2016 Mw 6.0 Petermann Ranges earthquake, Australia
High-resolution optical satellite imagery is used to quantify vertical surface deformation associated with the intraplate 20 May 2016 Mw 6.0 Petermann Ranges earthquake, Northern Territory, Australia. The 21 ╓ 1 km long NW-trending rupture resulted from reverse motion on a northeast-dipping fault. Vertical surface offsets of up to 0.7 ╓ 0.1 m distributed across a 0.5-to-1 km wide deformation zoneAuthorsRyan D. Gold, Dan Clark, William D. Barnhart, Tamarah King, Mark Quigley, Richard W. BriggsEvidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust
At the eastern end of the 1957 Andreanof Islands magnitude-8.6 earthquake rupture, Driftwood Bay (Umnak Island) and Stardust Bay (Sedanka Island) lie along presently locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust, respectively, based on satellite geodesy onshore. Both bays, located 200-km apart, face the Aleutian trench and harbor coastal evidence for tsunami inundation in 1957. Here we descAuthorsRobert C. Witter, Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Richard D Koehler, Alan R. Nelson, SeanPaul La Selle, Reide Corbett, Kristi L. WallaceVertical coseismic offsets from differential high-resolution stereogrammetric DSMs: The 2013 Baluchistan, Pakistan earthquake
The recent proliferation of high-resolution (< 3-m spatial resolution) digital topography datasets opens a spectrum of geodetic applications in differential topography, including the quantification of coseismic vertical displacement fields. Most investigations of coseismic vertical displacements to date rely, in part, on pre- or post-event lidar surveys that are intractable or non-existent in manyAuthorsWilliam D. Barnhart, Ryan D. Gold, Hannah N. Shea, Katherine E. Peterson, Richard W. Briggs, David J. Harbor - Software