USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe collects and records information on earthquake surface ruptures observed along a roadway following the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Photo credit: Ryan Gold (USGS)
Ryan D Gold, Ph.D.
Ryan Gold is the Director of the Geologic Hazards Science Center (GHSC) of the USGS.
In this position, he oversees GHSC’s efforts focused on earthquake, landslide, and geomagnetic hazards research and monitoring. Gold joined the USGS in 2009 after receiving a doctoral degree in geology from the University of California, Davis and a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College. He joined the USGS as a Mendenhall post-doctoral scholar and was hired permanently in 2011 as a Research Geologist within the Earthquake Geology Project at GHSC.
Gold’s research background focuses on active tectonics and natural hazards, with an emphasis on long-standing problems related to 1) earthquake recurrence and magnitude, 2) fault slip rate, and 3) patterns of surface displacement associated with modern earthquakes by applying a combination of field-based methods (e.g., paleoseismic trenching, neotectonic mapping) and remote sensing (e.g., lidar, satellite imagery, etc.). He has conducted field-based and remotely sensed earthquake studies across the United States, the Caribbean, the Indo-Asia Collision, central Europe, Pakistan, and Australia. He has played a key role in USGS field-based response to significant earthquakes, including the 2010 Haiti, 2013 Balochistan (Pakistan), and 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Gold has more than 60 publications in the areas of neotectonics, Quaternary geochronology, seismic imaging, and natural hazards.
Professional Experience
2021-present Director, Geologic Hazards Science Center, USGS
2011-2021 Research Geologist, USGS
2009-2011 Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellow, USGS
Education and Certifications
Ryan Gold (Ph.D., University of California, Davis 2009)
Science and Products
External Grants - Overview
Geologic Cracks Record Earthquakes on the Reelfoot Fault in Central U.S.
Datasets documenting late Pleistocene faulting in the Pondosa fault zone, Pit River Region, Northeastern California
Earthquake geology inputs for the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) 2023 (central and eastern United States), version 1.0
Datasets documenting limited evidence of Late Pleistocene tectonic surface deformation in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, Tennessee, USA
Datasets documenting neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico
Earthquake geology inputs for the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) 2023 (western U.S.) (ver. 3.0, December 2023)
Fault Rupture Mapping of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence from Satellite Data (ver. 1.1, February 2024)
Geochronological Data for the Deep Creek paleoseismic site, Wasatch fault zone, Utah
Western U.S. geologic deformation model for use in the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model 2023, version 1.0
Data to accompany the study Quick and dirty (and accurate) 3D paleoseismic trench models using coded scale bars
Data to accompany the study Quaternary Reelfoot fault deformation in the Obion River valley, Tennessee, USA by Delano et al. (2021)
Strike-slip in transtension: Complex crustal architecture of the Warm Springs Valley fault zone, northern Walker Lane
Compilation of offset measurements and fault data for global strike-slip faults with multiple earthquakes
![A woman makes notes while overlooking earth ruptures in ground on a dirt road](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Ridgecrest-DSC_2645_Jessie_0.jpg?itok=-w5LYenU)
USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe collects and records information on earthquake surface ruptures observed along a roadway following the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Photo credit: Ryan Gold (USGS)
Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence
Climatic influence on the expression of strike-slip faulting
Off-fault deformation in regions of complex fault geometries: the 2013, Mw7.7, Baluchistan rupture (Pakistan)
Western U.S. geologic deformation model for use in the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model 2023
Simplifying complex fault data for systems-level analysis: Earthquake geology inputs for U.S. NSHM 2023
Luminescence sediment tracing reveals the complex dynamics of colluvial wedge formation
A geomorphic-process-based cellular automata model of colluvial wedge morphology and stratigraphy
How similar was the 1983 Mw 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake rupture to its surface-faulting predecessors along the northern Lost River fault zone (Idaho, USA)?
Portable optically stimulated luminescence age map of a paleoseismic exposure
STEPS: Slip time earthquake path simulations applied to the San Andreas and Toe Jam Hill Faults to redefine geologic slip rate uncertainty
Geophysical constraints on the crustal architecture of the transtensional Warm Springs Valley fault zone, northern Walker Lane, western Nevada, USA
Diffuse deformation and surface faulting distribution from sub-metric image correlation along the 2019 Ridgecrest ruptures (California, USA)
STEPS: Slip Time Earthquake Path Simulations applied to the San Andreas and Toe Jam Hill faults to redefine geologic slip rate uncertainty (Matlab code)
Science and Products
External Grants - Overview
Geologic Cracks Record Earthquakes on the Reelfoot Fault in Central U.S.
Datasets documenting late Pleistocene faulting in the Pondosa fault zone, Pit River Region, Northeastern California
Earthquake geology inputs for the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) 2023 (central and eastern United States), version 1.0
Datasets documenting limited evidence of Late Pleistocene tectonic surface deformation in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, Tennessee, USA
Datasets documenting neotectonic mapping of Puerto Rico
Earthquake geology inputs for the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) 2023 (western U.S.) (ver. 3.0, December 2023)
Fault Rupture Mapping of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence from Satellite Data (ver. 1.1, February 2024)
Geochronological Data for the Deep Creek paleoseismic site, Wasatch fault zone, Utah
Western U.S. geologic deformation model for use in the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model 2023, version 1.0
Data to accompany the study Quick and dirty (and accurate) 3D paleoseismic trench models using coded scale bars
Data to accompany the study Quaternary Reelfoot fault deformation in the Obion River valley, Tennessee, USA by Delano et al. (2021)
Strike-slip in transtension: Complex crustal architecture of the Warm Springs Valley fault zone, northern Walker Lane
Compilation of offset measurements and fault data for global strike-slip faults with multiple earthquakes
![A woman makes notes while overlooking earth ruptures in ground on a dirt road](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Ridgecrest-DSC_2645_Jessie_0.jpg?itok=-w5LYenU)
USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe collects and records information on earthquake surface ruptures observed along a roadway following the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Photo credit: Ryan Gold (USGS)
USGS scientist Jessie Thompson Jobe collects and records information on earthquake surface ruptures observed along a roadway following the Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. Photo credit: Ryan Gold (USGS)