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
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
Refining fault slip rates using multiple displaced terrace risers-An example from the Honey Lake fault, NE California, USA
Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes at the Spring Lake and North Creek Sites on the Wasatch Fault Zone: Evidence for complex rupture of the Nephi Segment
Middle and Late Pleistocene glaciations in the southwestern Pamir and their effects on topography
Pulsed strain release on the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest China
Apparent late Quaternary fault slip rate increase in the southwestern Lower Rhine Graben, central Europe
Tectonic summaries of magnitude 7 and greater earthquakes from 2000 to 2015
Rapid characterization of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake sequence and its seismotectonic context
A random-walk algorithm for modeling lithospheric density and the role of body forces in the evolution of the Midcontinent Rift
On- and off-fault deformation associated with the September 2013 Mw7.7 Balochistan earthquake: Implications for geologic slip rate measurements
Evidence for slip partitioning and bimodal slip behavior on a single fault: Surface slip characteristics of the 2013 Mw7.7 Balochistan, Pakistan earthquake
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 54
An updated stress map of the continental U.S. reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Knowledge of the state of stress in the Earth’s crust is key to understanding the forces and processes responsible for earthquakes. Historically, low rates of natural seismicity in the central and eastern United States have complicated efforts to understand intraplate stress, but recent improvements in seismic networks and the spread of human-induced seismicity have greatly improved data coverage.AuthorsWill Levandowski, Robert B Hermann, Richard W. Briggs, Oliver S. Boyd, Ryan D. GoldIntegrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
For more than 20 yrs, damage patterns and instrumental recordings have highlighted the influence of the local 3D geologic structure on earthquake ground motions (e.g., MM 6.7 Northridge, California, Gao et al., 1996; MM 6.9 Kobe, Japan, Kawase, 1996; MM 6.8 Nisqually, Washington, Frankel, Carver, and Williams, 2002). Although this and other local‐scale features are critical to improving seismic haAuthorsMorgan P. Moschetti, Nicolas Luco, Arthur Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Brad T. Aagaard, Annemarie S. Baltay, Michael Blanpied, Oliver S. Boyd, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Robert Graves, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian, William J. Stephenson, David J. Wald, Robert A. Williams, Kyle WithersRefining fault slip rates using multiple displaced terrace risers-An example from the Honey Lake fault, NE California, USA
Faulted terrace risers are semi-planar features commonly used to constrain Quaternary slip rates along strike-slip faults. These landforms are difficult to date directly and therefore their ages are commonly bracketed by age estimates of the adjacent upper and lower terrace surfaces. However, substantial differences in the ages of the upper and lower terrace surfaces (a factor of 2.4 difference obAuthorsRyan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Anthony J. Crone, Christopher DuRossHolocene surface-faulting earthquakes at the Spring Lake and North Creek Sites on the Wasatch Fault Zone: Evidence for complex rupture of the Nephi Segment
The Nephi segment of the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ) comprises two fault strands, the northern and southern strands, which have evidence of recurrent late Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes. We excavated paleoseismic trenches across these strands to refine and expand their Holocene earthquake chronologies; improve estimates of earthquake recurrence, displacement, and fault slip rate; and assess whAuthorsChristopher DuRoss, Michael D. Hylland, Adam Hiscock, Stephen Personius, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Gregg Beukelman, Geg N McDonald, Ben Erickson, Adam McKean, Steve Angster, Roselyn King, Anthony J. Crone, Shannon A. MahanMiddle and Late Pleistocene glaciations in the southwestern Pamir and their effects on topography
Glacial chronologies provide insight into the evolution of paleo-landscapes, paleoclimate, topography, and the erosion processes that shape mountain ranges. In the Pamir of Central Asia, glacial morphologies and deposits indicate extensive past glaciations, whose timing and extent remain poorly constrained. Geomorphic data and 15 new 10Be exposure ages from moraine boulders and roches moutonnées iAuthorsKonstanze Stubner, Elena Grin, Alan J. Hidy, Mirjam Schaller, Ryan D. Gold, Lothar Ratschbacher, Todd EhlersPulsed strain release on the Altyn Tagh fault, northwest China
Earthquake recurrence models assume that major surface-rupturing earthquakes are followed by periods of reduced rupture probability as stress rebuilds. Although purely periodic, time- or slip-predictable rupture models are known to be oversimplifications, a paucity of long records of fault slip clouds understanding of fault behavior and earthquake recurrence over multiple ruptures. Here, we reportAuthorsRyan D. Gold, Eric Cowgill, J. Ramón Arrowsmith, Anke M. FriedrichApparent late Quaternary fault slip rate increase in the southwestern Lower Rhine Graben, central Europe
In regions of low strain, long earthquake recurrence intervals (104–106 yrs) and erosive processes limit preservation of Quaternary markers suitable for distinguishing whether faults slip at uniform or secularly varying rates. The Lower Rhine graben in the border region of Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium provides a unique opportunity to explore Quaternary slip‐rate variations in a region ofAuthorsRyan D. Gold, Anke M. Friedrich, Simon Kubler, Martin SalamonTectonic summaries of magnitude 7 and greater earthquakes from 2000 to 2015
This paper describes the tectonic summaries for all magnitude 7 and larger earthquakes in the period 2000–2015, as produced by the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center during their routine response operations to global earthquakes. The goal of such summaries is to provide important event-specific information to the public rapidly and concisely, such that recent earthquakesAuthorsGavin P. Hayes, Emma K. Meyers, James W. Dewey, Richard W. Briggs, Paul S. Earle, Harley M. Benz, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Hanna E. Flamme, William D. Barnhart, Ryan D. Gold, Kevin P. FurlongRapid characterization of the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake sequence and its seismotectonic context
Earthquake response and related information products are important for placing recent seismic events into context and particularly for understanding the impact earthquakes can have on the regional community and its infrastructure. These tools are even more useful if they are available quickly, ahead of detailed information from the areas affected by such earthquakes. Here we provide an overview ofAuthorsGavin P. Hayes, Richard W. Briggs, William D. Barnhart, William L. Yeck, Daniel E. McNamara, David J. Wald, Jennifer Nealy, Harley M. Benz, Ryan D. Gold, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Kristin Marano, Paul S. Earle, Mike Hearne, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Lisa A. Wald, Sergey SamsonovA random-walk algorithm for modeling lithospheric density and the role of body forces in the evolution of the Midcontinent Rift
This paper develops a Monte Carlo algorithm for extracting three-dimensional lithospheric density models from geophysical data. Empirical scaling relationships between velocity and density create a 3D starting density model, which is then iteratively refined until it reproduces observed gravity and topography. This approach permits deviations from uniform crustal velocity-density scaling, which prAuthorsWilliam Brower Levandowski, Oliver S. Boyd, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. GoldOn- and off-fault deformation associated with the September 2013 Mw7.7 Balochistan earthquake: Implications for geologic slip rate measurements
The 24 September 2013 Mw7.7 Balochistan, Pakistan earthquake ruptured a ~ 200 km-long stretch of the Hoshab fault in southern Pakistan and produced the second-largest lateral surface displacement observed for a continental strike-slip earthquake. We remotely measured surface deformation associated with this event using high-resolution (0.5 m) pre- and post-event satellite optical imagery. We documAuthorsRyan D. Gold, Nadine G. Reitman, Richard W. Briggs, William D. Barnhart, Gavin P. Hayes, Earl M. WilsonEvidence for slip partitioning and bimodal slip behavior on a single fault: Surface slip characteristics of the 2013 Mw7.7 Balochistan, Pakistan earthquake
Deformation is commonly accommodated by strain partitioning on multiple, independent strike-slip and dip-slip faults in continental settings of oblique plate convergence. As a corollary, individual faults tend to exhibit one sense of slip – normal, reverse, or strike-slip – until whole-scale changes in boundary conditions reactivate preexisting faults in a new deformation regime. In this study, weAuthorsWilliam D. Barnhart, Richard W. Briggs, Nadine G. Reitman, Ryan D. Gold, Gavin P. Hayes - Science
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