Suzanne Hecker is a scientist in the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 13
Rapid strain release on the Bear River fault zone, Utah–Wyoming—The impact of preexisting structure on the rupture behavior of a new normal fault
Earthquake clustering (grouping in space and time) is a widely observed mode of strain release in the upper crust, although this behavior on individual faults is a departure from classic elastic rebound theory. In this study, we consider factors responsible for a cluster of earthquakes on the Bear River fault zone (BRF), a recently activated, 44-km-long normal fault on the eastern margin of Basin
Santa Rosa's past and future earthquakes
Santa Rosa is no stranger to earthquakes. This northern California city was damaged several times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by shaking from earthquakes, culminating in the devastating earthquake of 1906, whose rupture passed 20 miles to the west of the city on the San Andreas Fault. Then in 1969, Santa Rosa was again strongly shaken and buildings were damaged by a pair of nearby, m
Detailed mapping and rupture implications of the 1 km releasing bend in the Rodgers Creek Fault at Santa Rosa, northern California
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) topography reveals for the first time the trace of the Rodgers Creek fault (RCF) through the center of Santa Rosa, the largest city in the northern San Francisco Bay area. Vertical deformation of the Santa Rosa Creek floodplain expresses a composite pull‐apart basin beneath the urban cover that is part of a broader 1‐km‐wide right‐releasing bend in the
Key recovery factors for the August 24, 2014, South Napa Earthquake
Through discussions between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) following the South Napa earthquake, it was determined that several key decision points would be faced by FEMA for which additional information should be sought and provided by USGS and its partners. This report addresses the four tasks that were agreed to. These tasks are (1) assessmen
The earthquake cycle in the San Francisco Bay region: A.D. 1600–2012
Stress changes produced by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake had a profound effect on the seismicity of the San Francisco Bay region (SFBR), dramatically reducing it in the twentieth century. Whether the SFBR is still within or has emerged from this seismic quiescence is an issue of debate with implications for earthquake mechanics and seismic hazards. Historically, the SFBR has not experienced on
Global surface displacement data for assessing variability of displacement at a point on a fault
This report presents a global dataset of site-specific surface-displacement data on faults. We have compiled estimates of successive displacements attributed to individual earthquakes, mainly paleoearthquakes, at sites where two or more events have been documented, as a basis for analyzing inter-event variability in surface displacement on continental faults.
An earlier version of this composite
Variability of displacement at a point: Implications for earthquake‐size distribution and rupture hazard on faults
To investigate the nature of earthquake‐magnitude distributions on faults, we compare the interevent variability of surface displacement at a point on a fault from a composite global data set of paleoseismic observations with the variability expected from two prevailing magnitude–frequency distributions: the truncated‐exponential model and the characteristic‐earthquake model. We use forward modeli
Normal-faulting slip maxima and stress-drop variability: A geological perspective
We present an empirical estimate of maximum slip in continental normal-faulting earthquakes and present evidence that stress drop in intraplate extensional environments is dependent on fault maturity. A survey of reported slip in historical earthquakes globally and in latest Quaternary paleoearthquakes in the Western Cordillera of the United States indicates maximum vertical displacements as large
The most recent large earthquake on the Rodgers Creek fault, San Francisco bay area
The Rodgers Creek fault (RCF) is a principal component of the San Andreas fault system north of San Francisco. No evidence appears in the historical record of a large earthquake on the RCF, implying that the most recent earthquake (MRE) occurred before 1824, when a Franciscan mission was built near the fault at Sonoma, and probably before 1776, when a mission and presidio were built in San Francis
Engineering geology considerations for park planning, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Report: 00-1 In the mid-1980s, historically high levels of Great Salt Lake caused damage to park facilities on Antelope Island and destroyed the causeway linking the park to the mainland. Information on the engineering geology of Antelope Islandcan be used to improve park facilities and reduce the risk from geologic hazards and poor construction conditions. Certain characteristics of the geologic
A New Map of Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California
Release Date: JULY 16, 2018 A new more detailed and higher resolution map of the Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California, has been produced using aerial photography and hillshade imagery derived from LiDAR data.
Stratigraphic and structural relations in trench exposures and geomorphology at the Big Burn, Lily Lake, and Lester Ranch sites, Bear River Fault Zone, Utah and Wyoming
This report provides trench photomosaics, logs and related site information, age data, and earthquake event evidence from three paleoseismic trench sites on the Bear River Fault Zone. Our motivation for studying the Bear River Fault Zone—a nascent normal fault in the Rocky Mountains east of the Basin and Range physiographic province—is twofold: (1) the intriguing conclusion from previous work that
Map of recently active traces of the Rodgers Creek Fault, Sonoma County, California
The accompanying map and digital data identify recently active strands of the Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California, interpreted primarily from the geomorphic expression of recent faulting on aerial photography and hillshade imagery derived from airborne lidar data. A recently active fault strand is defined here as having evidence consistent with slip during the Holocene epoch (approxim
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 13
Rapid strain release on the Bear River fault zone, Utah–Wyoming—The impact of preexisting structure on the rupture behavior of a new normal fault
Earthquake clustering (grouping in space and time) is a widely observed mode of strain release in the upper crust, although this behavior on individual faults is a departure from classic elastic rebound theory. In this study, we consider factors responsible for a cluster of earthquakes on the Bear River fault zone (BRF), a recently activated, 44-km-long normal fault on the eastern margin of BasinSanta Rosa's past and future earthquakes
Santa Rosa is no stranger to earthquakes. This northern California city was damaged several times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by shaking from earthquakes, culminating in the devastating earthquake of 1906, whose rupture passed 20 miles to the west of the city on the San Andreas Fault. Then in 1969, Santa Rosa was again strongly shaken and buildings were damaged by a pair of nearby, mDetailed mapping and rupture implications of the 1 km releasing bend in the Rodgers Creek Fault at Santa Rosa, northern California
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) topography reveals for the first time the trace of the Rodgers Creek fault (RCF) through the center of Santa Rosa, the largest city in the northern San Francisco Bay area. Vertical deformation of the Santa Rosa Creek floodplain expresses a composite pull‐apart basin beneath the urban cover that is part of a broader 1‐km‐wide right‐releasing bend in theKey recovery factors for the August 24, 2014, South Napa Earthquake
Through discussions between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) following the South Napa earthquake, it was determined that several key decision points would be faced by FEMA for which additional information should be sought and provided by USGS and its partners. This report addresses the four tasks that were agreed to. These tasks are (1) assessmenThe earthquake cycle in the San Francisco Bay region: A.D. 1600–2012
Stress changes produced by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake had a profound effect on the seismicity of the San Francisco Bay region (SFBR), dramatically reducing it in the twentieth century. Whether the SFBR is still within or has emerged from this seismic quiescence is an issue of debate with implications for earthquake mechanics and seismic hazards. Historically, the SFBR has not experienced onGlobal surface displacement data for assessing variability of displacement at a point on a fault
This report presents a global dataset of site-specific surface-displacement data on faults. We have compiled estimates of successive displacements attributed to individual earthquakes, mainly paleoearthquakes, at sites where two or more events have been documented, as a basis for analyzing inter-event variability in surface displacement on continental faults. An earlier version of this compositeVariability of displacement at a point: Implications for earthquake‐size distribution and rupture hazard on faults
To investigate the nature of earthquake‐magnitude distributions on faults, we compare the interevent variability of surface displacement at a point on a fault from a composite global data set of paleoseismic observations with the variability expected from two prevailing magnitude–frequency distributions: the truncated‐exponential model and the characteristic‐earthquake model. We use forward modeliNormal-faulting slip maxima and stress-drop variability: A geological perspective
We present an empirical estimate of maximum slip in continental normal-faulting earthquakes and present evidence that stress drop in intraplate extensional environments is dependent on fault maturity. A survey of reported slip in historical earthquakes globally and in latest Quaternary paleoearthquakes in the Western Cordillera of the United States indicates maximum vertical displacements as largeThe most recent large earthquake on the Rodgers Creek fault, San Francisco bay area
The Rodgers Creek fault (RCF) is a principal component of the San Andreas fault system north of San Francisco. No evidence appears in the historical record of a large earthquake on the RCF, implying that the most recent earthquake (MRE) occurred before 1824, when a Franciscan mission was built near the fault at Sonoma, and probably before 1776, when a mission and presidio were built in San FrancisEngineering geology considerations for park planning, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Report: 00-1 In the mid-1980s, historically high levels of Great Salt Lake caused damage to park facilities on Antelope Island and destroyed the causeway linking the park to the mainland. Information on the engineering geology of Antelope Islandcan be used to improve park facilities and reduce the risk from geologic hazards and poor construction conditions. Certain characteristics of the geologic - Science
A New Map of Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California
Release Date: JULY 16, 2018 A new more detailed and higher resolution map of the Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California, has been produced using aerial photography and hillshade imagery derived from LiDAR data. - Maps
Stratigraphic and structural relations in trench exposures and geomorphology at the Big Burn, Lily Lake, and Lester Ranch sites, Bear River Fault Zone, Utah and Wyoming
This report provides trench photomosaics, logs and related site information, age data, and earthquake event evidence from three paleoseismic trench sites on the Bear River Fault Zone. Our motivation for studying the Bear River Fault Zone—a nascent normal fault in the Rocky Mountains east of the Basin and Range physiographic province—is twofold: (1) the intriguing conclusion from previous work thatMap of recently active traces of the Rodgers Creek Fault, Sonoma County, California
The accompanying map and digital data identify recently active strands of the Rodgers Creek Fault in Sonoma County, California, interpreted primarily from the geomorphic expression of recent faulting on aerial photography and hillshade imagery derived from airborne lidar data. A recently active fault strand is defined here as having evidence consistent with slip during the Holocene epoch (approxim