Thomas Pratt, Ph.D.
Thomas Pratt is a Research Geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey based in Reston, Virginia, and a member of the Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden, Colorado. His research interests are in seismic imaging of active fault systems, modeling of geologic structures, studying the tectonic settings of earthquakes, and understanding ground motions during earthquakes.
Education
Cornell University BA, Geology, 1980
Virginia Tech M.Sc., Geophysics, 1982
Virginia Tech Ph.D., Geophysics, 1986
Professional Positions
Research Geophysicist, USGS, Reston, VA, 2013-present.
Central and Eastern Region Coordinator, USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, 2017-present.
Editor-in-Chief, Bulletin of the Seismological Society America, 2016-2021.
Acting External Grants Program Manager, USGS, 2016 (4-month term).
Associate Editor, Bulletin of the Seismological Society America, 2014-2015.
Research Geophysicist, USGS, Seattle, WA, 1994-2013.
Affiliate Professor, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, 2003-2014.
Affiliate Professor, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 2004-2014.
Visiting Professor, Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, May 5 - August 5, 2000.
Affiliate, School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 1994-2003.
Research Geophysicist, USGS, Golden, CO, 1991-1994.
Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research, 1991-1995.
Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1989-1991.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1986-1989.
Committees
Chair, Seismological Society of America Best Student Presentation subcommittee, 2010-2011.
Member, Seismological Society of America Awards Committee, 2010-2011.
Subject Matter Expert, USGS “Requirements, Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observations (RCA-OE)” – a USGS-wide exercise to evaluate capabilities and needs. August-October, 2014.
Member, Hiring Committee, Earthquake Hazards Program External Grants Manager (April-May, 2016)
Member (USGS Representative), FEMA 2019 New Madrid Exercise “Shaken Fury”, Interagency Core Planning Team – 2018-2019
Member, Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL) Standing Committee, Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), 1994-1998 and 2007-2010.
Chair, Seismological Society of America Best Student Presentation committee, 2010-2011.
Co-Chair (2009-2010), Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology (IRIS) Active Source Committee; With Alan Levander of Rice University
Science and Products
The story of a Yakima fold and how it informs Late Neogene and Quaternary backarc deformation in the Cascadia subduction zone, Manastash anticline, Washington, USA
Accelerating slip rates on the puente hills blind thrust fault system beneath metropolitan Los Angeles, California, USA
Amplification of earthquake ground motions in Washington, DC, and implications for hazard assessments in central and eastern North America
2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report
Seismic imaging beneath an InSAR anomaly in eastern Washington State: Shallow faulting associated with an earthquake swarm in a low-hazard area
Observations and modeling of fjord sedimentation during the 30 year retreat of Columbia Glacier, AK
Examination of the Reelfoot Rift Petroleum System, south-central United States, and the elements that remain for potential exploration and development
High-resolution seismic reflection imaging of growth folding and shallow faults beneath the Southern Puget Lowland, Washington State
Landslides and megathrust splay faults captured by the late Holocene sediment record of eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska
Focused exhumation along megathrust splay faults in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Thin‐ or thick‐skinned faulting in the Yakima fold and thrust belt (WA)? Constraints from kinematic modeling of the saddle mountains anticline
Paleoseismologic evidence for large-magnitude (Mw 7.5-8.0) earthquakes on the Ventura blind thrust fault: Implications for multifault ruptures in the Transverse Ranges of southern California
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 49
The story of a Yakima fold and how it informs Late Neogene and Quaternary backarc deformation in the Cascadia subduction zone, Manastash anticline, Washington, USA
The Yakima folds of central Washington, USA, are prominent anticlines that are the primary tectonic features of the backarc of the northern Cascadia subduction zone. What accounts for their topographic expression and how much strain do they accommodate and over what time period? We investigate Manastash anticline, a north vergent fault propagation fold typical of structures in the fold province. FAuthorsHarvey M. Kelsey, Tyler C. Ladinsky, Lydia M. Staisch, Brian L. Sherrod, Richard J. Blakely, Thomas Pratt, William Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Elmira WanAccelerating slip rates on the puente hills blind thrust fault system beneath metropolitan Los Angeles, California, USA
Slip rates represent the average displacement across a fault over time and are essential to estimating earthquake recurrence for proba-bilistic seismic hazard assessments. We demonstrate that the slip rate on the western segment of the Puente Hills blind thrust fault system, which is beneath downtown Los Angeles, California (USA), has accel-erated from ~0.22 mm/yr in the late Pleistocene to ~1.33AuthorsKristian J. Bergen, John H. Shaw, Lorraine A. Leon, James F. Dolan, Thomas L. Pratt, Daniel J. Ponti, Eric Morrow, Wendy Barrera, Edward J. Rhodes, Madhav K. Murari, Lewis A. OwenAmplification of earthquake ground motions in Washington, DC, and implications for hazard assessments in central and eastern North America
The extent of damage in Washington, DC, from the 2011 Mw 5.8 Mineral, VA, earthquake was surprising for an epicenter 130 km away; U.S. Geological Survey “Did-You-Feel-It” reports suggest that Atlantic Coastal Plain and other unconsolidated sediments amplified ground motions in the city. We measure this amplification relative to bedrock sites using earthquake signals recorded on a temporary seismomAuthorsThomas L. Pratt, J. Wright Horton, Jessica Munoz, Susan E. Hough, Martin C. Chapman, C. Guney Olgun2016 Eastern Section SSA Annual Meeting Report
Report on the Eastern Section Seismological Society of America Meeting.AuthorsThomas L. Pratt, Christine A. Goulet, Oliver S. BoydSeismic imaging beneath an InSAR anomaly in eastern Washington State: Shallow faulting associated with an earthquake swarm in a low-hazard area
In 2001, a rare swarm of small, shallow earthquakes beneath the city of Spokane, Washington, caused ground shaking as well as audible booms over a five‐month period. Subsequent Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data analysis revealed an area of surface uplift in the vicinity of the earthquake swarm. To investigate the potential faults that may have caused both the earthquakes and thAuthorsWilliam J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Charles W. Wicks, Thomas L. Pratt, Richard J. BlakelyObservations and modeling of fjord sedimentation during the 30 year retreat of Columbia Glacier, AK
To explore links between glacier dynamics, sediment yields and the accumulation of glacial sediments in a temperate setting, we use extensive glaciological observations for Columbia Glacier, Alaska, and new oceanographic data from the fjord exposed during its retreat. High-resolution seismic data indicate that 3.2 × 108 m3 of sediment has accumulated in Columbia Fjord over the past three decades,AuthorsKatherine B Love, Bernard Hallet, Thomas L. Pratt, Shad O'NeelExamination of the Reelfoot Rift Petroleum System, south-central United States, and the elements that remain for potential exploration and development
The Reelfoot rift is one segment of a late Proterozoic(?) to early Paleozoic intracontinental rift complex in the south-central United States. The rift complex is situated beneath Mesozoic to Cenozoic strata of the Mississippi embayment of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and western Tennessee and Kentucky. The rift portion of the stratigraphic section consists primarily of synrift CaAuthorsJames L. Coleman, Thomas L. PrattHigh-resolution seismic reflection imaging of growth folding and shallow faults beneath the Southern Puget Lowland, Washington State
Marine seismic reflection data from southern Puget Sound, Washington, were collected to investigate the nature of shallow structures associated with the Tacoma fault zone and the Olympia structure. Growth folding and probable Holocene surface deformation were imaged within the Tacoma fault zone beneath Case and Carr Inlets. Shallow faults near potential field anomalies associated with the OlympiaAuthorsJackson K. Odum, William J. Stephenson, Thomas L. Pratt, Richard J. BlakelyLandslides and megathrust splay faults captured by the late Holocene sediment record of eastern Prince William Sound, Alaska
We present new marine seismic‐reflection profiles and bathymetric maps to characterize Holocene depositional patterns, submarine landslides, and active faults beneath eastern and central Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, which is the eastern rupture patch of the 1964 Mw 9.2 earthquake. We show evidence that submarine landslides, many of which are likely earthquake triggered, repeatedly releasedAuthorsS.P. Finn, Lee M. Liberty, Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas L. PrattFocused exhumation along megathrust splay faults in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Megathrust splay faults are a common feature of accretionary prisms and can be important for generating tsunamis during some subduction zone earthquakes. Here we provide new evidence from Alaska that megathrust splay faults have been conduits for focused exhumation in the last 5 Ma. In most of central Prince William Sound, published and new low-temperature thermochronology data indicate little toAuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, Phillip A Armstrong, Lee M Liberty, Kelly M Ferguson, Shaun P Finn, Jeannette C Arkle, Thomas L. PrattThin‐ or thick‐skinned faulting in the Yakima fold and thrust belt (WA)? Constraints from kinematic modeling of the saddle mountains anticline
The Yakima fold and thrust belt (YFTB) deforms the Columbia River Basalt Group flows of Washington State. The YFTB fault geometries and slip rates are crucial parameters for seismic‐hazard assessments of nearby dams and nuclear facilities, yet there are competing models for the subsurface fault geometry involving shallowly rooted versus deeply rooted fault systems. The YFTB is also thought to be aAuthorsGabriele Casale, Thomas L. PrattPaleoseismologic evidence for large-magnitude (Mw 7.5-8.0) earthquakes on the Ventura blind thrust fault: Implications for multifault ruptures in the Transverse Ranges of southern California
Detailed analysis of continuously cored boreholes and cone penetrometer tests (CPTs), high-resolution seismic-reflection data, and luminescence and 14C dates from Holocene strata folded above the tip of the Ventura blind thrust fault constrain the ages and displacements of the two (or more) most recent earthquakes. These two earthquakes, which are identified by a prominent surface fold scarp and aAuthorsLee J. McAuliffe, James F. Dolan, Edward J. Rhodes, Judith Hubbard, John H. Shaw, Thomas L. Pratt - News