Uri ten Brink, PhD
My research focuses on quantifying tectonic and morphological processes and their impacts on the assessments of tsunami, landslide, and earthquake hazards. I am also interested in bridging gaps between disciplines in earth sciences. I am the Project Chief of the USGS Marine Geohazards Sources and Probability Project and in charge of the USGS Ocean Bottom Seismometers.
FIELD EXPERIENCE
41 cruises (26 as chief scientist)
3 over-ice land traverses, Antarctica (co-chief scientist)
4 Airborne magnetic, land gravity, and land seismic surveys (co-chief scientist)
Professional Experience
1991-present Research geophysicist, USGS, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
2015-2019 Editor in Chief, Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth
1999-present Adjunct Scientist, The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2013-2016 Professor and Chairman, Department of Marine Geosciences, University of Haifa
2016-present Affiliate Professor, University of Haifa
Education and Certifications
1981-1986 Ph.D. Geological Sciences Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
1977-1980 B.Sc. Geology and Physics, The Hebrew University, Israel
1991-1996 Consulting Associate Professor, Stanford University
1987-1991 Post-doctoral scholar, Stanford University
1986-1987 Post-doctoral scholar, Tel Aviv University
Affiliations and Memberships*
Chairman, U.S.-Israel Bi-National Science Foundation panel for Earth and Atmospheric sciences, 2015
Member - Netherlands Science Foundation panel on Caribbean natural and social sciences, 2014
Member, ITU-WMO-UNESCO/IOC Joint Task Force on Submarine Cables for Tsunami Warnings and Scientific Research, 2013
Co-convenor, Workshop on landslide tsunami probability, 2011
Member, NSF panel evaluating the management structure of the ocean bottom seismometer facilities, 2011
Guest editor- Marine Geology "Assessment of tsunami hazards to the U.S. Atlantic coast", 2009
Honors and Awards
2016 – Fellow, American Geophysical Union
2010 – Senior Scientist (ST), Federal government
2007/8 – Distinguished Lecturer – Seismological Society of America/ IRIS
1996 - Fellow, Geological Society of America
1990 - Royal Society of New Zealand annual prize for Geophysics
Science and Products
Mysterious tsunami in the Caribbean Sea following the 2010 Haiti earthquake possibly generated by dynamically triggered early aftershocks
Dynamically triggered offshore aftershocks, caused by passing seismic waves from main shocks located on land, are currently not considered in tsunami warnings. The M7.0 2010 Haiti earthquake epicenter was located on land 27 km north of the Caribbean Sea and its focal mechanism was oblique strike-slip. Nevertheless, a tsunami recorded on a Caribbean Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (D
Along-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications
The North American (NOAM) plate converges with the Caribbean (CARIB) plate at a rate of 20.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr. towards 254 ± 1°. Plate convergence is highly oblique (20–10°), resulting in a complex crustal boundary with along-strike segmentation, strain partitioning and microplate tectonics. We study the oblique convergence of the NOAM and CARIB plates between southeastern Cuba to northern Puerto Rico
Semi-automated bathymetric spectral decomposition delineates the impact of mass wasting on the morphological evolution of the continental slope, offshore Israel
Offshore landslide hazard curves from mapped landslide size distributions
Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, southeastern Alaska
The Queen Charlotte Fault defines the Pacific–North America transform plate boundary in western Canada and southeastern Alaska for c. 900 km. The entire length of the fault is submerged along a continental margin dominated by Quaternary glacial processes, yet the geomorphology along the margin has never been systematically examined due to the absence of high-resolution seafloor mapping data. Hence
Deformation of the Pacific/North America plate boundary at Queen Charlotte Fault: The possible role of rheology
Geologic evidence for catastrophic marine inundation in 1200–1480 C.E. near the Puerto Rico Trench at Anegada, British Virgin Islands
Geologic controls on submarine slope failure along the central U.S. Atlantic margin: Insights from the Currituck Slide Complex
Overview of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission collaborative research program to assess tsunami hazard for nuclear power plants on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Observations of seismicity and ground motion in the northeast U.S. Atlantic margin from ocean bottom seismometer data
Pockmark asymmetry and seafloor currents in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil
Geology and hydrocarbon potential of the Dead Sea Rift Basins of Israel and Jordan
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Mysterious tsunami in the Caribbean Sea following the 2010 Haiti earthquake possibly generated by dynamically triggered early aftershocks
Dynamically triggered offshore aftershocks, caused by passing seismic waves from main shocks located on land, are currently not considered in tsunami warnings. The M7.0 2010 Haiti earthquake epicenter was located on land 27 km north of the Caribbean Sea and its focal mechanism was oblique strike-slip. Nevertheless, a tsunami recorded on a Caribbean Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (D
Along-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications
The North American (NOAM) plate converges with the Caribbean (CARIB) plate at a rate of 20.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr. towards 254 ± 1°. Plate convergence is highly oblique (20–10°), resulting in a complex crustal boundary with along-strike segmentation, strain partitioning and microplate tectonics. We study the oblique convergence of the NOAM and CARIB plates between southeastern Cuba to northern Puerto Rico
Semi-automated bathymetric spectral decomposition delineates the impact of mass wasting on the morphological evolution of the continental slope, offshore Israel
Offshore landslide hazard curves from mapped landslide size distributions
Slope failure and mass transport processes along the Queen Charlotte Fault, southeastern Alaska
The Queen Charlotte Fault defines the Pacific–North America transform plate boundary in western Canada and southeastern Alaska for c. 900 km. The entire length of the fault is submerged along a continental margin dominated by Quaternary glacial processes, yet the geomorphology along the margin has never been systematically examined due to the absence of high-resolution seafloor mapping data. Hence
Deformation of the Pacific/North America plate boundary at Queen Charlotte Fault: The possible role of rheology
Geologic evidence for catastrophic marine inundation in 1200–1480 C.E. near the Puerto Rico Trench at Anegada, British Virgin Islands
Geologic controls on submarine slope failure along the central U.S. Atlantic margin: Insights from the Currituck Slide Complex
Overview of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission collaborative research program to assess tsunami hazard for nuclear power plants on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Observations of seismicity and ground motion in the northeast U.S. Atlantic margin from ocean bottom seismometer data
Pockmark asymmetry and seafloor currents in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil
Geology and hydrocarbon potential of the Dead Sea Rift Basins of Israel and Jordan
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government