William L Yeck, PhD
I am a seismologist at the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center, in Golden, Colorado. Much of my research is focused on operational tools that allow the National Earthquake Information Center to rapidly and accurately detect and model the source characteristics of earthquakes. I use these tools to better understand the seismotectonics of significant events.
Education:
2015 - Ph.D. in Geophysics, University of Colorado at Boulder
2008 - B.S. in Physics, Astronomy-Physics, (Minor in Archeology), University of Wisconsin - Madison
Publications:
Please visit my google scholar page for the most up-to-date list of my publications: Click Here
Science and Products
Improving Earthquake Monitoring with Deep Learning
Release Date: MARCH 12, 2021 On January 20, 2021 at 8:32am light shaking interrupted breakfast customers at a local coffee shop south of downtown Los Angeles, California. Everyone paused briefly while they waited to see if it was going to stop… or start shaking harder.
Filter Total Items: 13
Finite fault model of the 2025 Mw7.7 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), earthquake Finite fault model of the 2025 Mw7.7 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), earthquake
This data release complements the following publication: D.E. Goldberg and others (2025). Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk. Science 390, 458-462. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady3581 It contains the preferred model results published in the manuscript referenced above. It also contains the input data and model parameters...
Datasets documenting Surface Rupture from an Aftershock: Remote Observations from the January 2024 Wushi (Aykol) Earthquakes, China Datasets documenting Surface Rupture from an Aftershock: Remote Observations from the January 2024 Wushi (Aykol) Earthquakes, China
This data release provides shapefiles of surface rupture mapping, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, finite fault modeling inputs, parameters, and outputs, and optical image cross-correlation displacement data derived from high-resolution satellite imagery to accompany the manuscript “Thompson Jobe and others, Surface Rupture From an Aftershock: Remote Observations...
Slow Rupture, Long Rise Times, and Multi-fault Geometry: The 2020 M6.4 Southwestern Puerto Rico Mainshock (Supporting Information) Slow Rupture, Long Rise Times, and Multi-fault Geometry: The 2020 M6.4 Southwestern Puerto Rico Mainshock (Supporting Information)
This data release complements the following publication: Solares-Colón, M. M., Goldberg D.E., Melgar, D., Vanacore, E.A., Sahakian, V.J., Yeck, W.L., Hernandez, F., López-Venegas, A.M (2025). Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2024GL109740. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109740...
Supporting Data and Models for An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake? Supporting Data and Models for An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake?
This data release contains several input data and inversion output files used to model the October 19, 2020, Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake and tsunami. The broadband seismic data in this data release are from globally distributed seismometers from networks G (https://doi.org/10.18715/GEOSCOPE.G), GE (https://doi.org/10.14470/TR560404), GR (https://doi.org/10.25928/mbx6-hr74), GS...
Supporting Data and Models for Characterizing the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence Supporting Data and Models for Characterizing the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence
This data release pertains to the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence and complements the following publication: Goldberg, D.E. et al. (2023) Rapid Characterization of the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence, The Seismic Record. (xx), 1, doi: 10.1785/0320230009. Child Items "2023-02-06 Mw7.8 Pazarcık Earthquake Finite Fault Data and Model" and...
SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH) SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH)
This python code models event depths by comparing high-frequency (~0.5-0.04 Hz) teleseismic body-wave waveforms to synthetics. High-frequency body waves contain depth information, primarily in the form of depth phases. While lower frequencies are used to generate moment tensor solutions, high-frequency body waves allow for more accurate estimates of source depth. A moment tensor solution...
Filter Total Items: 40
Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake
The 29 July 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia, earthquake was the sixth largest instrumentally recorded earthquake. This event was seismically well observed at regional and teleseismic distances, but publicly available near‐source data were sparse at the time of the event, presenting unique challenges for rapid source and impact characterization. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National...
Authors
Harriet Zoe Yin, Kate E. Allstadt, William D Barnhart, Samantha Ann Clapp, Paul S. Earle, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Alex R. Grant, Matt Herman, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Sara K. McBride, Adam T. Ringler, Max Schneider, Eric M. Thompson, Nicholas van der Elst, David Wald, Dun Wang, Charles Worden, William L. Yeck
Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk
The 28 March 2025 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.7 earthquake in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), ruptured 475 kilometers of the Sagaing Fault, which was more than twice the length predicted by magnitude scaling relationships. Kinematic slip models and observation of a Rayleigh Mach wave that passed through parts of Thailand confirmed that rupture occurred at supershear velocities of greater than 5...
Authors
Dara Elyse Goldberg, William L. Yeck, Catherine Elise Hanagan, James William Atterholt, Haiyang Liam Kehoe, Nadine G. Reitman, William D. Barnhart, David R. Shelly, Alexandra Elise Hatem, David Wald, Paul S. Earle
Estimating earthquake source depth using teleseismic broadband waveform modeling at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center Estimating earthquake source depth using teleseismic broadband waveform modeling at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center
The U.S. Geologic Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) monitors global seismicity, producing a catalog of earthquake source parameters in near-real-time to provide information that can help mitigate the societal impact of earthquakes. The NEIC commonly relies on teleseismic observations to constrain earthquake source parameters (e.g., location, depth, magnitude, and...
Authors
William L. Yeck, Robert B. Herrmann, John Patton, William D. Barnhart, Harley M. Benz
Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock
The M6.4 mainshock of the southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence on 7 January 2020, was one of the most impactful modern earthquakes in the northeastern Caribbean. Due to its offshore location and complex aftershock distribution, its source kinematics remain poorly constrained. This active sequence illuminated a complex set of previously unrecognized structures that indicate multiple...
Authors
Margarita M. Solares-Colón, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Diego Melgar, Elizabeth A. Vanacore, Valerie J. Sahakian, William L. Yeck, Francisco Hernández, Alberto Lopez-Venegas
An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake? An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake?
On October 19, 2020, the Mw7.6 Sand Point earthquake struck south of the Shumagin Islands in Alaska. Moment tensors indicate the earthquake was primarily strike-slip, yet the event produced an enigmatic tsunami that was larger and more widespread than expected for an earthquake of that magnitude and mechanism. Using a suite of hydrodynamic, seismic, and geodetic modeling techniques, we...
Authors
Sean R. Santellanes, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Pablo Koch, Diego Melgar, William L. Yeck, Brendan W. Crowell, Jiun-Ting Lin
Surface-wave relocation and characterization of the October 2023 tsunamigenic seismic unrest near Sofugan volcano, Izu Islands, Japan Surface-wave relocation and characterization of the October 2023 tsunamigenic seismic unrest near Sofugan volcano, Izu Islands, Japan
A moderate-magnitude earthquake swarm occurred in the remote Izu Islands region of Japan between October 1 and 8, 2023. The swarm included 151 shallow earthquakes cataloged by the U.S. Geological Survey, which notably included a roughly 2.5-hr episode of 15 successive magnitude (M) 5.5 earthquakes. Origin times were coincident with regionally recorded tsunami waves, but tsunamigenesis...
Authors
Chanel Ashlie Deane, J.D. Pesicek, Stephanie Prejean, Paul S. Earle, David R. Shelly, William L. Yeck
neic-supershear-analysis neic-supershear-analysis
NEIC Supershear Analysis This software evalutes potential supershear ruptures by attempting to detect a Rayleigh Mach wave. It follows the work of Valle and Dunham (2012): Vallée, M., and E. M. Dunham (2012), Observation of far-field Mach waves generated by the 2001 Kokoxili supershear earthquake, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L05311, doi:10.1029/2011GL050725. Long-period observations of...
SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH) SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH)
This python code models event depths by comparing high-frequency (~0.5-0.04 Hz) teleseismic body-wave waveforms to synthetics. High-frequency body waves contain depth information, primarily in the form of depth phases. While lower frequencies are used to generate moment tensor solutions, high-frequency body waves allow for more accurate estimates of source depth. A moment tensor solution...
neic-machine-learning neic-machine-learning
NEIC Machine Learning Applications contains various seismic machine learning algorithms developed and used by by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center. These algorithms apply machine learning techniques to seismic processing problems such as seismic phase classification, source-receiver distance classification, and seismic wave arrival time repicking...
neic-glass3 neic-glass3
neic-glass3 is an open source and platform independent seismic event detection and association algorithm developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) and Caryl Erin Johnson, PhD, Introspective Systems LLC. This algorithm converts a time series of seismic phase arrival times, back azimuth estimates from array beams, and cross...
Science and Products
Improving Earthquake Monitoring with Deep Learning
Release Date: MARCH 12, 2021 On January 20, 2021 at 8:32am light shaking interrupted breakfast customers at a local coffee shop south of downtown Los Angeles, California. Everyone paused briefly while they waited to see if it was going to stop… or start shaking harder.
Filter Total Items: 13
Finite fault model of the 2025 Mw7.7 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), earthquake Finite fault model of the 2025 Mw7.7 Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), earthquake
This data release complements the following publication: D.E. Goldberg and others (2025). Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk. Science 390, 458-462. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady3581 It contains the preferred model results published in the manuscript referenced above. It also contains the input data and model parameters...
Datasets documenting Surface Rupture from an Aftershock: Remote Observations from the January 2024 Wushi (Aykol) Earthquakes, China Datasets documenting Surface Rupture from an Aftershock: Remote Observations from the January 2024 Wushi (Aykol) Earthquakes, China
This data release provides shapefiles of surface rupture mapping, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, finite fault modeling inputs, parameters, and outputs, and optical image cross-correlation displacement data derived from high-resolution satellite imagery to accompany the manuscript “Thompson Jobe and others, Surface Rupture From an Aftershock: Remote Observations...
Slow Rupture, Long Rise Times, and Multi-fault Geometry: The 2020 M6.4 Southwestern Puerto Rico Mainshock (Supporting Information) Slow Rupture, Long Rise Times, and Multi-fault Geometry: The 2020 M6.4 Southwestern Puerto Rico Mainshock (Supporting Information)
This data release complements the following publication: Solares-Colón, M. M., Goldberg D.E., Melgar, D., Vanacore, E.A., Sahakian, V.J., Yeck, W.L., Hernandez, F., López-Venegas, A.M (2025). Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2024GL109740. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109740...
Supporting Data and Models for An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake? Supporting Data and Models for An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake?
This data release contains several input data and inversion output files used to model the October 19, 2020, Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake and tsunami. The broadband seismic data in this data release are from globally distributed seismometers from networks G (https://doi.org/10.18715/GEOSCOPE.G), GE (https://doi.org/10.14470/TR560404), GR (https://doi.org/10.25928/mbx6-hr74), GS...
Supporting Data and Models for Characterizing the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence Supporting Data and Models for Characterizing the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence
This data release pertains to the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence and complements the following publication: Goldberg, D.E. et al. (2023) Rapid Characterization of the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, Earthquake Sequence, The Seismic Record. (xx), 1, doi: 10.1785/0320230009. Child Items "2023-02-06 Mw7.8 Pazarcık Earthquake Finite Fault Data and Model" and...
SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH) SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH)
This python code models event depths by comparing high-frequency (~0.5-0.04 Hz) teleseismic body-wave waveforms to synthetics. High-frequency body waves contain depth information, primarily in the form of depth phases. While lower frequencies are used to generate moment tensor solutions, high-frequency body waves allow for more accurate estimates of source depth. A moment tensor solution...
Filter Total Items: 40
Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake
The 29 July 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia, earthquake was the sixth largest instrumentally recorded earthquake. This event was seismically well observed at regional and teleseismic distances, but publicly available near‐source data were sparse at the time of the event, presenting unique challenges for rapid source and impact characterization. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National...
Authors
Harriet Zoe Yin, Kate E. Allstadt, William D Barnhart, Samantha Ann Clapp, Paul S. Earle, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Alex R. Grant, Matt Herman, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Sara K. McBride, Adam T. Ringler, Max Schneider, Eric M. Thompson, Nicholas van der Elst, David Wald, Dun Wang, Charles Worden, William L. Yeck
Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk
The 28 March 2025 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.7 earthquake in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), ruptured 475 kilometers of the Sagaing Fault, which was more than twice the length predicted by magnitude scaling relationships. Kinematic slip models and observation of a Rayleigh Mach wave that passed through parts of Thailand confirmed that rupture occurred at supershear velocities of greater than 5...
Authors
Dara Elyse Goldberg, William L. Yeck, Catherine Elise Hanagan, James William Atterholt, Haiyang Liam Kehoe, Nadine G. Reitman, William D. Barnhart, David R. Shelly, Alexandra Elise Hatem, David Wald, Paul S. Earle
Estimating earthquake source depth using teleseismic broadband waveform modeling at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center Estimating earthquake source depth using teleseismic broadband waveform modeling at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center
The U.S. Geologic Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) monitors global seismicity, producing a catalog of earthquake source parameters in near-real-time to provide information that can help mitigate the societal impact of earthquakes. The NEIC commonly relies on teleseismic observations to constrain earthquake source parameters (e.g., location, depth, magnitude, and...
Authors
William L. Yeck, Robert B. Herrmann, John Patton, William D. Barnhart, Harley M. Benz
Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock Slow rupture, long rise times, and multi-fault geometry: The 2020 M6.4 southwestern Puerto Rico mainshock
The M6.4 mainshock of the southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence on 7 January 2020, was one of the most impactful modern earthquakes in the northeastern Caribbean. Due to its offshore location and complex aftershock distribution, its source kinematics remain poorly constrained. This active sequence illuminated a complex set of previously unrecognized structures that indicate multiple...
Authors
Margarita M. Solares-Colón, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Diego Melgar, Elizabeth A. Vanacore, Valerie J. Sahakian, William L. Yeck, Francisco Hernández, Alberto Lopez-Venegas
An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake? An unexplained tsunami: Was there megathrust slip during the 2020 Mw7.6 Sand Point, Alaska, earthquake?
On October 19, 2020, the Mw7.6 Sand Point earthquake struck south of the Shumagin Islands in Alaska. Moment tensors indicate the earthquake was primarily strike-slip, yet the event produced an enigmatic tsunami that was larger and more widespread than expected for an earthquake of that magnitude and mechanism. Using a suite of hydrodynamic, seismic, and geodetic modeling techniques, we...
Authors
Sean R. Santellanes, Dara Elyse Goldberg, Pablo Koch, Diego Melgar, William L. Yeck, Brendan W. Crowell, Jiun-Ting Lin
Surface-wave relocation and characterization of the October 2023 tsunamigenic seismic unrest near Sofugan volcano, Izu Islands, Japan Surface-wave relocation and characterization of the October 2023 tsunamigenic seismic unrest near Sofugan volcano, Izu Islands, Japan
A moderate-magnitude earthquake swarm occurred in the remote Izu Islands region of Japan between October 1 and 8, 2023. The swarm included 151 shallow earthquakes cataloged by the U.S. Geological Survey, which notably included a roughly 2.5-hr episode of 15 successive magnitude (M) 5.5 earthquakes. Origin times were coincident with regionally recorded tsunami waves, but tsunamigenesis...
Authors
Chanel Ashlie Deane, J.D. Pesicek, Stephanie Prejean, Paul S. Earle, David R. Shelly, William L. Yeck
neic-supershear-analysis neic-supershear-analysis
NEIC Supershear Analysis This software evalutes potential supershear ruptures by attempting to detect a Rayleigh Mach wave. It follows the work of Valle and Dunham (2012): Vallée, M., and E. M. Dunham (2012), Observation of far-field Mach waves generated by the 2001 Kokoxili supershear earthquake, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L05311, doi:10.1029/2011GL050725. Long-period observations of...
SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH) SYNthetic DEPTH Phase Modeling (SYNDEPTH)
This python code models event depths by comparing high-frequency (~0.5-0.04 Hz) teleseismic body-wave waveforms to synthetics. High-frequency body waves contain depth information, primarily in the form of depth phases. While lower frequencies are used to generate moment tensor solutions, high-frequency body waves allow for more accurate estimates of source depth. A moment tensor solution...
neic-machine-learning neic-machine-learning
NEIC Machine Learning Applications contains various seismic machine learning algorithms developed and used by by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center. These algorithms apply machine learning techniques to seismic processing problems such as seismic phase classification, source-receiver distance classification, and seismic wave arrival time repicking...
neic-glass3 neic-glass3
neic-glass3 is an open source and platform independent seismic event detection and association algorithm developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) and Caryl Erin Johnson, PhD, Introspective Systems LLC. This algorithm converts a time series of seismic phase arrival times, back azimuth estimates from array beams, and cross...