Calculating California seismicity rates
Karen R. Felzer
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1437-I
Empirically the rate of earthquakes = magnitude M is well fit by the Gutenberg-Richter relationship, logN=a-bM (1) where N is the number of earthquakes = M over a given time period, a is the number of M = 0 earthquakes over the same period, and b is a parameter that...
Monte Carlo method for determining earthquake recurrence parameters from short paleoseismic catalogs: Example calculations for California
Tom Parsons
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1437-C
Paleoearthquake observations often lack enough events at a given site to directly define a probability density function (PDF) for earthquake recurrence. Sites with fewer than 10-15 intervals do not provide enough information to reliably determine the shape of the PDF using standard maximum-likelihood techniques [e.g., Ellsworth et al., 1999]. In...
Recurrence interval and event age data for Type A faults
Timothy E. Dawson, Ray J. Weldon II, Glenn P. Biasi
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1437-B
This appendix summarizes available recurrence interval, event age, and timing of most recent event data for Type A faults considered in the Earthquake Rate Model 2 (ERM 2) and used in the ERM 2 Appendix C analysis as well as Appendix N (time-dependent probabilities). These data have been compiled into...
Development of final a-fault rupture models for WGCEP/ NSHMP Earthquake Rate Model 2
Edward H. Field, Ray J. Weldon II, Thomas Parsons, Chris J. Wills, Timothy E. Dawson, Ross S. Stein, Mark D. Petersen
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1437-G
This appendix discusses how we compute the magnitude and rate of earthquake ruptures for the seven Type-A faults (Elsinore, Garlock, San Jacinto, S. San Andreas, N. San Andreas, Hayward-Rodgers Creek, and Calaveras) in the WGCEP/NSHMP Earthquake Rate Model 2 (referred to as ERM 2. hereafter). By definition, Type-A faults are...
United States National Seismic Hazard Maps
M.D. Petersen, and others
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3017
The U.S. Geological Survey?s maps of earthquake shaking hazards provide information essential to creating and updating the seismic design provisions of building codes and insurance rates used in the United States. Periodic revisions of these maps incorporate the results of new research. Buildings, bridges, highways, and utilities built to meet...
Modified Mercalli Intensity Maps for the 1868 Hayward Earthquake Plotted in ShakeMap Format
John Boatwright, Howard Bundock
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1121
To construct the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) ShakeMap for the 1868 Hayward earthquake, we started with two sets of damage descriptions and felt reports. The first set of 100 sites was compiled by A.A. Bullock in the Lawson (1908) report on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The second set of...
Monitoring indicators of harmful cyanobacteria in Texas
Richard L. Kiesling, Robin H. Gary, Marcus O. Gary
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3009
Harmful algal blooms can occur when certain types of microscopic algae grow quickly in water, forming visible patches that might harm the health of the environment, plants, or animals. In freshwater, species of Cyanobacteria (also known as bluegreen algae) are the dominant group of harmful, bloom-forming algae. When Cyanobacteria form...
2008 United States National Seismic Hazard Maps
M.D. Petersen, and others
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3018
The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated the National Seismic Hazard Maps by incorporating new seismic, geologic, and geodetic information on earthquake rates and associated ground shaking. The 2008 versions supersede those released in 1996 and 2002. These maps are the basis for seismic design provisions of building codes, insurance rate...
Ground-water quality data in the Central Eastside San Joaquin Basin 2006: Results from the California GAMA program
Matthew K. Landon, Kenneth Belitz
2008, Data Series 325
Ground-water quality in the approximately 1,695-square-mile Central Eastside study unit (CESJO) was investigated from March through June 2006 as part of the Statewide Basin Assessment Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Statewide Basin Assessment project was developed in response to the Groundwater Quality Monitoring...
Modeling Soil Moisture in the Mojave Desert
David M. Miller, Debra Hughson, Kevin M. Schmidt
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1100
The Mojave Desert is an arid region of southeastern California and parts of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah; the desert occupies more than 25,000 square miles (fig. 1). Ranging from below sea level to over 5,000 feet (1,524 m) in elevation, the Mojave Desert is considered a ?high desert.? On the...
Major and EDXRF Trace Element Chemical Analyses of Volcanic Rocks from Lassen Volcanic National Park and Vicinity, California
Michael A. Clynne, L.J.P. Muffler, D. F. Siems, J.E. Taggart Jr., Peggy Bruggman
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1091
This open-file report presents WDXRF major-element chemical data for late Pliocene to Holocene volcanic rocks collected from Lassen Volcanic National Park and vicinity, California. Data for Rb, Sr, Ba, Y, Zr, Nb, Ni, Cr, Zn and Cu obtained by EDXRF are included for many samples. Data are presented in an...
The Hayward Fault— Is it due for a repeat of the powerful 1868 earthquake?
Thomas M. Brocher, Jack Boatwright, James J. Lienkaemper, Carol S. Prentice, David P. Schwartz, Howard Bundock
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3019
On October 21, 1868, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay region. Although the region was then sparsely populated, this quake on the Hayward Fault was one of the most destructive in California's history. Recent studies show that such powerful Hayward Fault quakes have repeatedly jolted the region...
Forecasting California's earthquakes— What can we expect in the next 30 years?
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner, The 2007 Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3027
In a new comprehensive study, scientists have determined that the chance of having one or more magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquakes in the California area over the next 30 years is greater than 99%. Such quakes can be deadly, as shown by the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta and the...
Publications of the Volcano Hazards Program 2006
Manuel Nathenson
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1006
The Volcano Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is part of the Geologic Hazards Assessments subactivity as funded by Congressional appropriation. Investigations are carried out in the Geology and Hydrology Disciplines of the USGS and with cooperators at the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, University of...
Proceedings of a USGS Workshop on Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Along the U.S.-Mexico Border - Monitoring, Modeling, and Forecasting Change Within the Arizona-Sonora Transboundary Watersheds
Laura M. Norman, Derrick D. Hirsch, A. Wesley Ward
2008, Circular 1322
INTRODUCTION TO THE WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS Competition for water resources, habitats, and urban areas in the Borderlands has become an international concern. In the United States, Department of Interior Bureaus, Native American Tribes, and other State and Federal partners rely on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide unbiased science and leadership...
The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, version 2 (UCERF 2)
2007 Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities
2008, Open-File Report 2007-1437
California?s 35 million people live among some of the most active earthquake faults in the United States. Public safety demands credible assessments of the earthquake hazard to maintain appropriate building codes for safe construction and earthquake insurance for loss protection. Seismic hazard analysis begins with an earthquake rupture forecast?a model...
Sedimentation and occurrence and trends of selected nutrients, other chemical constituents, and diatoms in bottom sediment, Fall River Lake, southeast Kansas, 1948-2006
Kyle E. Juracek
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5019
A combination of available bathymetric-survey information and bottom-sediment coring was used to investigate sedimentation and the occurrence of selected nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), organic and total carbon, 25 trace elements, diatoms, and the radionuclide cesium-137 in the bottom sediment of Fall River Lake, southeast Kansas. The total estimated...
Initiation conditions for debris flows generated by runoff at Chalk Cliffs, central Colorado
Jeffrey A. Coe, David Kinner, Jonathan W. Godt
2008, Geomorphology (96) 270-297
We have monitored initiation conditions for six debris flows between May 2004 and July 2006 in a 0.3 km2 drainage basin at Chalk Cliffs; a band of hydrothermally-altered quartz monzonite in central Colorado. Debris flows were initiated by water runoff from colluvium and bedrock that entrained sediment from rills and channels with...
Preliminary Toxicological Analysis of the Effect of Coal Slurry Impoundment Water on Human Liver Cells
Joseph E. Bunnell
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1143
Coal is usually 'washed' with water and a variety of chemicals to reduce its content of sulfur and mineral matter. The 'washings' or 'coal slurry' derived from this process is a viscous black liquid containing fine particles of coal, mineral matter, and other dissolved and particulate substances. Coal slurry may...
Geochemical data for samples collected in 2007 near the concealed pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit, southwest Alaska
David L. Fey, Matthew Granitto, Stuart A. Giles, Steven M. Smith, Robert G. Eppinger, Karen D. Kelley
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1132
In the summer of 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began an exploration geochemical research study over the Pebble porphyry copper-gold-molydenum (Cu-Au-Mo) deposit in southwest Alaska. The Pebble deposit is extremely large and is almost entirely concealed by tundra, glacial deposits, and post-Cretaceous volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. The deposit is...
Effects of Land-Use Changes and Ground-Water Withdrawals on Stream Base Flow, Pocono Creek Watershed, Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Ronald A. Sloto
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5030
The Pocono Creek watershed drains 46.5 square miles in eastern Monroe County, Pa. Between 2000 and 2020, the population of Monroe County is expected to increase by 70 percent, which will result in substantial changes in land-use patterns. An evaluation of the effect of reduced recharge from land-use changes and...
Assessment of Undiscovered Oil Resources in the Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Formation, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2008
Richard M. Pollastro, Troy A. Cook, Laura N.R. Roberts, Christopher J. Schenk, Michael D. Lewan, Lawrence O. Anna, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Paul G. Lillis, Timothy R. Klett, Ronal R. Charpentier
2008, Fact Sheet 2008-3021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota....
Impacts of climate change and variability on transportation systems and infrastructure: Gulf Coast study, phase I
Michael J. Savonis, Virginia Burkett, Joanne R. Potter
2008, Book
Climate affects the design, construction, safety, operations, and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and systems. The prospect of a changing climate raises critical questions regarding how alterations in temperature, precipitation, storm events, and other aspects of the climate could affect the nation's roads, airports, rail, transit systems, pipelines, ports, and waterways....
Methods and sources of data used to develop selected water-quality indicators for streams and ground water for EPA's 2007 Report on the Environment: Science report
Nancy T. Baker, John T. Wilson, Michael J. Moran
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1096
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was one of numerous governmental agencies, private organizations, and the academic community that provided data and interpretations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report. This report documents the sources of data and methods used to develop selected water–quality indicators...
Modeling to Predict Escherichia coli at Presque Isle Beach 2, City of Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Tammy M. Zimmerman
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5039
The Lake Erie beaches in Pennsylvania are a valuable recreational resource for Erie County. Concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) at monitored beaches in Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pa., occasionally exceed the single-sample bathing-water standard of 235 colonies per 100 milliliters resulting in potentially unsafe swimming conditions and...
