Rapid characterization of the 2025 Mw 8.8 Kamchatka, Russia earthquake
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
2026, The Seismic Record (6) 1-12
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....
Capturing the uncertainty of seismicity observations in earthquake rate estimates: Implications for probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model
Andrew J. Michael, Andrea L. Llenos
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
The rate of earthquakes in a region is a fundamental input to Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis. We present a Monte Carlo method for computing that rate from seismicity catalogs while including a range of data and analysis uncertainties. This method is applied to regions for which the b value is assumed to...
USGS—An Unparalleled Scientific Asset
Shonte Jenkins, Emily Pindilli, David Applegate, Rachel E. Reagan
2025, General Information Product 263
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers information critical to powering our economy, managing our natural resources, and keeping Americans safe and healthy.1Mapping the Nation$21B Geologic maps save users an estimated 15% in annual costs: a value of between $14B and $21B.$25.6B is the annual value to users of key Earth observation platforms...
Spatio-temporal evolution of distributed volcanic fields, case studies—Sierra Chichinautzin and Michoacán-Guanajuato, México
Carmen Jaimes-Viera, Amiel Nieto-Torres, Ana Lillian Martin Del Pozzo, Aurelie Germa, Chuck Connor, Michael H. Ort, Paul Layer, Jeff Benowitz
2025, Professional Paper 1890-I
An analysis of 1,375 volcanoes in the Michoacán-Guanajuato (1,148 volcanoes in a 26,200 square-kilometer area) and Sierra Chichinautzin (227 volcanoes in a 3,500 square-kilometer area) volcanic fields in central Mexico identified patterns in the spatial and temporal distribution of past eruptions. A cluster agglomerative hierarchical method and kernel analysis confirmed...
Subduction zone earthquake catalog separation tool: Implementation in the USGS 2025 Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands National Seismic Hazard Model
Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, Gavin P. Hayes, David R. Shelly, Allison Shumway, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Peter M. Powers
2025, Seismological Research Letters
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) periodically releases updates to National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for the United States and its territories leveraging current scientific knowledge and methodologies to guide public policy, building codes, and risk assessments regarding potential ground shaking due to earthquakes...
Bathymetric and acoustic-backscatter mapping of Lake Sammamish, Washington, during USGS field activity 2021-656-FA
Peter Dartnell, Daniel S. Brothers, Brian Sherrod, Gerry A. Hatcher, Daniel C. Powers, Jenna C. Hill, Jackson E. Currie, Peter Dal Ferro
2025, Data Report 1207
In 2021, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acquired bathymetric and acoustic-backscatter data within Lake Sammamish, Washington. Mapping was completed to find evidence of past earthquakes such as underwater landslides and is part of a larger USGS project to understand the overall geologic hazards history of the Cascadia Margin...
Colored shaded-relief bathymetry and acoustic backscatter of Lake Sammamish, Washington
Peter Dartnell, Daniel S. Brothers, Brian Sherrod, Gerry A. Hatcher, Daniel C. Powers, Jenna C. Hill, Jackson E. Currie, Peter Dal Ferro
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3537
Evidence of strong earthquakes (such as underwater landslides and associated deposits) may be recorded within the lacustrine sediments of Pacific Northwest lakes. The floor of Lake Sammamish, Wash., an approximately 11 kilometer (6.8 mile) long, 2 kilometer (1.2 mile) wide, and 35 meter (114.8 feet) deep lake located in a...
ShakeAlert®—Communication, education, outreach and technical engagement strategic vision
Robert Michael deGroot, Sara K. McBride, Margaret J. Vinci, Gabriel C. Lotto, Megan L. Anderson, Danielle F. Sumy, Brian Terbush
2025, Circular 1561
Executive Summary In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began directly supporting ShakeAlert® research and in 2012 the ShakeAlert demonstration system began testing (Given and others, 2018). The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning (EEW) system is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the three West Coast States (Washington, Oregon,...
Three-dimensional seismic velocity model for the Cascadia Subduction Zone with shallow soils and topography, version 1.7
Erin A. Wirth, Alex R. Grant, Ian P. Stone, William J. Stephenson, Arthur D. Frankel
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1045
The U.S. Geological Survey’s seismic velocity model for the Cascadia Subduction Zone provides P- and S-wave velocity (VP and VS, respectively) information from 40.2° to 50.0° N. latitude and −129.0° to −121.0° W. longitude, and is used to support a variety of research topics, including three-dimensional (3D) earthquake simulations and...
Earthquake probabilities and hazards in the U.S. Pacific Northwest
Erin A. Wirth, Arthur D. Frankel, Brian Sherrod, Alex R. Grant, Audrey Dunham, Ian P. Stone, Julia Grossman
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3050
Earthquakes and their cascading consequences pose a significant threat to the people, environment, infrastructure, and economy of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest is susceptible to three types of earthquakes: deep (intraslab) earthquakes, subduction zone (megathrust) earthquakes, and shallow crustal earthquakes. For each of these earthquake types, earth scientists...
A scientific vision and roadmap for earthquake rupture forecast developments, a USGS perspective
Edward H. Field, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Bruce E. Shaw, Morgan T. Page, P. Martin Mai, Kevin Ross Milner, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Frederick Pollitz, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Thomas E. Parsons, Olaf Zielke, David R. Shelly, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Devin McPhillips, Richard W. Briggs, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Nico Luco, Mark D. Petersen, Peter M. Powers, Justin Rubinstein, Allison Shumway, Nicholas van der Elst, Yuehua Zeng, Christopher DuRoss, Jason M. Altekruse
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 2523-2552
We articulate a scientific vision and roadmap for the development of improved Earthquake Rupture Forecast models, which are one of the two main modeling components used in modern seismic hazard and risk analysis. One primary future objective is to provide fully time-dependent models that include both elastic rebound and...
Estimated average annualized tsunami losses for the United States
Anne Sheehan, Casey Zuzak, Nathan J. Wood, Doug Bausch, Cadie Goulette Yeager, Alice McDougall
2025, Report
Tsunami hazards are substantial threats to coastal communities across the United States (U.S.) and its territories. U.S. states and territories collaborate through the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to develop their own tsunami-hazard information for outreach and evacuation planning. An effort to curate this tsunami-hazard information to support comprehensive...
Estimating earthquake source depth using teleseismic broadband waveform modeling at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center
William L. Yeck, Robert B. Herrmann, John Patton, William D. Barnhart, Harley M. Benz
2025, Seismological Research Letters (96) 3643-3655
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...
Engineering and risk research—A strategic vision for extending USGS earthquake science to risk assessment and mitigation
Kishor S. Jaiswal, Sanaz Rezaeian, Nico Luco, N. Simon Kwong, Andrew James Makdisi, H. Benjamin Mason, Robert E. Chase, Zachary Alan Kortum
2025, Circular 1555
As a part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Hazards Mission Area, the Engineering and Risk Project (ERP) of the Geologic Hazards Science Center conducts civil engineering research to extend natural hazards science to risk assessments. The ERP includes predominantly, but not exclusively, staff funded by the USGS Earthquake...
Preliminary field report of landslide hazards following Hurricane Helene
Kate E. Allstadt, Sara K. McBride, Jonathan W. Godt, Stephen L. Slaughter, Kelli Wadsworth Baxstrom, Steven Sobieszczyk, Anna Stull
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1028
Executive SummaryThis report reflects our knowledge regarding the widespread landslide activity associated with Hurricane Helene observed during the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) mission assignment to North Carolina in October 2024. The material in this report was originally prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under mission assignment DR-4827-NC. The data...
2023 Earthquake Ground-Motion Workshop for the Central and Eastern United States, with a focus on the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains—Agenda and abstracts
Oliver S. Boyd, Julie A. Herrick, Ashly Cabas, Sean Kamran Ahdi
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5025
The U.S. Geological Survey held a virtual workshop December 7–8, 2023, to share research and ideas about earthquake ground motions in the Central and Eastern United States, with a focus on the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. The workshop was organized to learn about potential regionalization of ground-motion characteristics (source,...
Assessment of western Oregon debris-flow hazards in burned and unburned environments
Brittany Danielle Selander, Nancy C. Calhoun, William Burns, Jason W. Kean, Francis K. Rengers
2025, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (50)
In the steep and mountainous environment of western Oregon, debris flows pose a considerable threat to property, infrastructure and life. Wildfire is commonly known to increase the susceptibility of steep slopes to debris flows, but the extent of this process in the western Cascades is not well understood. The US...
Assessing earthquake risks to lifeline infrastructure systems in the United States
N. Simon Kwong, Kishor S. Jaiswal
2025, International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection (49)
The security and economic stability of the United States rely heavily on robust lifeline infrastructure systems and yet the risks to such systems are seldom quantified at the national scale. For example, while earthquake risks to buildings in the United States have been investigated at the national scale regularly, such...
Phase 1 technical implementation plan for the expansion of the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system to Alaska
Cecily J. Wolfe, Natalia A. Ruppert, Douglas D. Given, Michael E. West, Valerie Thomas, Jessica R. Murray, Ronni Grapenthin
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1003
Executive SummaryThe conference report accompanying the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 117–103) for the U.S. Department of the Interior and related agencies directed the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to “work with the State of Alaska to develop an implementation plan to be completed within two years...
Geologic map of the Buckner 7.5-Minute quadrangle, Louisa County, Virginia
Mark W. Carter, David B. Spears, Virginia M. Latane, E. Allen Crider Jr., Benjamin R. Weinmann, Holly Mangum, Ryan J. McAleer, J. Wright Horton, Jr., Anjana K. Shah, Sean P. Regan
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3533
The Buckner 7.5-minute quadrangle straddles three terrane boundaries in the Piedmont Physiographic Province in central Virginia: the Chopawamsic terrane, the Elk Hill Complex, and the Goochland terrane. In much of the map area, the Elk Hill Complex separates the Chopawamsic and Goochland terranes. Rocks of the Chopawamsic terrane include Ordovician...
Local, regional, and distal recordings of seismic unrest at Tau Island volcano, American Samoa
Aaron Wech, Matthew M. Haney, Jefferson Chang, A.D. Jolly, Clara Yoon, Robert J. Skoumal
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology (87)
A seismic swarm near Taʻū Island, a volcanic island in eastern American Samoa, occurred from July to October 2022. The earliest unrest was noted as felt shaking reports in late July, and instrumentation varied in the beginning of the sequence as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory responded...
ShakeAlert® version 3: Expected performance in large earthquakes
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Carl W. Ulberg, Angela I. Lux, Maren Bose, J.R. Andrews, Deborah Smith, B. Crowell, Jessica R. Murray, I. Henson, R. Hartog, C. Felizardo, Minh Huynh, M. Aranha, Grace Alexandra Parker, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Mark Hunter Murray, Glenn Biasi, Stephen Guiwits, Jessie K. Saunders, Andrew D. Good, V. Marcelo Santillan, C.W. Scrivener, Walter M. Szeliga, Timothy I. Melbourne, Victor Kress, Robert M. de Groot, Sara K. McBride, Douglas D. Given, Richard Allen, Thomas H. Heaton, Allen L. Husker, Valerie Thomas, Harold Tobin, Sumant Jha, Julian Bunn
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 533-561
The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning (EEW) system partners along with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) licensed operators deliver EEW alerts to the public and trigger automated systems when a significant earthquake is expected to impact California, Oregon, or Washington. ShakeAlert’s primary goal is to provide usable warning times before the arrival...
Mapping bedrock outcrops in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California, USA) using machine learning
Apoorva Ramesh Shastry, Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Brian Coltin, Jonathan D. Stock
2025, Remote Sensing (17)
Accurate, high-resolution maps of bedrock outcrops can be valuable for applications such as models of land–atmosphere interactions, mineral assessments, ecosystem mapping, and hazard mapping. The increasing availability of high-resolution imagery can be coupled with machine learning techniques to improve regional bedrock outcrop maps. In the United States, the existing 30...
Map of topographic lineaments interpreted as recent surface ruptures along the Bennett Valley and Southern Maacama Fault Zones, Sonoma County, California
Suzanne Hecker
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3529
This study documents lidar-illuminated topographic lineaments interpreted as evidence of recent surface fault ruptures and surface ruptures related to distributed deformation along the Bennett Valley Fault Zone and the southernmost Maacama Fault Zone in the northern San Francisco Bay area (fig. 1, on map sheet). Together, these fault zones form...
SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study: How spectral fitting approaches influence measured source parameters
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Shanna Chu, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Dino Bindi, X. Chen, Grace Alexandra Parker, Colin Pennington, Peter M. Shearer, Daniel T. Trugman
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 760-776
Spectral source parameters used to estimate an earthquake’s stress drop (Δσ) can vary significantly across measurement approaches. The Statewide California Earthquake Center/U.S. Geological Survey Community Stress-Drop Validation Study was initiated to compare source parameter estimates, focusing initially on a dataset from the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. As part of that...
