Geology topics

Jennifer S. Haase

Publications and source records attributed to Jennifer S. Haase.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2013

Crustal structure and fault geometry of the 2010 Haiti earthquake from temporary seismometer deployments

Haiti has been the locus of a number of large and damaging historical earthquakes. The recent 12 January 2010 Mw 7.0 earthquake affected cities that were largely unprepared, which resulted in tremendous losses. It was initially assumed that the earthquake ruptured the Enriquillo Plantain Garden fault (EPGF), a major active structure in southern Haiti, known from geodetic measurements and its geomorphic expression to be capable of producing M 7 or larger earthquakes. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data, however, showed that the event ruptured a previously unmapped fault, the Léogâne fault, a north‐dipping oblique transpressional fault located immediately north of the EPGF. Following the earthquake, several groups installed temporary seismic stations to record aftershocks, including ocean‐bottom seismometers on either side of the EPGF. We use data from the complete set of stations deployed after the event, on land and offshore, to relocate all aftershocks from 10 February to 24 June 2010, determine a 1D regional crustal velocity model, and calculate focal mechanisms. The aftershock locations from the combined dataset clearly delineate the Léogâne fault, with a geometry close to that inferred from geodetic data. Its strike and dip closely agree with the global centroid moment tensor solution of the mainshock but with a steeper dip than inferred from previous finite fault inversions. The aftershocks also delineate a structure with shallower southward dip offshore and to the west of the rupture zone, which could indicate triggered seismicity on the offshore Trois Baies reverse fault. We use first‐motion focal mechanisms to clarify the relationship of the fault geometry to the triggered aftershocks.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

USGS2011

Liquefaction hazard for the region of Evansville, Indiana

We calculated liquefaction potential index for a grid of sites in the Evansville, Indiana area for two scenario earthquakes-a magnitude 7.7 in the New Madrid seismic zone and a M6.8 in the Wabash Valley seismic zone. For the latter event, peak ground accelerations range from 0.13 gravity to 0.81 gravity, sufficiently high to be of concern for liquefaction. Recently acquired cone-penetrometer test data at 58 sites were used to estimate the factor of safety against liquefaction and liquefaction potential index at each site. To extend the estimation of liquefaction hazard to a grid of sites in the area, the soil columns at these grid sites were divided into three categories, and for each category a sufficient number of cone-penetrometer test sites were available to characterize statistically each group's cone-penetrometer test tip resistance and sleeve friction. At each grid site, Monte Carlo sampling was used to generate values for these two parameters at 2-meter intervals for depths down to 20 meters or bedrock. The groundwater table at each grid site was likewise sampled from a mean value and group-dependent standard deviation. For each grid site, 25,000 realizations of the soil profile were generated and a probability distribution of liquefaction potential index values was obtained. Maps of liquefaction hazard for each scenario earthquake present (1) Mean liquefaction potential index at each site, and (2) Probabilities that liquefaction potential index values exceed 5 (threshold for expression of surface liquefaction) and 12 (threshold for lateral spreading). Values for the liquefaction potential index are high in the River alluvium group, where the soil profiles are predominantly sand, while values in the Lacustrine terrace group are lower, owing to the predominance of clay. Liquefaction potential index values in the Outwash terrace group are less consistent because the soil profiles contain highly variable sequences of silty sand, clayey sand, and sandy clay, justifying the use of the Monte Carlo procedure to capture the consequences of this complexity.

Evansville, Indiana↗

USGS2011

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment including site effects for Evansville, Indiana, and the surrounding region

We provide a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for the Evansville, Indiana region incorporating information from new surficial geologic mapping efforts on the part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Kentucky and Indiana State Geological Surveys, as well as information on the thickness and properties of near surface soils and their associated uncertainties. The subsurface information has been compiled to determine bedrock elevation and reference depth-dependent shear-wave velocity models for the different soil types. The probabilistic seismic hazard calculation applied here follows the method used for the 2008 U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Maps, with modifications to incorporate estimates of local site conditions and their uncertainties, in a completely probabilistic manner. The resulting analysis shows strong local variations of acceleration with 2 percent probability of exceedance in 50 years, particularly for 0.2-second (s) period spectral acceleration (SA), that are clearly correlated with variations in the thickness of unconsolidated soils above bedrock. These values are much greater than the USGS national seismic hazard map values, which assume B/C site conditions. When compared to the national maps with an assumed uniform site D class amplification factor applied, the high-resolution seismic hazard maps have higher amplitudes for peak ground acceleration and 0.2-s SA for most of the map region. However, deamplification relative to the D class national seismic hazard maps appears to play an important role within the limits of the ancient bedrock valley underlying Evansville where soils are thickest. For 1.0-s SA, the new high-resolution seismic hazard maps show levels consistent with D class site response within the limits of this ancient bedrock valley, but levels consistent with B/C site conditions outside.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2011

Earthquake scenario ground motions for the urban area of Evansville, Indiana

The Wabash Valley seismic zone and the New Madrid seismic zone are the closest large earthquake source zones to Evansville, Indiana. The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, over 180 kilometers (km) from Evansville, produced ground motions with a Modified Mercalli Intensity of VII near Evansville, the highest intensity observed in Indiana. Liquefaction evidence has been documented less than 40 km away from Evansville resulting from two large earthquakes in the past 12,000 years in the Wabash Valley. Two earthquake scenarios are described in this paper that demonstrate the expected ground motions for a 33×42-km region around Evansville based on a repeat earthquake from each of these source regions. We perform a one-dimensional analysis for a grid of sites that takes into account the amplification or deamplification of ground motion in the unconsolidated soil layer using a new three-dimensional model of seismic velocity and bedrock depth. There are significant differences in the calculated amplification from that expected for National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program site class D conditions, with deamplification at many locations within the ancient bedrock valley underlying Evansville. Ground motions relative to the acceleration of gravity (g) in the Evansville area from a simulation of a magnitude (M) 7.7 New Madrid earthquake range from 0.15 to 0.25 g for peak ground acceleration, 0.14 to 0.7 g for 0.2-second (s) spectral acceleration, and 0.05 to 0.25 g for 1.0-s spectral acceleration. Ground motions from a M6.8 Wabash Valley earthquake centered 40 km northwest of the city produce ground motions that decrease with distance from 1.5 to 0.3 g for 0.2-s spectral acceleration when they reach the main part of Evansville, but then increase in amplitude from 0.3 to 0.6 g south of the city and the Ohio River. The densest urbanization in Evansville and Henderson, Ky., is within the area of preferential amplification at 1.0-s period for both scenarios, but the area experiences relatively less amplification than surrounding areas at 0.2 s, consistent with expected resonance periods based on the soil profiles.

Indiana↗