Thread: Mendenhall Postdoctoral Opportunity: The relation of earthquake stress drop to source physics and ground motion

Started: 2018-11-29 17:35:13
Last activity: 2018-11-29 17:35:13
*Mendenhall Postdoctoral Opportunity: The relation of earthquake stress
drop to source physics and ground motion*



We seek a postdoctoral fellow to focus on earthquake stress drops in order
to reduce uncertainty in measurements and more fully understand the
energetics of earthquake rupture. Stress drop is one of the largest sources
of uncertainty in ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs), and by
improving the resolution of stress drops we can reduce the uncertainty in
key USGS products such as ShakeMap and early warning alerts. The research
effort will be largely determined by the postdoctoral fellow’s background
and interests, but should align broadly with USGS Earthquake Hazards
Program priorities. Potential areas of research may include: 1) The
relation of stress drop to source properties (i.e., geometry, area, depth,
mechanism, pore pressure, etc.), 2) Exploration of stress drop as a control
on ground motion parameters that are important to hazard, and 3) Comparison
of stress drops derived using a range of methodologies and rigorously
assess uncertainties in the measured source parameters.



*Research Advisor(s):* Elizabeth Cochran, (626) 583-7238, ecochran<at>usgs.gov;
Annemarie Baltay, (650) 329-4759, abaltay<at>usgs.gov; Jeff McGuire,
(650)-329-5153, jmcguire<at>usgs.gov; Oliver Boyd, (303) 273-8617,
olboyd<at>usgs.gov; Morgan Moschetti (303) 273-8464, mmoschetti<at>usgs.gov; and
Dan McNamara (303) 273-8550, mcnamara<at>usgs.gov



*Location:* Pasadena, CA or Menlo Park, CA



*URL:* https://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/opps/2019/17-2%20Cochran.htm



*Application Deadline:* 18 January 2019


Elizabeth S Cochran, PhD
Research Geophysicist
Earthquake Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
525 S. Wilson Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106
626-583-7238
ecochran<at>usgs.gov

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