Contact
AEG SacramentoSacramento Association of Engineering and Environmental Geologists
916-464-4636
aegsacto@gmail.com
AEG February Meeting: Jahn's Lecturer
Characterizing Fault Displacement Hazards: Significant Progress and Significant Uncertainties
Scott Lindvall, Jahn's Distinguished Lecturer
Lettis Consultants, International
lindvall@lettisci.com
Abstract
This talk will focus on the different methods and underlying data used to develop probabilistic and deterministic fault displacement estimates and well as our understanding of fault behavior (slip rate, magnitude, and recurrence) and the uncertainties associated with fault behavior and observations of historic fault slip. The presentation will also raise critical questions regarding both methodologies and design criteria used for infrastructure projects in light of these uncertainties.
Speaker Bio
Scott received his BS in Geology from Stanford University in 1984 and his MS in Geology from San Diego State University in 1988. Dick Jahns was Scott’s undergraduate advisor at Stanford, which makes this award especially meaningful to him. He has spent the majority of his career working for consulting firms specializing in seismic hazards and engineering geology. He currently manages the Lettis Consultants International southern California office, and prior, worked many years at both William Lettis & Associates, and Lindvall, Richter & Associates.
His interest in geology came at a young age growing up in the Transverse Ranges of southern California. His geologist father, Eric Lindvall, helped instill an appreciation of the outdoors (and therefore geology) and was later instrumental in shaping Scott’s career. His interest in earthquakes was triggered at nine years old in the early morning hours of February 7, 1971 with the M6.6 San Fernando earthquake. Experiencing strong ground shaking from the main shock and several large aftershocks in the epicentral region, while dust was slowly rising from rock falls in the surrounding canyons, left a lasting impression.
Scott has performed detailed mapping of surface ruptures of earthquakes in southern California and Turkey, including the 1986 M6.6 Superstition Hills, 1992 M7.3 Landers, 1999 M7.4 zmit (Kocaeli), 1999 M7.1 Düzce, and the 1999 M7.1 Hector Mine earthquake ruptures. Scott’s experience in neotectonics, paleoseismology, and geomorphology has enabled him to pursue research projects designed to better quantify the timing of past events, slip rate, surface displacement, and style of deformation on active strike-slip and reverse faults throughout southern California. He has been awarded over a dozen research grants funded by the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC). These studies include paleoseismic investigations of the Sierra Madre, Hollywood, Simi, Red Mountain, and San Andreas faults in Los Angeles and the Transverse Ranges, the Rose Canyon fault in San Diego, and the numerous faults in the Eastern California Shear Zone that ruptured in the 1992 Landers and 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes.
Scott has directed geologic evaluations and seismic source characterizations in a variety of tectonic environments ranging from active plate boundaries to stable cratons. He served on the Technical Integration Team for a multi-year study sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, US Department of Energy, and the Electric Power Research Institute to develop the Central and Eastern United States Seismic Source Characterization for Nuclear Facilities, which has served as the regional seismic source model for hazard evaluations of nuclear facilities since its publication in 2012. Scott has also served on the advisory committee of the Earthquake-Induced Landslides Working Group for the California Geological Survey’s (CGS) Seismic Hazards Mapping Program and, more recently, the CGS Special Publication 42 Advisory Panel to update the regulatory guidance on assessing fault rupture hazards in California.
