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James H. Luetgert

Publications and source records attributed to James H. Luetgert.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2015

Strong-motion observations of the M 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake sequence and development of the N-shake strong-motion network

We present and describe strong-motion data observations from the 2015 M 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake sequence collected using existing and new Quake-Catcher Network (QCN) and U.S. Geological Survey NetQuakes sensors located in the Kathmandu Valley. A comparison of QCN data with waveforms recorded by a conventional strong-motion (NetQuakes) instrument validates the QCN data. We present preliminary analysis of spectral accelerations, and peak ground acceleration and velocity for earthquakes up to M 7.3 from the QCN stations, as well as preliminary analysis of the mainshock recording from the NetQuakes station. We show that mainshock peak accelerations were lower than expected and conclude the Kathmandu Valley experienced a pervasively nonlinear response during the mainshock. Phase picks from the QCN and NetQuakes data are also used to improve aftershock locations. This study confirms the utility of QCN instruments to contribute to ground-motion investigations and aftershock response in regions where conventional instrumentation and open-access seismic data are limited. Initial pilot installations of QCN instruments in 2014 are now being expanded to create the Nepal–Shaking Hazard Assessment for Kathmandu and its Environment (N-SHAKE) network.

Seismological Research Letters↗
USGS2015

Causal factors for seismicity near Azle, Texas

In November 2013, a series of earthquakes began along a mapped ancient fault system near Azle, Texas. Here we assess whether it is plausible that human activity caused these earthquakes. Analysis of both lake and groundwater variations near Azle shows that no significant stress changes were associated with the shallow water table before or during the earthquake sequence. In contrast, pore-pressure models demonstrate that a combination of brine production and wastewater injection near the fault generated subsurface pressures sufficient to induce earthquakes on near-critically stressed faults. On the basis of modelling results and the absence of historical earthquakes near Azle, brine production combined with wastewater disposal represent the most likely cause of recent seismicity near Azle. For assessing the earthquake cause, our research underscores the necessity of monitoring subsurface wastewater formation pressures and monitoring earthquakes having magnitudes of ∼ M2 and greater. Currently, monitoring at these levels is not standard across Texas or the United States.

Nature Communications↗
USGS2012

Group takes a fresh look at the lithosphere underneath southern Kenya

Since the turn of the century the well-developed Kenya rift has been a crucial location for studying the interrelationships between extension, uplift, and magmatism. In 1989–1990, an experiment conducted by the Kenya Rift International Seismic Project (KRISP) focused on the central and northern portions of Kenya (Figure 1) and provided a rich base of information regarding the structure and evolution of the rift, which answered many key questions and raised others. Does the crust thin to the south of the Kenya dome as it does to the north?, and if it does, which crustal layer would be mainly affected? How is the Chyulu Hills Quaternary volcanism related to the rifting process? What is the relationship between the crust and lithospheric mantle during extension?

East African Rift, Great Rift Valley, Gregory Rift↗
USGS2012

The seismic velocity structure of the Newfoundland Appalachian orogen

The deep structure of the Newfoundland Appalachian orogen is investigated by analyses of three intersecting seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles which traverse the Gander and Dunnage zones or central mobile belt of Newfoundland. A simultaneous travel time inversion for velocity and interface was applied to the in-line seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection data and constrained by synthetic amplitude models. The results of the modeling procedure show a subhorizontally layered crust with upper crustal velocities ranging from 5.4 to 6.2 km/s, a midcrustal velocity of 6.25–6.35 km/s, and a lower crustal velocity of 6.7±0.2 km/s. The top of the lower crust is marked by a series of prominent reflections between 18 and 23 km depth which suggest a complex layered velocity interface. Strong laterally coherent Moho reflections indicate a sharp crust-mantle transition at 35 ± 3 km. The uppermost mantle has a velocity of 8.0±0.2 km/s, and a reflecting horizon at 55 km depth suggests an increase to velocities approaching 8.5 km/s. Normal moveout corrections applied to fan profiles provide constraining evidence for the reflecting horizon at the top of the lower crust and laterally continuous Moho reflections at 11–12 s two-way travel time. Comparisons with a coincident deep seismic reflection profile show that the refraction and reflection Mohos match to better than 2–3 km. Bulk Poisson's ratios of 0.23–0.24 for the whole crust calculated from P m P / S m S travel times suggest a crust dominated by quartzofeldspathic lithologies and a notable absence of voluminous mafic additions to the lower crust. The absence of a deep crustal root, coupled with the bulk intermediate composition inferred for the lower crust from the seismic refraction/wide-angle data, implies that the crust beneath central Newfoundland has undergone multiple periods of reactivation and equilibration following successive orogenic episodes.

Newfoundland and Labrador↗
USGS1997

Crustal structure along the west flank of the Cascades, western Washington

Knowledge of the crustal structure of the Washington Cascades and adjacent Puget Lowland is important to both earthquake hazards studies and geologic studies of the evolution of this tectonically active region. We present a model for crustal velocity structure derived from analysis of seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection data collected in 1991 in western Washington. The 280-km-long north-south transect skirts the west flank of the Cascades as it crosses three tectonic provinces including the Northwest Cascades Thrust System (NWCS), the Puget Lowland, and the volcanic arc of the southern Cascades. Within the NWCS, upper crustal velocities range from 4.2 to 5.7 km s-1 and are consistent with the presence of a diverse suite of Mesozoic and Paleozoic metasediments and metavolcanics. In the upper 2-3 km of the Puget Lowland velocities drop to 1.7-3.5 km s-1 and reflect the occurrence of Oligocene to recent sediments within the basin. In the southern Washington Cascades, upper crustal velocities range from 4.0 to 5.5 km s-1 and are consistent with a large volume of Tertiary sediments and volcanics. A sharp change in velocity gradient at 5-10 km marks the division between the upper and middle crust. From approximately 10 to 35 km depth the velocity field is characterized by a velocity increase from ???6.0 to 7.2 km s-1. These high velocities do not support the presence of marine sedimentary rocks at depths of 10-20 km beneath the Cascades as previously proposed on the basis of magnetotelluric data. Crustal thickness ranges from 42 to 47 km along the profile. The lowermost crust consists of a 2 to 8-km-thick transitional layer with velocities of 7.3-7.4 km s-1. The upper mantle velocity appears to be an unusually low 7.6-7.8 km s-1. When compared to velocity models from other regions, this model most closely resembles those found in active continental arcs. Distinct seismicity patterns can be associated with individual tectonic provinces along the seismic transect. In the NWCS and Puget Lowland, most of the seismicity occurs below the base of the upper crust as defined by a seismic boundary at 5-10 km depth and continues to 20-30 km depth. The region of transition between the NWCS and the Puget Lowland appears as a gap in seismicity with notably less seismic activity north of the boundary between the two. Earthquakes within the Cascades are generally shallower (0-20 km) and are dominated by events associated with the Rainier Seismic Zone.

Washington↗
USGS1997

Composition of the crust in the Grenville and Appalachian Provinces of North America inferred from VP/VS ratios

We use the ratios between P and S wave velocities (V P /V S ), derived from seismic refraction data, to infer the composition of the crust in the Grenville and the Appalachian Provinces of North America. The crust exhibits V P /V S increasing with depth from 1.64 to 1.84; there is a clear distinction between the Grenville Province (average V P /V S =1.81) and the Appalachian Province (average V P /V S =1.73) which persists at all depths. The boundary between these provinces is east dipping extending for 100 km east of the Champlain thrust. In the Appalachian Province the increase in V P /V S ratios with depth from 1.67 to 1.74±0.02 may reflect a normal decrease of silica content in the continental crust. In the Grenville Province beneath the Central Granulite Terrane, an anomalous V P /V S ratio of 1.82±0.02 is observed extending to a depth of 10 km; this correlates with the abundance of Ca‐plagioclase in the Marcy Anorthosite. At greater depth (15–20 km), where seismic lamination and high electrical conductivity is observed, V P /V S is 1.84±0.02 and correlates with the Tahawus Complex, a layered mafic intrusion. Within the 25‐km‐thick lower crust of the Grenville Province the V P /V S is 1.84±0.02 and P‐velocity is 7.0±0.1 km/s, which are typical for plagioclase‐bearing rocks (gabbro‐norite). The high V P /V S ratio in the Grenville Province has not been reported in crust of any other age. Since the Grenville Province contains 75% of the world's known anorthosites, high V P /V S ratio is related to high plagioclase. We suggest that the composition of the Grenville lower crust was significantly modified by the emplacement of the anorthosites in the mid‐Proterozoic.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Transition from slab to slabless: Results from the 1993 Mendocino triple junction seismic experiment

Three seismic refraction-reflection profiles, part of the Mendocino triple junction seismic experiment, allow us to compare and contrast crust and upper mantle of the North American margin before and after it is modified by passage of the Mendocino triple junction. Upper crustal velocity models reveal an asymmetric Great Valley basin overlying Sierran or ophiolitic rocks at the latitude of Fort Bragg, California, and overlying Sierran or Klamath rocks near Redding, California. In addition, the upper crustal velocity structure indicates that Franciscan rocks underlie the Klamath terrane east of Eureka, California. The Franciscan complex is, on average, laterally homogeneous and is thickest in the triple junction region. North of the triple junction, the Gorda slab can be traced 150 km inboard from the Cascadia subduction zone. South of the triple junction, strong precritical reflections indicate partial melt and/or metamorphic fluids at the base of the crust or in the upper mantle. Breaks in these reflections are correlated with the Maacama and Bartlett Springs faults, suggesting that these faults extend at least to the mantle. We interpret our data to indicate tectonic thickening of the Franciscan complex in response to passage of the Mendocino triple junction and an associated thinning of these rocks south of the triple junction due to assimilation into melt triggered by upwelling asthenosphere. The region of thickened Franciscan complex overlies a zone of increased scattering, intrinsic attenuation, or both, resulting from mechanical mixing of lithologies and/or partial melt beneath the onshore projection of the Mendocino fracture zone. Our data reveal that we have crossed the southern edge of the Gorda slab and that this edge and/or the overlying North American crust may have fragmented because of the change in stress presented by the edge.

California↗
USGS1986

Crustal structure of Oaxaca, Mexico, from seismic refraction measurements

Seismic refraction and gravity data have been analyzed to obtain a model of the compressional-wave velocity structure of the ocean-to-continent transition in the State of Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico. Crustal thickness on the continent at the latitude 18°N is 45 ± 4 km, based on reflected phases from the Moho discontinuity. The crust has been modeled with three layers, with velocities of 4.3 to 4.6, 5.0 to 5.7, and 6.85 to 7.0 km/sec, each with positive velocity gradient. The crust thins to 10 km at the coast near Pinotepa Nacional, where Precambrian metamorphic rocks are exposed 45 km from the mid-America trench. Offshore, the oceanic structure consists of an 8-km-thick crust with a normal crustal velocity structure (Spudich and Orcutt, 1980). The apparent dip of the subducting plate beneath western Mexico is 10°. On the oceanic side, strong reflections suggest a minimum depth of 35 km for the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. The asthenosphere has a seismic velocity of 7.6 km/sec, and a thin lid in which the velocity is 8.6 km/sec.

Oaxaca↗