Rachel Abercrombie

Last updated
Rachel E. Abercrombie
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Scientific career
InstitutionsBoston University
Thesis Earthquake rupture dynamics and neotectonics in the Aegean region  (1991)
Doctoral advisor Ian Main, Paul Burton and Alan Douglas

Rachel Abercrombie is a seismologist at Boston University known for her research on the process of earthquake ruptures.

Contents

Education and career

Abercrombie has a B.A. from Cambridge University (1987) and a Ph.D. from the University of Reading (1991). [1] Following her Ph.D. she worked in California at the Southern California Earthquake Center and at the University of Southern California. After three years in New Zealand (1995–1998) at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, she went to Harvard University from 1998 to 2001. She joined Boston University in 2001, and became a Research Associate Professor in 2006. [2] [3]

Abercrombie is on the board of directors at the Southern California Earthquake Center which started in 1991 as a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. [4] She has also served on the board for the Seismological Society of America (2003–2005, and 2007–2009) [3]

Research

Abercrombie has worked on earthquakes along a wide geographic range including California, [5] [6] Nevada, [7] Wyoming, [8] the 1981 Gulf of Corinth earthquakes in Greece, [9] and the 1994 Arthur's Pass earthquake in New Zealand. [10] In marine systems, Abercrombie works on earthquakes on oceanic faults in the Atlantic Ocean, [11] [12] [13] the Indian Ocean, [14] and on the Java subduction zone. [15] Using measurements of small earthquakes at the Cajon Pass drill hole, Abercrombie's research revealed attenuation of the signals used to characterize earthquakes in the upper portion of the Earth's crust [6] [16] and tracked small earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. [17] Abercrombie has also investigated foreshocks of earthquakes [18] in the hopes of developing tools to predict when an earthquake will occur. Through her research, she notes the need for more efforts in documenting smaller earthquakes in order to adequately capture variability in the type and magnitude of earthquakes. [19]

She was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2020 "For groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of earthquakes over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales". [20]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousands of instrumentally detectable aftershocks, which steadily decrease in magnitude and frequency according to a consistent pattern. In some earthquakes the main rupture happens in two or more steps, resulting in multiple main shocks. These are known as doublet earthquakes, and in general can be distinguished from aftershocks in having similar magnitudes and nearly identical seismic waveforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Explorer Plate</span> Oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada

The Explorer Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, which is partially subducted under the North American Plate. Along with the Juan de Fuca Plate and Gorda Plate, the Explorer Plate is a remnant of the ancient Farallon Plate, which has been subducted under the North American Plate. The Explorer Plate separated from the Juan de Fuca Plate roughly 4 million years ago. In its smoother, southern half, the average depth of the Explorer plate is roughly 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) and rises up in its northern half to a highly variable basin between 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) and 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) in depth.

A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic event – the mainshock – and is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as foreshock, mainshock or aftershock is only possible after the full sequence of events has happened.

The 1999 Hector Mine earthquake occurred in Southern California, United States, on October 16 at 02:46:50 PDT. Its moment magnitude was 7.1 and the earthquake was preceded by 12 foreshocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 3.8. The event is thought to have been triggered by the 1992 Landers earthquake which occurred seven years earlier. It also deformed nearby faults vertically and horizontally. The earthquake's hypocenter was at a depth of 20 kilometers and its epicenter at 34.603° N 116.265° W.

A slow earthquake is a discontinuous, earthquake-like event that releases energy over a period of hours to months, rather than the seconds to minutes characteristic of a typical earthquake. First detected using long term strain measurements, most slow earthquakes now appear to be accompanied by fluid flow and related tremor, which can be detected and approximately located using seismometer data filtered appropriately. That is, they are quiet compared to a regular earthquake, but not "silent" as described in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Charlotte Fault</span> Active transform fault in Canada and Alaska

The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active transform fault that marks the boundary of the North American plate and the Pacific plate. It is Canada's right-lateral strike-slip equivalent to the San Andreas Fault to the south in California. The Queen Charlotte Fault forms a triple junction south with the Cascadia subduction zone and the Explorer Ridge. The Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) forms a transpressional plate boundary, and is as active as other major transform fault systems in terms of slip rates and seismogenic potential. It sustains the highest known deformation rates among continental or continent-ocean transform systems globally, accommodating greater than 50mm/yr dextral offset. The entire approximately 900 km offshore length has ruptured in seven greater than magnitude 7 events during the last century, making the cumulative historical seismic moment release higher than any other modern transform plate boundary system.

In seismology, a supershear earthquake is an earthquake in which the propagation of the rupture along the fault surface occurs at speeds in excess of the seismic shear wave (S-wave) velocity. This causes an effect analogous to a sonic boom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okinawa Plate</span> Minor tectonic plate from the northern end of Taiwan to the southern tip of Kyūshū

The Okinawa Plate, or Okinawa Platelet, is a minor continental tectonic plate in the northern and eastern hemispheres stretching from the northern end of Taiwan to the southern tip of the island of Kyūshū. The Okinawa Plate hosts typical earthquakes, like the 1911 Kikai Island earthquake, and various types of slow earthquakes, including low frequency earthquakes, very low frequency earthquakes, tremor, and slow slip events.

The Chixoy-Polochic Fault, also known as Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic Fault, is a major fault zone in Guatemala and southeast Mexico. It runs in a light arc from the east coast of Guatemala to Chiapas, following the deep valleys of the Polochic River, Chixoy River and Cuilco River.

In seismology, doublet earthquakes – and more generally, multiplet earthquakes – were originally identified as multiple earthquakes with nearly identical waveforms originating from the same location. They are now characterized as distinct earthquake sequences having two main shocks of similar magnitude, sometimes occurring within tens of seconds, but sometimes separated by years. The similarity of magnitude – often within 0.4 magnitude – distinguishes multiplet events from aftershocks, which start at about 1.2 magnitude less than the parent shock and decrease in magnitude and frequency according to known laws.

Susan Y. Schwartz is a scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz known for her research on earthquakes, through field projects conducted in locations in Costa Rica and the San Andreas Fault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Brodsky</span> Geophysicist

Emily E. Brodsky is a Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She studies the fundamental physical properties of earthquakes, as well as the seismology of volcanoes and landslides. In 2023, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine geophysics</span>

Marine geophysics is the scientific discipline that employs methods of geophysics to study the world's ocean basins and continental margins, particularly the solid earth beneath the ocean. It shares objectives with marine geology, which uses sedimentological, paleontological, and geochemical methods. Marine geophysical data analyses led to the theories of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.

Shamita Das is an emeritus professor at the University of Oxford and an emeritus fellow at Exeter College. She is known for her research on earthquakes, in particular the speed that earthquakes can propagate through the earth.

Jennifer Logan is an atmospheric scientist known for her research on how human activities influence the atmosphere, particularly with respect to biomass burning and the ozone hole.

Anne Sheehan is a geologist known for her research using seismometer data to examine changes in the Earth's crust and mantle.

Donna Eberhart-Phillips is a geologist known for her research on subduction zones, especially in Alaska and New Zealand.

Ruth Harris is a scientist at the United States Geological Survey known for her research on large earthquakes, especially on how they begin, end, and cause the ground to shake. In 2019, Harris was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union who cited her "for outstanding contributions to earthquake rupture dynamics, stress transfer, and triggering".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earthquake cycle</span> Natural phenomenon

The earthquake cycle refers to the phenomenon that earthquakes repeatedly occur on the same fault as the result of continual stress accumulation and periodic stress release. Earthquake cycles can occur on a variety of faults including subduction zones and continental faults. Depending on the size of the earthquake, an earthquake cycle can last decades, centuries, or longer. The Parkfield portion of the San Andreas fault is a well-known example where similarly located M6.0 earthquakes have been instrumentally recorded every 30–40 years.

The 1992 Joshua Tree earthquake occurred at 9:50:25 p.m. PDT on April 22 in Southern California. The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck under the Little San Bernardino Mountains, near the town of Joshua Tree, California. Though no deaths were reported, the earthquake caused 32 injuries. A maximum Mercalli intensity of VII was observed in Joshua Tree and caused light to moderate damage. The event preceded the Landers and Big Bear earthquakes by two months but is now recognized as the beginning of a series of major earthquakes that culminated in two events on June 28, 1992.

References

  1. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E. (1991). Earthquake rupture dynamics and neotectonics in the Aegean region (Ph.D.). University of Cambridge. OCLC   556373987.
  2. ↑ "Resume » Rachel Abercrombie | Boston University". sites.bu.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  3. 1 2 "Rachel Abercrombie CV" (PDF). October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Rachel Abercrombie, SCEC".
  5. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Brune, James N. (1994). "Evidence for a constant b-value above magnitude 0 in the southern San Andreas, San Jacinto and San Miguel Fault Zones, and at the Long Valley Caldera, California". Geophysical Research Letters. 21 (15): 1647–1650. Bibcode:1994GeoRL..21.1647A. doi:10.1029/94GL01138. ISSN   1944-8007.
  6. 1 2 Abercrombie, Rachel E. (1995). "Earthquake source scaling relationships from −1 to 5 ML using seismograms recorded at 2.5-km depth". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 100 (B12): 24015–24036. Bibcode:1995JGR...10024015A. doi:10.1029/95JB02397. ISSN   2156-2202.
  7. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E. (2013). "Comparison of direct and coda wave stress drop measurements for the Wells, Nevada, earthquake sequence". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 118 (4): 1458–1470. Bibcode:2013JGRB..118.1458A. doi:10.1029/2012JB009638. ISSN   2169-9356. S2CID   129616742.
  8. ↑ Prieto, Germán A.; Froment, Bérénice; Yu, Chunquan; Poli, Piero; Abercrombie, Rachel (2017). "Earthquake rupture below the brittle-ductile transition in continental lithospheric mantle". Science Advances. 3 (3): e1602642. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E2642P. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1602642. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   5351985 . PMID   28345055.
  9. ↑ Abercrombie, R. E.; Main, I. G.; Douglas, A.; Burton, P. W. (1995). "The nucleation and rupture process of the 1981 Gulf of Corinth earthquakes from deconvolved broad-band data". Geophysical Journal International. 120 (2): 393–405. Bibcode:1995GeoJI.120..393A. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1995.tb01827.x . ISSN   0956-540X.
  10. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Webb, T. H.; Robinson, R.; McGinty, P. J.; Mori, J. J.; Beavan, R. J. (2000). "The enigma of the Arthur's Pass, New Zealand, earthquake: 1. Reconciling a variety of data for an unusual earthquake sequence". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 105 (B7): 16119–16137. Bibcode:2000JGR...10516119A. doi: 10.1029/2000JB900008 . ISSN   2156-2202.
  11. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Ekström, Göran (2001). "Earthquake slip on oceanic transform faults". Nature. 410 (6824): 74–77. doi:10.1038/35065064. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   11242043. S2CID   4397063.
  12. ↑ Aderhold, K.; Abercrombie, R. E. (2016). "The 2015 Mw 7.1 earthquake on the Charlie-Gibbs transform fault: Repeating earthquakes and multimodal slip on a slow oceanic transform". Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (12): 6119–6128. Bibcode:2016GeoRL..43.6119A. doi: 10.1002/2016GL068802 . ISSN   1944-8007. S2CID   132809015.
  13. ↑ Hicks, Stephen P.; Okuwaki, Ryo; Steinberg, Andreas; Rychert, Catherine A.; Harmon, Nicholas; Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Bogiatzis, Petros; Schlaphorst, David; Zahradnik, Jiri; Kendall, J.-Michael; Yagi, Yuji (2020). "Back-propagating supershear rupture in the 2016 M w 7.1 Romanche transform fault earthquake". Nature Geoscience. 13 (9): 647–653. Bibcode:2020NatGe..13..647H. doi:10.1038/s41561-020-0619-9. hdl: 10044/1/81170 . ISSN   1752-0908. S2CID   221111789.
  14. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Antolik, Michael; Ekström, Göran (2003). "The June 2000 Mw 7.9 earthquakes south of Sumatra: Deformation in the India–Australia Plate". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 108 (B1): ESE 6–1–ESE 6–16. Bibcode:2003JGRB..108.2018A. doi: 10.1029/2001JB000674 . ISSN   2156-2202.
  15. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Antolik, Michael; Felzer, Karen; Ekström, Göran (2001). "The 1994 Java tsunami earthquake: Slip over a subducting seamount". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 106 (B4): 6595–6607. Bibcode:2001JGR...106.6595A. doi: 10.1029/2000JB900403 . ISSN   2156-2202.
  16. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Rice, James R. (2005). "Can observations of earthquake scaling constrain slip weakening?". Geophysical Journal International. 162 (2): 406–424. Bibcode:2005GeoJI.162..406A. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246x.2005.02579.x . ISSN   0956-540X.
  17. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E. (1995). "Earthquake locations using single-station deep borehole recordings: Implications for microseismicity on the San Andreas fault in southern California". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 100 (B12): 24003–24014. Bibcode:1995JGR...10024003A. doi:10.1029/95JB02396. ISSN   2156-2202.
  18. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel E.; Mori, Jim (1996). "Occurrence patterns of foreshocks to large earthquakes in the western United States". Nature. 381 (6580): 303–307. Bibcode:1996Natur.381..303A. doi:10.1038/381303a0. ISSN   1476-4687. S2CID   4329310.
  19. ↑ Abercrombie, Rachel; Leary, Peter (1993). "Source parameters of small earthquakes recorded at 2.5 km depth, Cajon Pass, southern California: Implications for earthquake scaling". Geophysical Research Letters. 20 (14): 1511–1514. Bibcode:1993GeoRL..20.1511A. doi:10.1029/93GL00367. ISSN   1944-8007.
  20. 1 2 "American Geophysical Union - Fellow Rachel Abercrombie". www.agu.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
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