USGS Mendenhall Postdoc Opportunity

USGS Mendenhall Postdoc Opportunity

Improving Ground Motion Forecasts for Future Earthquakes

This Research Opportunity focuses on developing methods to improve our understanding of 3-D and 4-D earth structure (physical properties and fault evolution) and applying them to the San Francisco Bay area. The applicant must have a background in earthquake seismology, computational elastodynamics, tectonophysics, or a similar relevant field. The research under this Opportunity should involve use of the improved structural model(s) in simulating ground motions from moderate or large earthquakes, or long-term fault kinematics while focusing on one or more of the following areas:

1. Improving the characterization of the crustal structure in the San Francisco Bay area using adjoint methods with earthquake and active source data.

2. Joint inversion of two or more geophysical datasets to determine physical properties and geologic structure.

3. Characterization of short-length scale variations in physical properties within geologic units, such as those related to scattering of seismic waves.

4. Characterization of the uppermost 100 m of the 3-D geological structure for improved estimates of site response caused by local conditions.

Application deadline: November 12, 2008

Starting date: Between October 2009 and March 2010
Location: U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

For more information:

USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellowship Program:
http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/

Opportunity #22
Improving Ground Motion Forecasts for Future Earthquakes
http://geology.usgs.gov/postdoc/2010/opps/opp22.html

For questions related to this opportunity, please contact Brad Aagaard (baagaard@usgs.gov).