PROPOSAL INFORMATION SUMMARY
1.
Regional Panel
Destinations:
IMW
2.
Project Title:
3.
Principal Investigator(s):
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer
Reflection Surveys in Reno, Nevada
John N. Louie
Tel.: (775) 784-4219, Email: louie@seismo.unr.edu
MS 0174, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557
Fax: 775-784-4165
4.
Authorized Institutional
Representative:
Jennifer Booth, Manager
Office of Sponsored Project Admin.
University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557
Tel.: (775) 784-4040, Fax (775) 784-6680
Email: ospadmin@unr.edu
5.
Element Designation
Element I. National and regional earthquake hazards
assessments.
Element III. Research on earthquake occurrence,
physics, and effects.
6.
Amount Requested
$55,066
7.
8.
Proposed start date
Proposed Duration
January 1, 2011
1 year
9.
New Proposal
Yes
10. Has this proposal been
submitted to any other
agency for funding?
No
1
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer Reflection Surveys
in Reno, Nevada
John Louie
Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno
ABSTRACT
Minivibe and hammer seismic-reflection surveys across faults in the Reno-area
basin were recorded in June 2009 and March 2010. Between surveys conducted by the
USGS, Boise State, and UNR, a total of 20 km of new reflection survey results are being
processed and interpreted. The objectives of these surveys are to locate and characterize
faults, and map the depth of the principal impedance contrasts. All of these assessments
will contribute fundamentally to building a realistic probabilistic earthquake hazard
map of the Reno/Carson Urban Corridor.
Recently, commercial reflection surveys in alluvial basins of northern Nevada for
geothermal development have produced dramatically improved results, and directly
imaged blind normal faults below the basins. We conducted a scoping study where we
applied direct-imaging techniques to the June 2009 minivibe surveys through the Renoarea basin. Initial results, developed by the Univ. of Nevada and Optim of Reno, show
direct imaging of fault planes in several places. However, intensive data editing,
visualization, picking, velocity modeling, optimization, migration, and interpretation
are still needed to unequivocally image these fault planes. The capabilities of the USGS,
Boise State, and UNR, as currently funded for these surveys, have not been able to take
the reflection data effectively past the prestack time migration (PSTM) stage of
processing. The shot records need much additional work to achieve first-arrival picks
beyond 100 m offsets. Accurate and longer-offset first-arrival data are crucial for
developing realistic velocity models that accurately constrain lateral velocity variations.
With the current velocity models developed so far by the USGS and the Univ. of
Nevada, evan advanced prestack depth migration (PSDM) processing reduces down to
the effectiveness of PSTM-processed sections, allowing location and characterization of
faults only as they disrupt and offset stratigraphic layers. To directly image the fault
planes as reflectors requires picking of first-arrival times to the full maximum offset of
480 m, and nonlinear optimization of 2d and 3d (where possible) velocity sections,
followed by careful PSDM.
This proposal would fund the extra processing effort needed for long-offset
picking and PSDM imaging of the faults below the Reno basin as distinct reflections.
The effort would be shared between UNR, and Optim as a subcontractor. Attaining
direct fault imaging in Reno would map the faults below the basin floor, and remove
large sources of uncertainty in the inputs to the probabilistic mapping process.
2
BUDGET SUMMARY
Project Title:
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer Reflection Surveys in Reno,
Nevada
Principal Investigator: John N. Louie
Proposed Start Date:
Jan. 1, 2011
COST CATEGORY
Proposed Completion Date: Dec. 31, 2011
1. Salaries and Wages
Federal
First Year
$ 16905
Total Salaries and Wages
$ 16905
2. Fringe Benefits/Labor Overhead
$ 1838
3. Equipment
$0
4. Supplies
$0
5. Services or Consultants
$ 16,500
6. Radiocarbon Dating Services
$0
7. Travel
$ 1250
8. Publication Costs
$ 1000
9. Other Direct Costs
$ 1996
10. Total Direct Costs (items 1-9)
$ 39489
11. Indirect cost / General and
$ 15577
Administrative (G&A) cost
12. Amount Proposed (items 10 & 11)
$ 55066
13. Total Project Cost (total of Federal and
non-Federal amounts)
$ 55066
3
Federal
Second Year
Total
Both Years
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer Reflection Surveys
in Reno, Nevada
John Louie
Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proposal Information Summary .................................................................................. 1
Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 2
Budget Summary ....................................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 4
Detail Budget ............................................................................................................. 5
Subcontractor’s Budget and Statement of Work: Optim, Reno, NV .................. 6
Project Description
Significance of the Project .............................................................................. 9
Completed USGS-sponsored minivibe & hammer profiles in Reno ............. 12
Direct imaging of Western Basin & Range faults ......................................... 14
Project Plan .................................................................................................... 16
Final Report and Dissemination of Results.................................................................. 19
Related Efforts ........................................................................................................... 19
Project Personnel........................................................................................................ 19
Institutional Qualifications .......................................................................................... 21
Current and Pending Support ..................................................................................... 22
References ................................................................................................................. 23
J. Louie Declaration of No Conflict of Interest ............................................................ 25
Cooperation Letter from W. J. Stephenson, USGS ..................................................... 26
4
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer Reflection Surveys in
Reno, Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno Budget: Louie
Proposed start date:
1/1/11
Budget 5/5/10 J. Louie
NEHRP-IMW
UNR Year 1 Total:
SALARIES
Employe
e
John Louie
PhD Student-Acad Yr
PhD Student-Summer
Undergraduate labor
Subtotals
55066
Units
DailySum
Monthly
Monthly
hourly
Rate
Number
701
2000
3000
12
5
4
1
200
Subtota
l
3505
8000
3000
2400
16905
Ben
Rate
Benefit
s
0.04
0.15
0.15
0.02
140
1200
450
48
1838
$18,74
3
Total Salary and Fringe
SUBCONTRACT
Optim: 2d Optimization and PSDM of 20 km of Reno Reflection Data
$16,50
0
Subcontracts Total
Expendables
Computer Services
Publication Costs
Travel
Dest
Rate
One to AGU or SSA
Airfare
Hotel,
perdiem
Registration
16500
$1,500
500
1000
Numbe
r
Subtotal
300
1
300
200
350
3
1
600
350
Additional Student Expenses
Tuition and Fees, one semester
166.21
Total:
Number
9
$1,250
$1,496
$39,48
9
Total Direct Cost
Indirect Cost Computation
Total Direct Cost
39489
1495.89
37993
0.41
Subtract Tuition & Fees
Adjusted Total
Fraction
$15,57
7
Indirect Cost
Year One Total
$55,06
5
6
6
Subcontractor’s Budget and Statement of Work: Optim, Reno, NV
Subcontractor Budget: Optim, Dr. Satish Pullammanappallil
2d Optimization and PSDM of 20 km of Reno
Reflection Data
Data Processing
Personnel
2
hrs
50 @
Personnel
1
hrs
10 @
$15 /h
0 r
$15 /h
0 r
15,000.0
0
Reporting, Data Delivery
Total
1,500.00
$16,500.
00
Optim will perform the following tasks with regards to direct imaging of faults from Minivibe reflection surveys in Reno, Nevada:
1) SeisOpt® Velocity Optimization
The P-wave arrival time data will be inverted for subsurface velocity within the
geothermal field using Optim's proprietary SeisOpt® simulated annealing algorithm. This
computationally intensive procedure will be performed on Optim's Beowulf system.
Simulated annealing is a Monte-Carlo estimation process that can match P-wave arrival
times to a velocity model even where sophisticated non-linear inversion methods may fail
(Pullammanappallil and Louie, 1993; Pullammanappallil and Louie, 1994). The algorithm works
by randomly perturbing an arbitrary starting model until the synthetic seismic wave travel times
computed through it match the travel times picked from the new data. New models producing
less travel time error are accepted for further enhancements, and models having increased error
can be accepted conditionally based on their total error. As annealing proceeds, conditional
acceptance becomes less and less likely. Unlike linear, iterative inversions, simulated annealing
optimization will find the global velocity solution while avoiding local error minimums. It is
also completely insensitive to the starting velocity model, removing the interpreter bias that may
be involved in a prospect or project.
2) Two-dimensional (2D) Kirchhoff pre-stack migration
SeisOpt® velocity models are then used as input for the Kirchhoff pre-stack depth
migration (PSDM) algorithm, which is the second processing technique. The pre-stack migration
algorithm uses the velocity models for accurate calculation of travel times down to and up from
every point within the reflection data volume. It produces images by summing the value of
seismograms within the data volume at discrete points of time, based on travel-time calculations
through the velocity model. Pre-stack migration can produce images from seismic data that has
no visible signs of reflective coherency given a model that accurately characterizes the 2D
velocity structure (Figure O2). Because pre-stack migration is free of assumptions about dip of
bedding and structure, it will create images that reveal the true-depth location and geometry of
structural features in any orientation (Louie and Qin, 1991).
7
Figure O1: High-resolution velocity model obtained from first-arrival picks using SeisOpt® @2D™
velocity optimization software at the Coso geothermal field, southern California. Velocity models alone
can be a reliable indicator of structure.
Figure O2: Pre-stack SeisOpt® depth images from Line 1 at Blue Mountain, west of Winnemucca NV.
The image on the right shows interpreted faults over processed reflection data, well projections, and
entries (x). Image on the left is identical but without interpreted faults. No vertical exaggeration. The
prominent shallow nearly horizontal reflectors are due to lithologic layering in the multi-thrusted
Mesozoic Singatse Formation. The seismic data accurately predicted economic entries of geothermal
fluids found during drilling, several of which displayed no surface manifestations (Melosh et al., 2008).
3. References
Louie, J.N., and Qin, J., 1991, Subsurface imaging of the Garlock fault, Cantil Valley,
California: Journal of Geophysical Research, B., Solid Earth and Planets, v. 96, p. 14,46114,479.
8
Melosh, G., Fairbank, B., and Niggeman, K., 2008, Geothermal drilling success at Blue Moutain,
Nevada, Proceedings of the thirty-third workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering,
Stanford, California.
Pullammanappallil, S.K., and Louie, J.N., 1993, Inversion of seismic reflection traveltimes using
a nonlinear optimization scheme: Geophysics, v. 58, p. 1607-1620.
Pullammanappallil, S.K., and Louie, J.N., 1994, A generalized simulated-annealing optimization
for inversion of first arrival times: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 84, p.
1397-1409.
Key Personnel:
Satish Pullammanappallil of Optim holds a Ph.D in Geophysics and will be one of the key
personnel on the project. He has participated and performed independent research toward
developing imaging and optimization algorithms for over eighteen years. From 1991 to 1993,
Dr. Pullammanappallil and Mr. Honjas (now also of Optim) worked together as graduate
students at the University of Nevada Seismological Laboratory to research and develop the
commercial application of the new seismic processing methods used in USDOE Geothermal
Program research (Grant Number DE-FG07-97ID13465). During this period, Dr.
Pullammanappallil developed crucial and groundbreaking advancements in geophysical imaging
and inversion. He was the first geophysicist to successfully apply simulated-annealing MonteCarlo estimations to the solution (part of the proprietary algorithm) of previously intractable
velocity inversion problems. Prior to joining Optim, Dr. Pullammanappallil worked with Wm.
Lettis & Assoc. as a Senior Staff Geophysicist, and prior to that perfored competitively funded
research on seismic scattering problems as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Rice University.
His work has produced several peer-reviewed publications on seismic data sets acquired from
several areas of the southwestern United States, including the Great Basin and Southern
California. Dr. Pullammanappallil has processed seismic data pertaining to geothermal
development from the western United States and the Pacific Rim, including the Dixie Valley,
Coso and Steamboat geothermal fields in the US, and a geothermal field on the island of Kyushu,
Japan. He has also developed and successfully applied proprietary 3-D joint earthquake
hypocenter and seismic velocity optimization algorithms. He has processed thousands of
refraction microtremor data sets over the last several years. Dr. Pullammanappallil is the VicePrincipal and chief software developer at Optim and also coordinates scientific research at the
CEMAT office at the University of Nevada Seismological Laboratory.
9
Direct Imaging of Faults from Minivibe and Hammer Reflection Surveys
in Reno, Nevada
John Louie
Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
This project will perform advanced velocity optimization and prestack depth migration
(PSDM) on ~20 km of minivibe seismic reflection data sets collected under USGS sponsorship
during June 2009 and March 2010, across the Reno-area basin, Nevada (Fig 1; Frary et al., 2009;
2010; Louie et al., 2009). The advanced processing will directly image faults within and below
the basin as sharply focused reflections. Preliminary results based on an inadequate set of 1starrival-time picks (Kell-Hills et al., 2010) show promising indications of fault-plane images.
Direct fault imaging will detect faults that may be difficult to identify from stratigraphic offsets,
and can characterize faults within the basement, below the basin sediments. The advanced
processing will require hundreds of hours of data processing, picking and geophysical
interpretation work by a graduate student, the PI, and a proven seismic-processing contractor.
The benefit of this project will be improved detection and characterization of faults and their
geometries below the Reno/Carson urban corridor, over and above the imaging that can be
accomplished with current funding by UNR, Boise State, or the USGS (e.g., Frary et al., 2010).
Improved fault characterization will best leverage USGS investments in Reno to allow creation
of improved urban hazard maps by future projects.
Under a prior USGS NEHRP-NIW project, Louie convened two regional workshops in
January and November of 2008 to plan the development of the Western Basin and Range
Community Velocity Model (WBRCVM). As reported by Louie (2008b) and Louie and
Magistrale (2008), the purpose of the WBRCVM is to allow the modeling of ground motions in
Nevada urban areas for scenario earthquakes. Louie and Magistrale (2008) showed with
preliminary ground-motion computations for the Feb. 2008 M6.0 Wells earthquake and the
April. 2008 M5.0 Mogul/West Reno earthquake the importance of: 1) proper characterization of
the seismic source; and 2) proper characterization of 3d basin structure in both the source and the
urban areas. The Reno-area basin may host on its south side the most hazardous fault for Reno,
the Virginia Lake fault of the 1-5 mm/yr Mt. Rose fault complex, the northernmost part of the
Genoa fault system (Sawyer, 1999). Dhar et al. (2008; 2009a,b; 2010) suggested, from a
temporary community-based deployment of 90 EarthScope Flexible Array instruments during
the 2008 Mogul/West Reno earthquakes, unexpected station time delays perhaps due to hidden
basin structure at the edges of the Reno-area basin.
These developments together with USGS priorities to create an earthquake-hazard map
for the Reno/Carson Urban Corridor motivated USGS internal projects to plan a multi-year
seismic-reflection survey program to better delineate faults and basins in the Reno area. The first
year’s surveys, UNR-Louie collaborations with the Stephenson-Odum group at the USGS in
June 2009, and with L. Liberty at Boise State in March 2010, all under USGS-NEHRP-NIW
sponsorship, recorded about 20 km of seismic section across the main north-striking elements of
the Virginia Lake fault (figure 2; Frary et al., 2009). The current project has provided sufficient
funds to hire a dozen Nevada undergraduates to gain the experience of working on the reflection
survey crews. In addition, Louie’s 25 spring-semester 2010 Applied Geophysics students
10
assisted the March surveys by Boise State, and conducted a wide range of supporting
geophysical investigations as well.
The seismic sections are also providing the depths to the principal impedance contrasts
within and at the floor of the basin, a crucial piece of information needed for the WBRCVM.
Louie, Tibuleac, and Cashman are completing work under modest FY2009 NEHRP-NIW
funding that helped permit and conduct survey fieldwork, and collected other critical data for the
WBRCVM (Louie et al., 2009). However, that broad, multi-objective project does not provide
enough faculty or student time for a full geological and geophysical analysis of the Reno seismic
data. There is only one day per PI!
Fig. 1: Map of the Reno-area basin, showing the general routes of the completed USGS-sponsored
seismic reflection surveys from June 2009 (TRK1, TRK2, and MNZA) and March 2010 (connecting
TRK1 with TRK2, and around the east side of MNZA. Qal = Quaternary allunvium; Ts = Tertiary
sediments; Ta = Tertiary andesites; Mz = Mesozoic rocks. The mountain front at MRFL shosw the path
of the Mount Rose fault zone into the south side of the urban area.
Cooperating efforts by Louie, Cashman, and Trexler seek to resolve the central
uncertainties in the most hazardous earthquake scenario for Reno: does the Mt. Rose fault dip
east or west? Will the predominant motion be strike-slip, or normal? We seek to provide an
interpretation of the seismic results fully integrated with all other, prior geological and
geophysical results in the basin, and engage a broad community geologists and geophysicists in
the interpretive process.
11
This proposal seeks to sharpen the seismic results that the USGS-sponsored surveys have
provided to the interpretation process. This proposed project will allow the current USGS
commitment to the reflection surveys to deliver better results. Direct imaging of faults within and
below the basin will come at the extra cost of this proposal, but will allow the results to be
reported more rapidly and with more confidence. The increased confidence in the geometry of
the imaged faults will greatly aid all current and future basin interpretation and seismic-hazard
work.
As well, since Quaternary deposits in Reno are largely fluvial instead of lacustrine
(Abbott and Louie, 2000), it may not be possible to rely on stratigraphic disruption and
displacement to recognize faults in the seismic sections. Direct fault imaging is more likely to
reveal hidden faults, and faults within the basement.
Fig. 2: Google Earth map of the Reno downtown, with blue lines locating elements of the 1-5 mm/yr “Mt.
Rose fault” from Sawyer (1999), a component of the 80-km-long Genoa fault system. Red lines with
station numbers are parts of the routes of USGS-sponsored seismic reflection surveys conducted in June
2009. These surveys were designed to characterize the Virginia Lake fault member of the system.
Cashman et al. (2009) elucidate the history of the Walker Lane Belt and propose a
geotectonic context for the Reno-area basin and the faults that cut through it. The division of the
basin into two sub-basins, one under west Reno and one under the city of Sparks, first appeared
in regional gravity inversions by Saltus and Jachens (1995). Abbott and Louie (2000) collected
additional gravity and well data to make detailed models of the basin, showing the Virginia Lake
12
fault cutting along the eastern side of the west Reno sub-basin. Widmer et al. (2007) further
improved the gravity data set and made more detailed models of Reno-area basin geometry.
Aside from the shallow shear-velocity transect of Scott et al. (2004), prior geophysical
investigations of the Reno-area basin were limited to potential-field studies as listed above. The
USGS-sponsored seismic-reflection surveys in June 2009 and March 2010 represent a significant
increase in USGS effort directed toward the construction of an urban hazard map for the Reno
area. This proposal seeks to maximize the effectiveness of that new investment.
The FY2011 NEHRP priorities for the IWM region include the following two statements,
both of which this proposal addresses to reduce earthquake impacts in the US:
“Conduct Quaternary geologic, geomorphic, and paleoseismic investigations to characterize the
segmentation of Quaternary faults and to estimate the recurrence, locations, and magnitudes of
large prehistoric earthquakes on significant hazardous faults in the IMW. Hazardous faults
generally include those near urban areas that have slip rates of at least 0.1 mm/yr or those outside
of urban areas that have slip rates of more than 0.2 mm/yr.”
“A future program goal is to develop RCC urban hazard maps. In support of this goal, we seek
proposals that: a) aid in developing a database of geologic, geophysical, geotechnical information,
which will lead to a RCC Community Velocity Model, b) collect data on shear-wave velocities in the
zero to 500-m depth range in the RCC, and c) improve knowledge of shallow subsurface structure and
concealed faults in basins beneath the urban areas.”
Completed USGS-sponsored minivibe and hammer reflection profiles in Reno
Between the Stephenson-Odum USGS survey team and the Liberty Boise State project,
the USGS has supported about 20 km of medium- and high-resolution seismic reflection
profiling in Reno the past year. Preliminary results have been shown by Louie et al. (2009),
Frary et al. (2009, 2010), and Kell-Hills et al. (2010). Figure 1 shows the general survey routes.
USGS seismic-reflection techniques were similar to those used in Utah Valley to detail elements
of the Wasatch fault. The nees@UTexas “Thumper” minivibe (700-lb reaction mass, vertically
oriented) produced three 15-120 Hz sweeps at each source point, spaced at 5 m along the survey
lines. A 144-channel line of 10-Hz single vertical geophones recorded the minivibe, using a 2/3
split spread for maximum offsets of about 500 m. Records were saved uncorrelated and
unsummed. Source and receiver points had to be skipped frequently in this intensely urban area
when they landed in trafficked streets.
The March 2010 Boise State surveys were configured to give higher-resolution imaging,
and some 3d control on the east end of the MNZA profile. A 200-lb enhanced weight-drop
source activated 3-4 times at each source point was recorded by 96 channels of 14-Hz vertical
single phones, usually in a split-spread geometry. The TRK1-TRK2 connection line and 4 km of
survey perpendicular to the June 2009 MNZA line were recorded with 3-meter source and
geophone intervals; two high-resolutiuon lines along the MNZA survey were recorded with 2meter source and 1-m geophone intervals. The March 2010 records were also recorded
unsummed.
Figure 3 shows an example single-sweep minivibe record from the quieter MNZA line,
illustrating the great difficilty with picking first arrivals at offsets of more than 100 m in the June
2009 records. Figure 4, from Kell-Hills et al. (2010), shows the limited results that can be
obtained under current funding, with velocities below 50 m depth not well constrained in
downtown Reno. The 2000 m/s refractor at the top of the Tertiary sediments, 50-100 m down, is
13
not seen due to the limited offset range of the 1st-arrival picks that could be made in this noisy
area. The lack of depth penetration for the velocity optimization results prevents the PSDM from
imaging the plane of a suspected fault below station 415, defined by the eastward truncation of
layered reflections from 1-200 m depth.
Fig. 3: Single-sweep correlated minivibe record from the June 2009 MNZA line. First-arrival picks (red
lines) could only be made easily to 100-m offsets, though reflections are visible at larger offsets.
Fig. 4: Preliminary velocity optimization and prestack depth migration (PSDM) results from the TRK1
survey in downtown Reno. Station numbers are given along the top, correlating with the TRK1 map in
Fig. 2, and the vertical scale is depth in meters. East is to the right. From Kell-Hills et al. (2010).
14
Faults are very difficult to characterize from stratal offsets and disruptions where the
reflections are not coherently focused. Direct fault imaging will be essential in the Reno basin, to
see faults that do not offset basement significantly. This project will use advanced velocity
optimization to reliably characterize shallow lateral-velocity variations, and advanced prestack
imaging techniques to properly focus both the stratal and the fault reflectors. Figure 4, without a
sufficiently detailed velocity model for direct fault imaging, does not locate faults within the
basement– only from stratigraphic terminations. Frary et al. (2010) also attempted PSDM
imaging, but from a relatively smooth stacking-derived velocity model. The smooth velocities
(not shown) benefit the imaging of near-horizontal stratigraphy, but like our initial attempts do
not have sufficient velocity detail for fault-plane imaging. With the direct fault imaging strategy
proposed here, faults in the Reno-area basin will be imaged within as well as below the basin.
Fig. 5 shows a section of our PSDM of the TRK2 line that may be showing fault-plane
reflections. A suspected, previously unknown fault surfacing at station 700 (blue) dips 45° east
in this 1:1 depth section, following apparent fault-plane reflections as well as stratal
terminations. Some of these possible fault-plane reflections are halfway down the section, at a
depth of 500 m and well within the Tertiary andesites below the Quaternary and Tertiary
sediments. At station 465 a mapped fault (green, and blue in the section) dives into the
subsurface steeply, following stratal terminations and perhaps connecting to hints of fault-plane
reflections below, within the andesites.
Direct imaging of Western Basin & Range faults
The UNR group, together with Honjas and Pullammanappallil at Optim, have been
directly imaging faults in the western Great Basin for more than a dozen years. Honjas et al.
(1997) performed 2d velocity optimization from tens of thousands of first-arrival picks on about
a thousand prestack reflection records in a grid of seismic lines covering the northern Dixie
Valley geothermal field. The direct imaging showed the existence of basinward step-faults,
hidden from the surface by younger alluvial deposits. Chavez-Perez et al. (1998) applied the
same analysis to existing COCORP data across Death Valley, imaging the Black Mountains
range-front fault and quantifying its heave. Abbott et al. (2001) conducted a reflection survey in
southern Dixie Valley, directly imaging the shallow-dipping 1954 M7.2 rupture below up to 1
km of alluvium using the same combination of velocity optimization and depth migration. Louie
and Pullammanappallil (2007) and Louie et al. (2008) reviewed that work and added the 2003
shallow imaging of a low-angle normal fault in the west Ruby Mountains. Louie et al. (2007)
elucidated these, plus much additional Optim work, for the Nevada geothermal industry.
Figure 6, an example of commercial Optim analysis taken from Louie et al. (2007),
shows how powerful the combination of a high-quality 1st-arrival pick set, velocity optimization,
and PSDM can be. At this Nevada geothermal prospect, only the range-front fault is manifested
at the surface. The other normal faults, in yellow, blue and purple in figure 4, are blind and
hidden by younger alluvium. Optim achieved clear, direct fault-plane reflection images of these
faults despite their not significantly offsetting the basin floor, nor being associated with
significant lateral velocity changes. The faults are located with the most possible confidence for
seismic data: within one lateral wavelength, rather than within a much larger Fresnel zone that
would have to be allowed if the image was of lower quality. In most geothermal prospects in
central Nevada, the geothermal resource is controlled by these hidden faults, and it is crucial to
locate and drill them.
15
Fig. 5: (top) Map of a portion of the TRK2 survey. (bottom) Preliminary velocity optimization and
prestack depth migration (PSDM) results from this part of TRK2. Station numbers are given along the top
and the vertical extent of the section is 1000 meters. East is to the right. From Kell-Hills et al. (2010).
16
Fig. 6: 2d seismic-reflection and velocity sections from a
Nevada geothermal prospect, showing direct detection
and imaging of hidden faults below the basin floor. The
data were collected and processed with velocity
optimization and prestack depth migration (PSDM) by
Optim. From Louie et al. (2007).
Another interesting hint for what may be possible to image in the Reno reflection data set is
shown by Fig. 7. Unusually strong negative-moveout reflections dominate hundreds of the
records along the east end of the MNZA survey. If these arrivals prove to be sidewall reflections
from faults as seen from the San Andreas and Garlock by Louie et al. (1988) and Louie and Qin
(1991), then these faults should yield fault-plane images after proper velocity optimization and
PSDM. The preliminary image in Fig. 7 has strong hints that direct fault imaging is being
achieved.
PROJECT PLAN
The proposed project is for one year. In this project Louie and subcontractor Optim
propose to complete:
1. Picking of all first arrivals from the 2009 Odum/Stephenson and Liberty seismic reflection
records in Reno. Following Pullammanappallil and Louie (1994), this will be the essential
data set allowing complete characterization of lateral velocity variations in the upper portion
of the basin, where they are strongest. It is anticipated that between 100,000 and 200,000
traces will need to be picked for their first arrivals. Given the noisy nature of this urban
seismic data set, and the fact that headwaves are often weaker than reflections, picking is a
17
challenging task that will require many trials. The single-sweep records will need to be
summed and coherency filtered to identify 1st arrivals beyond 100-m distances. Picks may
have to be actively constrained through feedback from a near-surface velocity smoothness
constraint. Trace-correlation methods will have to be investigated for extending picks to the
maximum offsets. The graduate student supported by this project will do most of this work
over a period of 1-2 months, using the most convenient of the ProMAX, SPW, OpendTect, or
JRG seismic software platforms that we have available.
2. Development of 2d optimized velocity models from the 1st-arival picks of the prestack data.
This task will be completed by subcontractor Optim using their proprietary SeisOpt®
technology, an extensively tested and industry-vetted implementation of the simulatedannealing travel time optimization of Pullammanappallil and Louie (1994), making use of
finite-difference travel times (e.g., Vidale, 1988). This nonlinear optimization assures the
best possible representation of lateral velocity discontinuities. No assumptions are made
about the form or smoothness of the discontinuities. If insufficient depth coverage of the
optimized velocities from the 1st-arrival time picks results, Optim will conduct additional
optimizations, including for instance prestack reflection coherency in the objective function
(Pullammanappallil and Louie, 1997).
Fig. 7: (left) Correlated shot record from the east end of the MNZA survey, showing possiblelinear
sidewall reflections originating at mapped faults. (right) Preliminary velocity optimization and prestack
depth migration (PSDM) results from this part of MNZA. Station numbers are given along the top and the
vertical scale is depth in meters. East is to the right. From Kell-Hills et al. (2010).
3. Preprocessing and filtering of the prestack records will be performed by contractor Optim in
collaboration with PI Louie and the graduate student. Given the urban setting of the 2009 and
2010 surveys, and the use of a single geophone per recording channel by the USGS and BSU
rather than a geophone group array, the prestack data records are dominated by strong, lowvelocity surface waves. Data quality will thus profit from application of the Hale and
18
Claerbout (1983) Butterworth dip filter, as did the direct fault imaging of Kanbur et al.
(2000) at the Upheaval Dome, Utah impact structure. Over 12 km of the June 2009 survey
routes are closely aligned with the shallow shear-velocity transect of Scott et al. (2004), so
we have abundant information already in hand about the surface-wave velocities we expect
to observe, allowing us to precisely target the dip-filter processing.
4. Prestack depth migration (PSDM) of all the prestack reflection records through the optimized
velocities will bring the steeply dipping fault-plane reflections into focus at their true
locations. The use of finite-difference travel times (e.g., Vidale, 1988) and properly assessed
lateral-velocity variations from Optim’s SeisOpt® results will allow the proper placement of
reflection depth points along even strongly curved raypaths. Optim and the PI and graduate
student at UNR will collaborate on this step as well. We will include migration operator
antialiasing control (Lumley et al., 1994), and possibly Bayesian signal/noise separation
(Harlan et al., 1984). These enhancements were employed in PSDM work by Kanbur et al.
(2000) and Louie et al. (2002), as well as by Optim for the numerous geothermal imaging
examples shown in Louie et al. (2007), such as in figure 4.
5. Both Optim and PI Louie will interpret the PSDM results for quality and accuracy,
comparing for instance basin depths derived from Abbott and Louie (2000) and Widmer et
al. (2007) against the major impedance contrasts shown by the PSDM. Additional processing
will be done as necessary. We will identify and interpret direct fault images within the
sections (as suggested in Figs. 5 and 7), making sure fault interpretations are internally
consistent. At that point we will deliver these results to cooperating geologists such as
Cashman and Trexler who are studying the tectonic history and development of the Renoarea basin, and cooperating projects such as the Western Basin and Range Community
Velocity Model construction effort of Magistrale, funded by NEHRP-NIW (note of
cooperation below).
6. PI Louie and the graduate student will make an assessment of the reflection response of
Tertiary versus Quaternary faults, after separating the two sets of faults in the interpretation.
The direct fault imaging gives us the rare opportunity to examine the physical properties of
the buried faults. Some questions we hope to collect data on include: Are any of the faults
simple lateral velocity boundaries? Are they low-velocity zones? Do they show a reflection
signal consistent with increased porosity? Decreased porosity and work hardening?
7. PI Louie and the graduate student will also make an assessment of fault reflection response
versus vertical fault offset, where total offset can be assessed from stratal offsets across the
fault. We will look for any correlations between fault age, offset, depth, and other factors
against reflection attributes such as amplitude, phase, and frequency. AVO (amplitude versus
offset or incidence angle) studies of the fault reflections may be possible.
8. Presentation and publication of fault-imaging results will be comprehensive, with all results
posted in standard electronic seismic data-exchange formats on the Western Basin and Range
Community Velocity Model website: http://www.seismo.unr.edu/wbrcvm . These results will
also be exported to the formats needed for inclusion in the WBRCVM. At least one
presentation on the results will be made at an international professional conference such as
AGU, GSA, SSA, SEG, or AAPG. PSDM experience and results will also be submitted to a
peer-reviewed journal for publication.
19
FINAL REPORT AND DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS
All reports requested and required by the USGS will be submitted in a prompt and timely
manner and the results of the research will be published in a professional journal. The PI will
post all reflection results, images, and seismic data products on the Western Basin and Range
Community Velocity Model website: http://www.seismo.unr.edu/wbrcvm . These products, and
their interpretation, will also be integrated into the WGBCVM that is being created by
Magistrale at San Diego State.
RELATED EFFORTS
Louie and Dr. Ileana Tibuleac of the Nevada Seismological Lab are currently starting a
grant by the USGS NEHRP-NIW program to detail the Reno-area basin model, and to conduct
validation of 3-d computations with ANSS data from the basin.
Louie, Tibuleac, and Dr. Pat Cashman of the Dept. of Geological Sciences and
Engineering are completing a FY2010 NEHRP-NIW project to:
1. further refine deeper-basin shear velocities;
2. measure shallow shear velocities at un-characterized ANSS stations in the Reno area;
3. assist the startup of the development of the Western Basin and Range Community
Velocity Model (WBRCVM);
4. do permitting, field and processing work related to the USGS-sponsored reflection
surveys in Reno during June 2009 and March 2010.
The Mogul earthquake swarm in west Reno has provided a wealth of data for validation of
computed scenarios and basin-structure studies in Reno. Site conditions of ANSS stations are a
critical factor in the validations.
Louie and UNR subcontractor Optim SDS are currently conducting 10,000 site-condition
measurements for the Clark County and Henderson, Nevada building departments. This direct
mapping of Vs30 will assist in building-code compliance, development planning, and hazard
assessments. Upon release by the municipalities, these data will increase the number of
measurements available to researchers by an order of magnitude. Louie (2008a) reported on the
more than 1200 sites measured during the first two quarters of this 3-year project.
PROJECT PERSONNEL
This study will be conducted by John Louie, Professor of Geophysics at the University of
Nevada, Reno.
20
Biographical Sketch of John N. Louie
Seismological Laboratory 0174, Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering
College of Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557-0141
(775) 784-4219; fax (775) 784-4165; louie@seismo.unr.edu
Professional Experience
Professor of Geophysics, Nevada Seismological Lab. and Dept. Geological Sciences and
Engin., University of Nevada, Reno; Assoc. Prof. 1992-2006; Assoc. Dir. of NSL 1/076/08. Responsibilities: undergraduate and graduate instruction; supervision of graduate
degree candidates; conduct geophysical research.
Assistant Professor of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
Penna.; Sept. 1987 to Jan. 1992.
Selected Recent Graduate Theses Directed
M.S. Thesis in Geophysics by Mayo Thompson on ``Analysis of shear wave velocity
measurements for prediction uncertainties in Southern California'' defended on 30 April
2010.
M.S. Thesis in Geophysics by Annie Kell-Hills on `` Interpretations of a 3D Seismic Volume,
Hawthorne Geothermal Field, Nevada'' defended on 19 April 2010.
M.S. Thesis in Geophysics by Mahesh Dhar on ``Station delays, their standard deviations,
and event relocations in the Reno-area basin from a dense USArray Flexible Array
deployment during the 2008 west Reno earthquake swarm'' defended on 5 April 2010.
Ph.D. Thesis in Geophysics by Donghong Pei on ``Modeling and inversion of dispersion
curves of surface waves in shallow site investigations'' defended on 19 June 2007.
Ph.D. Thesis in Geophysics by James B. Scott on ``Seismic noise in the shallow subsurface:
methods for using it in earthquake hazard assessment'' defended on 26 April 2007.
Selected Recent Sponsored Research
Spatial Variability in Geotechnical Velocities and Effects on Ground Motions, sponsored by
NSF/So. Calif. Earthquake Ctr., 5/2010 – 4/2011 for $31,400 incl. $5400 UNR funds.
UNR subcontract: Comprehensive evaluation of the geothermal resource potential within the
Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, sponsored by DOE-ARRA Geothermal Technologies
Program through the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe: 5/2010 – 4/2013 for $903,620, 2 PIs.
Shear-velocity measurements at CISN stations along the southern San Andreas fault, sponsored by
the U.S. Geological Survey, 5/2009 – 5/2010 for $66,171.
Gathering critical data toward the Western Basin and Range CVM, sponsored by the U.S.
Geological Survey, 5/2009 – 8/2010 for $52,252 between 3 PIs.
3D seismic interpretation for geothermal resource assessment studies and environmental
management at the Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada, sponsored by US Navy Geothermal
Programs Office/Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, 3/2009 – 4/2010 for
$29,216.
Large scale earthquake parcel classification mapping for increasing public safety and enhancing
planning and development within Clark County, Nevada, sponsored by Clark County and
the City of Henderson, Nevada, 7/2007 – 7/2010 for $7,462,525 total.
Improving next-generation attenuation models with shear-velocity measurements at all TriNet and
strong-motion stations in LA, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey under contracts
05HQGR0078 and 07HQGR0029, 2/2005 – 1/2008 for $104,000 total.
Assembly of a crustal seismic velocity database for the Western Great Basin, sponsored by the U.S.
Dept. of Energy/Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy 4/2002-9/2007 for $380,000.
21
3-D evaluation of ground-shaking potential in the Las Vegas basin, sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of
Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 5/2002 - 9/2006 for $330,000 between
2 PIs.
Relevant Publications
Zohar Gvirtzman and John N. Louie, 2010, 2D analysis of earthquake ground motion in Haifa
Bay, Israel: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 100, 733-750, DOI: 10.1785/0120090019.
D. Pei, J. N. Louie, and S. K. Pullammanappallil, 2008, Improvements on computation of phase
velocities of Rayleigh waves based on the generalized R/T coefficient method: Bull. Seismol.
Soc. Amer., 98, 280-287, DOI: 10.1785/0120070057.
D. Pei, J. N. Louie, and S. K. Pullammanappallil, 2007, Application of simulated annealing
inversion on high-frequency fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave dispersion curves:
Geophysics, 72, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct.), R77-R85.
W. A. Thelen, M. Clark, C. T. Lopez, C. Loughner, H. Park, J. B. Scott, S. B. Smith, B. Greschke,
and J. N. Louie, 2006, A transect of 200 shallow shear velocity profiles across the Los Angeles
Basin: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 96, no. 3 (June), 1055-1067, doi: 10.1785/0120040093.
J. N. Louie, 2001, Faster, better: shear-wave velocity to 100 meters depth from refraction
microtremor arrays: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 91, no. 2 (April), 347-364.
Other Important Publications
P. H. Cashman, Trexler, J.H., Jr., Muntean, T.W., Faulds, J., Louie, J., and Oppliger, G., 2009,
Neogene tectonic evolution of the Sierra Nevada - Basin and Range transition zone at the
latitude of Carson City, Nevada: in Geol. Soc. Amer. Special Paper 447, Late Cenozoic
Structure and Evolution of the Great Basin-Sierra Nevada Transition, 171-188,
doi:10.1130/2009.2447(10).
W. J. Stephenson, J. N. Louie, S. Pullammanappallil, R. A. Williams, and J. K. Odum, 2005, Blind
shear-wave velocity comparison of ReMi and MASW results with boreholes to 200 m in
Santa Clara Valley: Implications for earthquake ground motion assessment: Bull. Seismol. Soc.
Amer., 95, no. 6 (Dec.), 2506-2516.
J. N. Louie, W. Thelen, S. B. Smith, J. B. Scott, M. Clark, 2004, The northern Walker Lane
refraction experiment: Pn arrivals and the northern Sierra Nevada root: Tectonophysics, 388,
no. 1-4, 253-269.
J. N. Louie, S. Chavez-Perez, S. Henrys, and S. Bannister, 2002, Multimode migration of
scattered and converted waves for the structure of the Hikurangi slab interface, New
Zealand: Tectonophysics, 355 (1-4), 227-246.
R. E. Abbott, J. N. Louie, S. J. Caskey, and S. Pullammanappallil, 2001, Geophysical
confirmation of low-angle normal slip on the historically active Dixie Valley fault, Nevada:
Jour. Geophys. Res., 106, 4169-4181.
Graduate Education
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. Degrees: Ph.D. Geophysics, June,
1987; M.S. Geophysics, June, 1983.
Synergistic Activities
JRG, an open-source seismic processing package: www.seismo.unr.edu/jrg .
ModelAssembler, velocity gridding for Community Velocity Models: www.seismo.unr.edu/ma .
Applied Geophysics course with 1-week multi-method field camp and on-line exercises:
www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/492-syll.html .
Service on IRIS Standing Comm., managing the PASSCAL national facility, 2001–2003.
22
INSTITUTIONAL QUALIFICATIONS– UNR
In partnership with the Nevada Applied Research Initiative, Lawrence Livermore National Lab,
and Optim Inc., the Seismo Lab established the Collaboratory for Computational Geosciences (CCoG;
www.seismo.unr.edu/ccog) facility in October 2002. This facility was upgraded in 2008 and again in
2010 to a total of 55 nodes, for a 150-CPU Beowulf parallel processor with >200 Gbyte of RAM. CCoG
is primarily dedicated to seismogram inversion and modeling, and runs Larsen’s E3D and Petersson’s
WPP viscoelastic seismic modeling codes from LLNL.
Additional computer hardware consists of eight UNIX servers and twenty Apple and Sun
workstations with speeds up to 2.8 GHz. These processors are used mainly for research applications and
provide a basis for analysis of the accumulating network data base. One of the servers hosts the Lab's web
site www.seismo.unr.edu, which is one of the University's most popular public outreach programs at
30,000-300,000 hits per day. Seismic reflection data sets are processed with John Louie's open-source
JRG system for research (www.seismo.unr.edu/jrg), and with the industry-standard Halliburton ProMAX
and Parallel SPW systems. Louie has signed a research and development agreement with dGB Earth
Sciences, so 3d seismic data volumes can now be interpreted using all the advanced commercial features
of the OpendTect software platform.
As one of the statewide research agencies of the University of Nevada, the Seismological
Laboratory is headed by a Director (G. Kent) who reports to the Dean of the College of Science. The
Lab's current research staff consists of seven professional seismologists. Technical staff members include
three seismographic technicians, one record analyst, and 2.0 FTE of computer and network systems
personnel. Five graduate research assistants in degree programs of the Dept. of Geological Sciences and
Engineering, and the Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences, are supported through the Lab. The
Seismological Laboratory operates the Western Great Basin Seismic Network (USGS Funding; digital
upgrades provided by the W.M. Keck Foundation) and the Yucca Mountain Digital Seismic Network
(DOE-HRC Funding). These networks now include more than four dozen state-of-the-art high-dynamicrange real-time digital stations. Twenty-four ANSS strong-motion stations have been established as well
in the Reno, Carson, and Las Vegas urban areas. Earthquake data are manipulated using the Antelope and
CSS database systems developed by BRTT, allowing us to interchange both real-time and archived
catalog and seismogram data with the CISN, PNSN, Arizona, and Utah seismic networks through data
centers at Caltech, Menlo Park, Berkeley, Seattle, San Diego, and Salt Lake City, as well as with the
Earthscope observatory. Much of the high-dynamic-range digital station data are archived in real time at
the IRIS Data Management Center.
Current Support and Pending Applications — John N. Louie
Current:
NSF/SCEC: Spatial variability in geotechnical velocities and effects on ground motions,
$26,000, 6/2010 – 5/2011, Louie (0.5 summer month total).
USGS-NEHRP: Higher resolution seismic velocity model in the Reno Basin, $30,372, 12/1/2009
– 11/30/2010, Tibuleac, VonSeggern, Louie (0.1 summer month).
DOE-Recovery Act: Geothermal Technologies Program/Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe: UNRGBCGE subcontract: Comprehensive evaluation of the geothermal resource potential
within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation, $903,620, 2/15/2010 – 2/14/2013, Faulds,
Louie (1.0 summer month/year), Shevenell.
23
DOE-Recovery Act: Geothermal Technologies Program/Magma Energy: UNR subcontract: A
3D-3C reflection seismic survey and data integration to identify the seismic response of
fractures and permeable zones over a known geothermal resource: Soda Lake, Churchill
Co., NV, $92,000, 6/1/2010 – 5/31/2013, Shevenell, Louie (0.75 summer month total).
DOE-Recovery Act: Geothermal Technologies Program/Presco Energy: UNR subcontract:
Application of 2D VSP Seismic Imaging to the Targeting of Exploration and Production
Wells in a Basin and Range Geothermal System, Humboldt House-Rye Patch
Geothermal Area, Pershing County, Nevada, $99,180, 6/14/2010 – 6/13/2012, Louie
(1.5 summer month total), Shevenell.
DOE-Recovery Act: Geothermal Technologies Program/U.S. Geothermal/Optim: UNR
subcontract: Acquisition, imaging, and elastic reflection attributes and AVO of a 2D, 3-C
seismic survey at the San Emidio geothermal prospect, NV, $25,000, 6/1/2010 –
5/31/2011, Louie (1.0 summer month).
DOE-Recovery Act: Geothermal Technologies Program/Oski Energy/Optim: UNR subcontract:
Full waveform inversion and coherency imaging of gridded long-offset 2-D seismic lines
at the Hot Pot geothermal prospect, NV, $25,000, 6/1/2010 – 5/31/2011, Louie (1.0
summer month).
US Navy- Geothermal Programs Office/GBCGE: 3D seismic addendum to statement of work for
geothermal resource assessment studies and environmental management at the
Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada, $29,216, 11/3/2008 – 6/30/2010, Louie (0.5 summer
month).
USGS-NEHRP: Shear-velocity measurements at CISN stations along the southern San
Andreas fault, $66,171, 5/15/2009 – 5/14/2010, Louie (0.25 summer month).
USGS-NEHRP: Gathering critical data toward the Western Basin and Range CVM, $52,252,
5/15/2009 – 8/14/2010, Louie (0.05 summer month), Tibuleac, Cashman.
City of Henderson, Nevada, Building & Fire Safety Dept., Large scale earthquake parcel site
classification mapping for increasing public safety and enhancing planning and
development within the City of Henderson, NV, $875,000, 7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010, Louie
(no time).
Clark County, Nevada, Dept. of Development Services: Large scale earthquake parcel
classification mapping for increasing public safety and enhancing planning and
development within Clark County, Nevada, $6,587,525, 7/20/2007 – 7/20/2010, Louie
(0.7 summer month/year).
Pending:
EPA-STAR/DRI: UNR subcontract: Evaluation of potential risk to public health and infrastructure
longevity associated with saline water capture at Honey Lake Valley, Nevada, $15,433,
3/1/2010 – 2/28/2011, Louie (0.5 summer month).
This Proposal.
REFERENCES
Abbott, R.E. and Louie, J.N., 2000, Case history: depth to bedrock using gravimetry in the Reno and
Carson City, Nevada, area basins: Geophysics, 65(2), 340-350.
Abbott, R. E., J. N. Louie, S. J. Caskey, and S. Pullammanappallil, 2001, Geophysical confirmation of
low-angle normal slip on the historically active Dixie Valley fault, Nevada: Jour. Geophys. Res.,
106, 4169-4181.
24
Cashman, P.H., Trexler, J.H., Jr., Muntean, T.W., Faulds, J., Louie, J., and Oppliger, G., 2009 in press,
Neogene tectonic evolution of the Sierra Nevada – Basin and Range transition zone at the latitude
of Carson City, Nevada: Geological Society of America Special Paper.
Chavez-Perez, S., J. N. Louie, and S. K. Pullammanappallil, 1998, Seismic depth imaging of normal
faulting in the southern Death Valley basin: Geophysics, 63, 223-230.
Dhar, M. S., Thompson, M., Kell-Hills, A., Louie, J. N., Smith, K. D., Tirabassi, J., Tom, S., and Irwin,
T., 2008, Educating a community impacted by an earthquake swarm: 106 volunteers host
Earthscope Flexible Array recorders during the Mogul, Nevada sequence: Eos Trans. AGU,
89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PA13B-1342.
Dhar, M.S., M. Thompson, A. Kell-Hills, J.N. Louie, and K.D. Smith, 2009a, Station delays and their
variance in the Reno-area basin from a dense deployment during the 2008 West Reno earthquake
swarm: 2009 SCEC Annual Meeting poster 1-140, Palm Springs, Calif., Sept. 13-16. Poster can
be viewed at http://www.seismo.unr.edu/feature/2008/wreno/Dhar-SCEC09poster.jpg
Dhar, M. S., M. Thompson, A. M. Kell, J. N. Louie, and K. D. Smith, 2009b, Station delays, their
standard deviations, and event relocations in the Reno-area basin from a dense deployment during
the 2008 west Reno earthquake swarm: presented at 2009 American Geophysical Union Fall
Meeting, Dec. 18; abstract in Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract U53A-0062.
Dhar, M. S., M. Thompson, A. M. Kell-Hills, J. N. Louie, K. D. Smith, and M. C. Widmer, 2010, Crossconstraints between station delays, gravity, and reflection for the Reno-area basin floor, Nevada:
presented at Seismol. Soc. Amer. 2010 Annual Meeting, Portland, Ore., April 23; Seismological
Research
Letters,
81,
381.
Poster
image
available
at
http://crack.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/453/faultsurvey/Dhar-poster.jpg
Frary, R., W. J. Stephenson, J. N. Louie, J. K. Odum, J. Z. Maharrey, M. Messmer, I. Tomlinson, E. F.
Littlefield, A. Hughes, S. Jha, K. Kohls, M. S. Dhar, S. Konkol, A. Wakwak, P. H. Cashman, J.H.
Trexler, R. Kent, and C. Hoffpauir, 2009, Preliminary analysis of high-resolution seismic imaging
profiles acquired through Reno, Nevada, for earthquake hazard assessment: presented at 2009
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Dec. 14; abstract in Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall
Meet. Suppl., Abstract NS13A-1135.
Frary, R. N., W. J. Stephenson, J. N. Louie, J. K. Odum, J. Z. Maharrey, M. S. Dhar, R. L. Kent, and C.
G. Hoffpauir, 2010, Analysis of high-resolution p-wave seismic imaging profiles acquired
through Reno, Nevada, for earthquake hazards assessment: presented at Seismol. Soc. Amer.
2010 Annual Meeting, Portland, Ore., April 23; Seismological Research Letters, 81, 357.
Hale, D., and Claerbout, J. F., 1983, Butterworth dip filters: Geophysics, 48, 1033-1038.
Harlan, W. S., Claerbout, J. F., and Rocca, F., 1984, Signal/noise separation and velocity estimation:
Geophysics, 49, 1869-1880.
Honjas, W., Pullammanappallil, S. K., Lettis, W. R., Plank, G. L., Louie, J. N., and Schweickert, R.,
1997, Predicting shallow Earth structure within the Dixie Valley geothermal field, Dixie Valley,
Nevada, using a non-linear velocity optimization scheme: Geothermal Resources Council Bull.,
26, 45-52.
Kanbur, Z., J. N. Louie, S. Chavez-Perez, G. Plank, D. Morey, 2000, Seismic reflection study of
Upheaval Dome, Canyonlands National Park, Utah: Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets),
105, 9489-9505.
Kell-Hills, A. M., M. S. Dhar, M. Thompson, J. N. Louie, and K. D. Smith, 2009, Community-outreach
efforts in data collection and analysis for the 2008 Mogul earthquake sequence: 2009 SCEC
Annual Meeting poster 1-050, Palm Springs, Calif., Sept. 13-16. Poster can be viewed at
http://www.seismo.unr.edu/feature/2008/wreno/SCEC-poster-kell.jpg
Kell-Hills, A. M., S. Pullammanappallil, J. N. Louie, P. Cashman, and J. Trexler, 2010, Optimized
velocities And PSDM in the Reno basin: presented at Seismol. Soc. Amer. 2010 Annual Meeting,
Portland, Ore., April 23; Seismological Research Letters, 81, 358. Available at
http://crack.seismo.unr.edu/wbrcvm/refl/SSA10-Louie-Reno-refl.html
25
Louie, J. N., R. W. Clayton, and R. J. Le Bras, 1988, Three-dimensional imaging of steeply dipping
structure near the San Andreas fault, Parkfield, California: Geophysics, 53, 176-185
Louie J. N., and J. Qin, 1991, Subsurface imaging of the Garlock fault, Cantil Valley, California: J.
Geophys. Res., 96, 14,461-14,479.
Louie, John N., Sergio Chávez-Pérez, Stuart Henrys, and Stephen Bannister, 2002, Multimode migration
of scattered and converted waves for the structure of the Hikurangi slab interface, New Zealand:
Tectonophysics, 355, no. 1-4, 227-246.
Louie, J. N., W. Honjas, and S. Pullammanappallil, 2007, Geophysical exploration for geothermal
resources: Advanced seismic technology: Geophysical Techniques in Geothermal Exploration
Workshop, 2007 Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, Reno, 28 September. Available
at http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/geothermal/exploration-louie.html .
Louie, J. N., and Pullammanappallil, S., 2007, Shallow dip of two Great Basin normal faults
demonstrated by shallow seismic reflection with refraction tomography (invited): Eos Trans.
AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract NS23A-07.
Louie, J. N., Pullammanappallil, S., and Honjas, B., 2008, Imaging the geometry of Great Basin normal
faults by combining seismic reflection with refraction tomography: presented at the Seismol. Soc.
Amer. Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 16-18.
Louie, J. N., and Magistrale, H., 2008, From data to synthesis on the cheap: the Western Basin and Range
Community Seismic Velocity Model: Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract
IN43A-1165.
Louie, John N., 2008a, Earthquake hazard class mapping by parcel in unincorporated urban Clark County:
Geological Society of America, Cordilleran Section (104th Annual) and Rocky Mountain Section
(60th Annual) Joint Meeting, 19-21 March, Paper No. 17-6, Abstracts with Programs, 40, No. 1,
p. 72.
Louie, John N., 2008b, Assembling a Nevada 3-d velocity model: earthquake-wave propagation in the
Basin & Range, and seismic shaking predictions for Las Vegas: SEG Expanded Abstracts, 27,
2166-2170.
Louie, J. N., I. Tibuleac, P. Cashman, J. Trexler, W. J. Stephenson, J. Odum, S. K. Pullammanappallil, A.
Pancha, and H. Magistrale, 2009, Gathering critical data toward the Western Basin and Range
CVM: 2009 SCEC Annual Meeting poster 1-011, Palm Springs, Calif., Sept. 13-16. Poster can be
viewed at http://www.seismo.unr.edu/faultsurvey/results/Louie-poster.jpg
Lumley, David E., Claerbout, Jon F. and Bevc, Dimitri, 1994, Anti-aliased Kirchhoff 3-D migration: 64th
Annual Internat. Mtg., Soc. Expl. Geophys., Tulsa, Okla., Expanded Abstracts, 1282-1285.
Pullammanappallil, S. K., and J. N. Louie, 1994, A generalized simulated-annealing optimization for
inversion of first-arrival times: Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 84, 1397-1409.
Pullammanappallil, S. K., and J. N. Louie, 1997, A combined first-arrival travel time and reflection
coherency optimization approach to velocity estimation: Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 511-514.
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Declaration of No Conflict of Interest
John Louie, Univ. of Nevada, Reno, May 12, 2010
This proposed project and its subcontract to Optim do not present any real or apparent conflicts of
interest. I do not now nor have I ever had any personal financial interest in Optim or any of its
predecessor or subsidiary companies. I have not ever served as an officer or board member of Optim or of
any of its predecessor or subsidiary companies. I have occasionally worked for Optim as a private
consultant, after receiving permission to do so from my supervisors at the University of Nevada.
I am the inventor the refraction microtremor technology (not used in this proposed project),
developed during the period of 1997-2000. As an employee of the State of Nevada, under Nevada law, the
State owns all inventions I make in the field of expertise for which I was hired. In April 2004 I disclosed
the refraction microtremor technology to the University of Nevada's Technology Transfer Officer. The
TTO accepted the technology as a State asset and immediately sought to license it for commercial
development. An exclusive license was granted by the Nevada System of Higher Education, under their
regular policies and procedures, to Optim to use and develop the refraction microtremor technology.
Optim pays royalties to the State of Nevada based on any and all their sales of refraction microtremor
software, services, or data. Under the University's intellectual property policies, I receive a share of these
royalties personally as the technology's inventor.
Optim is one of the University's most valued commercial partners. I have collaborated with
Optim and Optim staff on research and on many technical papers published in peer-reviewed journals.
Optim staff, including Dr. Satish Pullammanappallil, have been elected as University Adjunct Faculty,
and have worked as members of graduate student advisory and thesis committees. For a decade Optim has
donated graduate and postdoctoral fellowships to the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation. As well,
Optim has donated software licenses, and professional staff time, toward student course and thesis work.
Optim has provided research funding contracts to the University, as well as delivering results under
subcontract from University research projects.
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Science for a changing world
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS TEAM
MS 966 BOX 25046
DENVER FEDERAL CENTER
DENVER, COLORADO 80225
In reply refer to:
William J. Stephenson
Telephone: (303) 273-8573
FAX: (303) 273-8600
wstephens@usgs.gov
April 29, 2009
Dr. John Louie
Nevada Seismological Laboratory
Mackay School of Earth Science and Engineering
University of Nevada
Reno, Nevada 89557
Dear John:
Thank you for the significant effort you have contributed thus far this year to the upcoming
USGS high-resolution minivibe seismic reflection investigation in the Truckee Meadows basin
underlying Reno. Your cooperative assistance has already greatly improved the field plans and
logistics for this imaging experiment, scheduled for June 2009.
I fully support your proposed research to analyze the minivibe seismic reflection data to be
acquired in Reno with your state-of-the-art direct fault imaging technique. The advanced
imaging methodology you propose will complement the seismic reflection analysis the Central
Region Geologic Hazards Science Center Intermountain West Megaproject plans to conduct on
these data. Our combined analyses will lead to a robust, integrated view of the subsurface
beneath the profiles, and the coordination of our efforts will maximize the scientific potential of
these data.
Finally, the results of our collaborative research will vastly improve our state of knowledge
about the basin geometry and velocity structure underlying Reno. These results will thus be
important contributions to further development of the Great Basin Community Velocity Model
and, ultimately, the Reno/Carson City Urban Seismic Hazard Maps.
Sincerely,
William J. Stephenson
Research Geophysicist
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