EAR-PF Late Quaternary slip rates and paleoseismicity of the Sevier Desert Detachment: earthquake hazards of a low-angle normal fault

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Dr. Timothy Stahl has been awarded an NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a research and field-based education program through the University of Michigan. He will investigate the paleoseismicity and seismogenic potential of the Sevier Desert Detachment (SDD)- a low-angle normal fault (LANF) in central Utah. This project aims to (1) establish the long-term slip rates of the SDD; (2) determine the timing and magnitude of past earthquakes on the SDD; (3) model the probability of multi-segment or multi-fault ruptures on the SDD and faults soling into it at depth. Dr. Stahl will use a combination of field mapping, terrestrial laser scanning, cosmogenic surface exposure-age dating, paleoseismic trenching, and numerical modeling to meet the above research aims.This is the first study to examine field evidence for the timing and magnitude of prehistoric earthquakes on a LANF. The research will elucidate the controversial and potentially devastating seismic hazard posed by these faults in the US and worldwide. The fellowship supports the development of field-based, collaborative research projects for undergraduates at the U. Michigan and Snow College, a two-year undergraduate college in central Utah. Dr. Stahl will also lead a one-month field camp for U. Michigan students in New Zealand, the host country of his PhD studies, aimed at broadening knowledge of different tectonic settings around the world and establishing international connections between USA and New Zealand undergraduate students.