Ralph Archuleta

My research interests are in the kinematics and dynamics of earthquake ruptures. I am interested in numerical simulations of earthquakes and the resulting ground motion in the near-source region (<50 km). To provide the input to the simulations it is necessary to have basic properties such as stress levels on the fault and a frictional relation that governs the propagation of the rupture. The ground motion will depend on the material through which seismic waves propagate and in particular the last 100 m near the surface that has a significant effect on the ground motion. To gain insight into the nature of faults I, along with colleagues, have analyzed ground motion records of major earthquakes trying to relate the observations to fundamental properties that exist prior to an earthquake.