Dr. Sinan Akciz is an assistant professor of geology at Cal State Fullerton whose research interests are in structural geology and paleoseismology. He conducts field-based research to understand the evolution of fault systems, with particular focus on the dates and magnitudes of past surface rupturing earthquakes along the numerous faults that form the San Andreas fault system. He has received funding from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Southern California Earthquake Center to better constrain the ages of prehistoric southern San Andreas Fault earthquakes. Along with his CSUF colleague, Dr. Matt Kirby, Dr. Akciz investigate the influence of climate-change-driven heavy-precipitation events in preserving the timing and magnitude records of past earthquakes.
When Southern California’s largest earthquake in nearly two decades occurred in Ridgecrest—at a magnitude 7.1—on July 5, 2019, Akciz put aside his research and joined his colleagues from USGS, California Geological Survey and other academic institutions to rapidly map the surface rupture and make detailed surface offset measurements before they deteriorated. Surface trace complexity and slip magnitude data are essential for scientists to create and ground-check their three-dimensional models of the ground’s physical displacement. This information is also crucial for engineers and emergency responders to plan their response to infrastructure damage and plan for future earthquakes.
“Most of the Ridgecrest earthquake rupture occurred on previously unmapped faults, so we would not have expected to have an earthquake where it occurred,” said Akciz, who mapped the southern 15-kilometer portion of the ruptured fault trace. “With each earthquake, we learn a bit more about the complicated process of earthquake occurrence and its surficial effects. These will ultimately help us build more earthquake-resilient structures and communities. While we get excited about such an event as a scientist, nonaffected residents of California need to remind themselves that they are living in an earthquake country, and the next one might be a lot closer to where they live.”