Biography
Charles G. Sammis
Present Position: Professor of Geological and Materials Sciences, University of
Southern California
Visiting Professor, University College London
Born: 1944, Huntington, New York.
Education:
Brown University, Sc. B. (Cum Laude, with honors in Physics) 1965
California Institute of Technology, M.S. (Geophysics) 1968
California Institute of Technology, Ph.D., 1971
Previous Positions:
N.A.T.O. Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Theoretical Chemistry, Univ. of Bristol, 1971-72.
Assistant Professor of Geophysics, Department of Geosciences, Penn. State University, 1972-75
Associate Professor of Geophysics, Department of Geosciences, Penn. State University, 1975-77
Associate Professor, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, 1977-1987
Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Southern California, 1987-
Academic Awards:
United Aircraft Scholarship, Brown University, 1961-1965.
Title IV Fellowship, Caltech, 1966-1970.
N.E.R.C. Visiting Scientist Fellowship, Cambridge, 1983-1984.
Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Research Award, 1991.
USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1994.
Tomas Brody Honorary Chair at the UNAM Institute of Physics, Mexico City, 1999.
USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research, 2002.
USC General Education Teaching Award, 2004.
Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, 2007.
Professional Activity:
Department Chair: Dept. of Earth Sciences, Univ. of Southern California 1994-1998
Visiting Scholar: Cambridge University Engineering Laboratory, 1983-1984
Visiting Professor: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris,
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Summer, 1987.
Institute for Theoretical Physics (U.C. Santa Barbara), Fall, 1992
Associate Editor: Journal of Geophysical Research, 1984-1987
Associate Editor: Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 1984-1987
Member: NASA Planetary Science Review Panel, 1980-1982
Member: AGU Mineral Physics Committee, 1984-
Member: AGU Publicity Committee , 1988-1991
Member: Geomechanics Committee of the Am.Soc.Mech.Engineers, 1988-
U.S. Organizer: U.S.-Japan Workshop on "Fracture, Form, and Fractals", NSF U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science Program, Lake Arrowhead, CA. 1989.
PUBLICATIONS
2008 Papers
Sammis, C. G., A. J. Rosakis, and H. S. Bhat (2008), Effects of Off-Fault Damage on Earthquake Rupture Propagation: Experimental Studies, PAGEOPH, submitted.
Biegel, R. L., H. S. Bhat, C. G. Sammis, and A. J. Rosakis (2008), The Effect of Asymmetric Damage on Dynamic Shear RupturePropagation I: No Mismatch in Bulk Elasticity, J. Geophys. Res., submitted.
Bhat, H. S., R. L. Biegel, A. J. Rosakis, and C. G. Sammis (2008), The Effect of Asymmetric Damage on Dynamic Shear Rupture Propagation II: With Mismatch in Bulk Elasticity, J. Geophys. Res., submitted.
Fischer, A.D. and C.G.Sammis (2008), Body wave triggering of small shallow events during strong motion, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., accepted for publication.
Sammis, C. G. and Y. Ben-Zion, The Mechanics of Grain-Size Reduction in Fault Zones, J. Geophys. Res., 113, 02306, doi:10.1029/2006JB004892, 2008.
Biegel, R. L., C. G. Sammis, and A. J. Rosakis (2008), An experimental study of the effect of off-fault damage on the velocity of a slip pulse, J. Geophys. Res., 113, B04302, doi:10.1029/2007JB005234.
Fischer, A. D., Z. Peng, and C. G. Sammis (2008), Dynamic triggering of high-frequency bursts by strong motions during the 2004 Parkfield earthquake sequence, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L12305, doi:10.1029/2008GL033905.
Fischer, A. D., C. G. Sammis, Y. Chen, and T. L. Teng (2008), Dynamic triggering by strong motion P- and S-waves: Evidence from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 98, 580–592.
Frost, E., J.A. Dolan, C.G. Sammis (2008), Progressive strain localization in a major strike-slip fault exhumed from mid-seismogenic depths: Structural observations from the SEMP fault system, Austria. J. Geophys. Res, in press.
Sammis, C.G. and . Kositsky, Accelerating Moment Release Before Large Earthquakes, in Acoustic Emissions and Critical Phenomena: From Structural Mechanics to Geophysics, A. A. Balkema Publishers, 2008.
2007 Papers
Sammis, C. G., and G. C. P. King, Mechanical origin of power law scaling in fault zone rock, Geophys. Res. Lett, 34, L04312, doi:10.1029/2006GL028548, 2007.
Biegel, R.L, Sammis, C.G. and Rosakis, A.J., Interaction of a dynamic rupture on a fault plane with Short Frictionless Fault Branches, Pure and Appl. Geophys., 164, 1881-1904, doi:10.1007/s00024-007-0251-2, 2007.
Dolan, J.F, D.D. Bowman, and C.G. Sammis, Long-range and long-term fault interactions in southern California. Geology, 35, 855-858, doi: 10.1130/G23789A.1, 2007.
2006 Papers
Chen, Y., C. G. Sammis, and T.-L. Teng, A high frequency view of the 1999 Chi-Chi Taiwan Earthquake source rupture and fault mechanics, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 96, 807-820, 2006.
2006 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G. and G.C.P. King, The mechanical origin of power law scaling in fault zone rock, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S42A-07, 2006.
Fischer, A.D., C.G. Sammis, and Y. Chen, Dynamic Triggering of Microearthquakes by P- and S-waves from the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan Earthquake, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S31A-0179, 2006.
Biegel, R.L, Sammis, C.G. and Rosakis, A.J. The Effect of Off-Fault Damage on Earthquake Rupture Velocity: An Experimental Study, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S33A-0229, 2006.
Frost, E.K., J.F. Dolan, C.G. Sammis, B. Hacker, L. Ratschbacher, and J. Cole, Structural Analysis of the Exhumed SEMP Fault Zone, Austria: Towards an Understanding of Fault Zone Architecture Throughout the Seismogenic Crust, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T21C-0441, 2006.
2005 Papers
Rice, J.R., C. G. Sammis, and R. Parsons, Off-fault secondary failure induced by a dynamic slip pulse, Bull. Seismological Soc. Am., 95, 109–134, 2005.
Sammis, C. G. and R. L. Biegel, Seismic radiation from explosions in frozen crystallinerock, in Proceedings of the 27th Seismic Research Review: Ground-Based NuclearExplosion Monitoring Technologies, LA-UR-05-6407, Vol. 1, pp. 642–652, 2005.
2005 Published Abstracts
Fischer, A D and Sammis, C.G, (2005), A Closer Look at High Frequency Bursts Observed During the 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan Earthquake, Eos Trans. AGU.
86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S43A-1053.
Biegel, R.L, Sammis, C.G. and Rosakis, A.J., (2005), A Laboratory Investigation of Off-Fault Damage: Effects on Rupture Velocity, Eos Trans. AGU.
86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S41B-1002
Sammis, C.G. (2005), Using Regional Seismicity to Forecast Large Earthquakes, Eos Trans. AGU.86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S42B-04 INVITED
2004 Papers
Sammis, C.G., D.D. Bowman, and G.C.P. King, Anomalous Seismicity and Accelerating Moment Release Preceding the 2001 and 2002 Earthquakes in Northern Baja California, Mexico, Pure and Appl. Geophysics, 161, 2369-2378, 2004.
Wyss, M., C.G. Sammis, R.M. Nadeau, and S. Wiemer, Fractal dimension and b-value on creeping and locked patches of the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, California, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer., 94, 410-421, 2004.
Manighetti, I., G. King, and C.G. Sammis, The role of off-fault damage in the evolution of normal faults, Earth Planet Sci. Lett., 217, 399-408, 2004.
Biegel, R.L., and C.G. Sammis, Relating fault mechanics to fault zone structure, Advances in Geophysics, 47, 65-111, 2004.
Manighetti I., M. Campillo, G. King, M. Mai, C.G. Sammis, Evidence for self-similar, triangular slip distributions on earthquake faults; implications for earthquake and fault mechanics,Journal Geophys. Res., in press, 2004.
Smith and Sammis, Revisiting the Tidal Activation of Seismicity with a Damage Mechanics and Friction Point of View, Pure Appl. Geophys., 161, 2393-2404, 2004.
Bowman, D. D. and C. G. Sammis, Intermittent criticality and the Gutenberg-Richter distribution, Pure Appl. Geophys., 104, 1945-1956, 2004.
Sammis, C. and R. Biegel, Mechanics of strengthening in crystalline rock at lowtemperatures: a preliminary assessment, in Proceedings of the 26th Seismic ResearchReview: Trends in Nuclear Explosion Monitoring, LA-UR-04-5801, Vol. 2, pp. 475–484. 2004
2004 Published Abstracts
Biegel, R.L. and C. G. Sammis (2004), Scaling Off-Fault Damage from Field to Laboratory, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T23A-0564
Chen, Y., C.G. Sammis, and T.L. Teng (2004), A High Frequency View of 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan, Source Rupture and Fault Mechanics, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S33C-07.
Dolan, J.F., D.D. Bowman (2004), and C.G. Sammis, Long-Range and Long-Term Fault Interactions in Southern California, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract G14A-05 INVITED
Frost, E K., Dolan, J.F., Sammis, C.G., Hacker, B., and Ratschbacher, L (2004), Direct Observation of Depth Variation in Fault Zone Structure Through and Below the Seismogenic Crust: Preliminary Results From the SEMP Fault System in Austria, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S31D-05
2003 Papers
Ben-Zion, Y. and C.G. Sammis, Characterization of fault zones, Pure appl. geophys., 160, 677-715, 2003.
Smith, S.W. and C.G. Sammis, Revisiting the tidal activation of seismicity with a damage mechanics and friction point of view, Proceeding of the 3rd ACES workshop, Edited by A. Donnellan and P. Mora, pp. 327-332, 2003.
Chen, Y. and C.G. Sammis, Asperity Models for Earthquakes, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 93, 1792-1802, 2003.
Rundle, J.B., D.L.Turcotte, R. Shcherbakov, W. Klein, and C.G. Sammis, Statistical physics approach to understanding the multiscale dynamics of earthquake fault systems, Rev. Geophys., 41, 1019, 2003.
2003 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., J.F. Dolan, and S.W. Smith, Phase-locking in coupled non-linear relaxation oscillators: and explanation for observed temporal and spatial correlation and anti-correlation of large earthquakes, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F787, 2003.
Manighetti, I., C.G. Sammis, G. King, and M. Campillo, Evidence for self-similar, triangular slip distributions on earthquake faults, and implications on fault and earthquake mechanics, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F1031, 2003.
King, G.C.P., I. Manighetti, C.G. Sammis, P. Tapponier, R. Armijo, and D.D. Bowman, Fault and Rift Evolution – all features great and small, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F1357, 2003.
Powers, P.M., C.G. Sammis, T.H. Jordan, and D. Okaya, A system for evaluating earthquake driven stress changes in the Los Angeles Region, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F1438, 2003.
Levin, S.Z., C.G. Sammis, and D.D. Bowman, An observational test of the stress recovery model for seismicity preceding Landers, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F790, 2003.
Dolan, J.F., D.D. Bowman, and C.G. Sammis, Paleoseismologic evidence for long-distance and long term interactions in southern California, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F1003, 2003.
Mordohai, P., O. Dor, J. Zachar, C.G. Sammis, and Y. Ben-Zion, Slip surfaces in fault breccia from the Sierra Madre Fault Zone: Geometry on mechanical implications, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 84, F1089, 2003.
2002 Papers
Sammis, C.G. and D. Sornette, Postitive feedback, memory, and the predictability of earthquakes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 2501-2508, 2002.
2002 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., Recognizing and understanding patterns in the spatial, temporal, and magnitude distributions of regional seismicity, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 83, F9, 2002.
Chen, Y., and C.G. Sammis, Spatial and temporal patterns of regional seismicity preceding the 1992 Landers California earthquake, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 83, F636, 2002.
Parsons, R., J.R. Rice, and C.G. Sammis, Off-plane secondary faulting and damage induced by a dynamic slip-pulse, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 83, F655, 2002.
Levin, S., and C.G. Sammis, Changes in seismic strain following the 1992 Landers California earthquake, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 83, F1068, 2002.
2001 Papers
Sammis, C.G. and J.R. Rice, Repeating earthquakes as low-stress-drop events at a border between locked and creeping fault patches, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 91, 532-537, 2001.
Johnson, L.R., and C.G. Sammis, Effects of rock damage on seismic waves generated by explosions, PAGEOPH, 158, 1869-1908, 2001.
2001 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., Fractal fragmentation, friction and faulting, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, F569, 2001.
Sammis, C.G., D.D. Bowman, and G.C.P King, A simple analytical model for the formation and dissolution of stress shadows from large earthquakes, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, 571-572, 2001.
Bowman, D.D, G.C.P King, and C.G. Sammis, Stress accumulation and observations of accelerating seismicity before large earthquakes, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, 831, 2001.
King, G.C.P., D.D. Bowman, and C.G. Sammis, The evolution of regional seismicity between large earthquakes, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, 831, 2001.
Smith, S.W., and C.G. Sammis, Revisiting the tidal activation of seismicity with a damage mechanics and friction point of view, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, F565, 2001.
Chen, Y. and C.G. Sammis, A numerical asperity model for repeating earthquakes, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 82, F853, 2001.
2000 Papers
Sammis, C.G., Materials Science Issues in Earth and Planetary Sciences, Progress in Materials Science, 46, 231-247, 2001.
2000 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., Criticality, Self-organized Criticality, and Earthquake Prediction, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 81, 48, F555, 2000.
Sammis, C.G. and J.R. Rice, Criticality, Repeating earthquakes as low-stress-drop events at a border between locked and creeping fault patches, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 81, 48, F1085, 2000.
Sammis, C.G., A grain bridge model for friction in granular layers, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 81, Supplement, S408, 2000.
1999 Papers
Sammis, C.G., R.M. Nadeau, and L.R. Johnson, How strong is an asperity?, J. Geophys Res., 104, 10,609-10,619, 1999.
Sammis, C.G., and S.W. Smith, Seismic cycles and the evolution of stress correlation in cellular automaton models of finite fault networks, PAGEOPH., 155, 307-334, 1999.
Ben-Zion, Y., C.G. Sammis, and T.L. Henyey, Perspectives on the field of physics of earthquakes, Seism. Res. Letters, 70, 428-431, 1999.
1999 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., Y. Chen, Y. Ben-Zion, An asperity model for repeating earthquakes, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 80, Supplement, F705, 1999.
Pignota, G.S., S.R. Paterson, and C.G. Sammis, Thermally and mechanically driven cracking at magma-host rock contacts: Implications for stoping in plutons, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 80, Supplement, F983, 1999.
Bowman, D.D., and C.G. Sammis, Coulomb stress models and accelerating moment release: Merging space and time before large earthquakes, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 80, Supplement, F1012, 1999.
1998 Papers
Sammis, C.G., Physics of earthquakes: state of our knowledge, Quarterly Newsletter, Southern California Earthquake Center, Vol 4, No.2, pp.16-18, 1998.
Huang, Y., H. Saleur, C. Sammis, and D. Sornette, Precursors, aftershocks, criticality and self-organized criticality, Europhys. Letters , 41, 43-48, 1998.
Bowman, D.D., G. Ouillon, C.G. Sammis, A. Sornette, and D. Sornette, An observational test of the critical earthquake concept, J.Geophys. Res., 103, 24,359-24,372, 1998.
Sammis, C.G., Acoustic fluidization in the damage regime of explosions in crystalline rock, Proceedings of the 20th Annual Seismic Symposium on Monitoring a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, September 21-23, 1998, (DOD and DOE), 403-407, 1998.
1998 Published Abstracts
Sammis, C.G., A critical point model for regional seismicity, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 79, Supplement, F2, 1998.
Sammis, C.G., and S.W. Smith, Growth and destruction of stress correlation in a cellular automaton model for regional seismicity, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 79, Supplement, F635-640, 1998.
Bowman, D.D., C.G. Sammis, Using aftershocks to monitor changes in the correlation length of the stress field before and after large earthquakes, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 79, Supplement, F644, 1998.
Bowman, D.D., C.G. Sammis, D. Lockner, and S. Stanchits, Experimental observation of temporal clustering of seismicity due to fractal spatial heterogeneity, EOS Trans .Am. Geophys. U., 79, Supplement, S222, 1998.