Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazard Summits

The Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazard Summits (BRPSHS) were established in 1997, based on discussions between the Western States Seismic Policy Council, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) about seismic policy and technical issues. These meetings bring together geologists, seismologists, geodesists, engineers, emergency managers, and policy makers to present and discuss the latest earthquake-hazards research, and to evaluate research implications for hazard reduction and public policy in the Basin and Range Province. The 2022 summit has been renamed the Basin and Range Earthquake Summit (BRES), but the spirit and purpose of the previous meetings continue.

2022 Basin and Range Earthquake Summit

The 2022 Basin and Range Earthquake Summit was held Monday, October 17 to Thursday, October 20, 2022, at the Utah Department of Natural Resources Building (1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah). It was a hybrid in-person and remote meeting.

The purpose of BRES is to bring together stakeholders in the earthquake science, policy, and emergency management communities to present and discuss the latest seismic-hazard research in the Basin and Range Province (BRP), evaluate the implications of that research for earthquake-hazard reduction and public policy, and to make recommendations to further reduce risk from earthquakes in the BRP. BRES built on previously held Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazard Summits held in 1997, 2005, and 2015.

Please see tabs below for abstract and agenda downloads and future publication updates.

A meeting proceedings volume was published through the Utah Geological Survey’s Miscellaneous Publication Series. Use the downloads below to view meeting abstracts, presentations, posters, and video recordings from the meeting.

Proceedings Volume, 2022 Basin and Range Earthquake Summit

edited by Adam I. Hiscock, Elizabeth Williams, Emily J. Kleber, and Steve D. Bowman
6 technical sessions [29 presentations], 25 posters., Miscellaneous Publication 177

PDF Publication
Technical Sessions Day 1
Technical Sessions Day 2
Technical Sessions Day 3
Technical Sessions Day 4
Posters

Archive of Previous Meetings

Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazards Summit I & II

The Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, along with the WSSPC Basin and Range Province Committee (BRPC), convened two BRPSHSs in Reno, Nevada. BRPSHSI was held in May 1997, and BRPSHSII was held in May 2004.

Based on WSSPC Policy Recommendation 04-5, which originated from BRPSHSII, and advocated convening a broad-based group of technical experts to evaluate specific seismic-hazard issues and advise the USGS regarding USGS National Seismic Hazard Map updates, the Basin and Range Province Earthquake Working Group (BRPEWG) was established, and met in March 2006 and November 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Publications

Lund, W.R., editor, 1998, Proceedings volume, Basin and Range Province Seismic-Hazards Summit: Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 98-2, 204 p.

Lund, W.R., editor, 2005, Proceedings volume, Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazards Summit II: Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 05-2, variously paginated.

Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazards Summit III

The UGS and WSSPC, in conjunction with the Utah Division of Emergency Management, the Utah Professional Geologists Licensing Board, the Utah Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Licensing Board, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Intermountain Section of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, and the Utah Seismic Safety Commission convened a third summit (BRPSHSIII) January 12-17, 2015, at the Utah Department of Natural Resources Building in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 220 people attended BRPSHSIII.

Major BRP seismic-hazard topics explored at BRPSHSIII by 42 invited experts included:

  • Perspectives and User Needs
  • Mmax Issues in the Basin and Range Province
  • Ground Motions from Normal-Faulting Earthquakes
  • Fault Segmentation and Rupture Patterns in the Basin and Range Province
  • Earthquake Engineering and Risk Mitigation
  • Emergency Management and Public Policy
  • Using Geodesy to Characterize Seismic Hazard in the Basin and Range Province

The summit also included a one-day pre-meeting short course and workshop, and post-meeting field trip:

  • Short Course – Characterizing Hazardous Faults – Techniques, Data Needs, and Analysis
  • Workshop – Evaluation of Hazardous Faults in the Intermountain West Region
  • Field Trip – Salt Lake City’s Earthquake Threat and What Is Being Done About It

A comprehensive proceedings volume, including the summit agenda; available technical session PowerPoint presentations, most with an accompanying abstract or short paper; poster presentations; the short course manual; the field trip guidebook; results of the USGS workshop; and an invited paper on luminescence dating techniques was published as UGS Miscellaneous Publication 15-5 [see Publications at right].

Publications

Lund, W.R., editor, 2015, Proceedings volume, Basin and Range Province Seismic Hazards Summit III: Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 15-5, variously paginated.
Proceedings – Introduction, Contents & Agenda (pdf)
Invited Paper (pdf)
DAY 1 Technical Sessions 1&2 (pdf)
DAY 2 Technical Sessions 3&4 (pdf)
DAY 3 Technical Sessions 5&6 (pdf)
DAY 4 Technical Session 7 (pdf)
Posters (zip)
Short Course (pdf)
Short Course Presentations (pdf)
USGS Workshop (pdf)
Field Trip (pdf)