SCEC Award Number 12032 View PDF
Proposal Category Individual Proposal (Integration and Theory)
Proposal Title ALLCAL – An Earthquake Simulator for All of California
Investigator(s)
Name Organization
Steven Ward University of California, Santa Cruz
Other Participants
SCEC Priorities 2e, 4e SCEC Groups WGCEP, CSEP, Simulators
Report Due Date 03/15/2013 Date Report Submitted N/A
Project Abstract
New and exciting research progress was made in a earthquake rupture simulation and tsunami generation in the Santa Barbara Channel. During the past two SCEC Annual Meetings, SCEC geologists have presented new evidence that the Ventura and Pitas Point faults may ‘link together’ and rupture simultaneously in earthquakes far larger than had been previously believed. Because for much of their length, these faults lie under Santa Monica Bay and Santa Barbara Channel, a sizeable thrust event on this linked system could pose a serious, and previously unrecognized hazard in the form of tsunami. In 2012 I have been modeling the tsunami and inundation extent of various faulting scenarios that might be that arise from applications of ‘ALLCAL–style’ physics-based earthquake simulations on those faults.
Intellectual Merit Both the earthquake and tsunami simulators represent state of the art in the fields. They embrace SCECs philosophy of integrative science in the widest context.
Broader Impacts Most of the broader impacts of my work are reflected in the various movies that I generate that
explain scientific results is a popular manner. These movies reach many 1000s of viewers and
likely will turn more than a handful of the viewers into future scientists.


http://outfog.com/2013/01/22/from-disaster-to-outreach-sharing-science-in-the-days-of-youtube/
Exemplary Figure Figure 2. Perspective view north extending from Point Conception (upper left) to Palos Verdes (lower right) showing the tsunami at T=15 minutes. The wave is now passing Oxnard. Note the 4-6 m wave bank-up on the north sides of Santa Cruz (A –A’) and Anacapa Islands (B-B’).