Michele Cooke investigates the deformation and evolution of faults and fractures in the upper crust of the Earth (and sometimes other planets). Her primary toolkits include engineering mechanics, numerical modeling (BEM & FEM) and scaled physical experiments. Michele uses these tools in new ways and combined with geologic and geophysical data in order to shed insight into how faults evolve and to constrain the seismic hazard of active faults.
With her students over the past two decades, Michele has developed 3D numerical models of active faulting in southern California that have contributed to our understanding of subsurface fault architecture and deformation partitioning in southern California. She previously served on the SCEC board and as one of the co-leaders of the San Gorgonio Pass Special Fault Study Area.
SCEC Participation
Current Roles
SCEC Science Planning Committee, Group Co-Leader (2016 - Present)
Past Roles
SCEC Board of Directors, At-Large Member (2015 - 2016) SCEC Mentor (2006, 2010)
Elston, H. M., Cooke, M. L., Marshall, S. T., & Hatch, J. L. (2019, 08). Sensitivity of regional interseismic deformation to variations in active fault configuration of the southern San Andreas fault and San Jacinto faults . Poster Presentation at 2019 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 9594
Hatch, J. L., & Cooke, M. L. (2018, 08). Assessing kinematic compatibility of fault geometry and slip rates along the southern San Andreas fault system in the San Gorgonio Pass region. Poster Presentation at 2018 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 8758
Douilly, R., Oglesby, D. D., Cooke, M. L., & Beyer, J. L. (2018, 08). Effects of Fault Geometry and Pre-Stress Loading for Scenarios of Earthquakes on the Eastern San Gorgonio Pass Region in CA using Dynamic Rupture Simulations. Poster Presentation at 2018 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 8321
Beyer, J. L., & Cooke, M. L. (2016, 08). Sensitivity of deformation to activity along the Mill Creek strand of the San Andreas fault within the San Gorgonio Pass. Poster Presentation at 2016 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6865
McBeck, J. A., & Cooke, M. L. (2016, 08). Development of extensional step overs within anisotropic systems: Implications for the Rodgers Creek-Hayward step over. Poster Presentation at 2016 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6861
Cooke, M. L., & Hatch, J. L. (2018). Off-Fault Focal Mechanisms Not Representative of Interseismic Fault Loading Suggest Deep Creep on the Northern San Jacinto Fault. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(17), 8976-8984. doi: 10.1029/2018GL078932. SCEC Contribution 8079
Resor, P. G., Cooke, M. L., Marshall, S. T., & Madden, E. H. (2018). Influence of Fault Geometry on the Spatial Distribution of Long‐Term Slip with Implications for Determining Representative Fault‐Slip Rates. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 108(4), 1837-1852. doi: 10.1785/0120170332. SCEC Contribution 7921
Herbert, J. W., Cooke, M. L., & Marshall, S. T. (2014). Influence of fault connectivity on slip rates in southern California: Potential impact on discrepancies between geodetic derived and geologic slip rates . Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 119(3), 2342-2361. doi: 10.1002/2013JB010472. SCEC Contribution 1777
Cooke, M. L. (2013). Evolution of Fault Efficiency at Restraining Bends within Wet Kaolin Analog Experiments. Journal of Structural Geology, 51, 180-192. doi: 10.1016/j.jsg.2013.01.010. SCEC Contribution 1689
Herbert, J. W., & Cooke, M. L. (2012). Sensitivity of the Southern San Andreas Fault System to Tectonic Boundary Conditions and Fault Configurations. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 102(5), 1-17. doi: 10.1785/0120110316. SCEC Contribution 1573
Cooke, M. L. (2011). Simulating the Recent Evolution of the San Andreas Fault at the San Gorgonio Knot, southern California. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116(B04405). doi: 10.1029/2010JB007835. SCEC Contribution 1451
Marshall, S. T., Cooke, M. L., & Owen, S. E. (2009). Interseismic deformation associated with three-dimensional faults in the greater Los Angeles region, California. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114(B12403), 1-17. doi: 10.1029/2009JB006439. SCEC Contribution 1401
Dair, L., & Cooke, M. L. (2009). San Andreas Fault Geometry through the San Gorgonio Pass, California. Geology, 37(2), 119-122. doi: 10.1130/G25101A.1. SCEC Contribution 1160
Meigs, A. J., Cooke, M. L., & Marshall, S. T. (2008). Using Vertical Rock Uplift Patterns to Constrain the Three-Dimensional Fault Configuration in the Los Angeles Basin. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 98(1), 106-123. doi: 10.1785/0120060254. SCEC Contribution 1110
Marshall, S. T., Cooke, M. L., & Owen, S. E. (2008). Effects of Non-Planar Fault Topology and Mechanical Interactions on Fault Slip Distributions. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 98(3), 1113-1127. doi: 10.1785/0120070159. SCEC Contribution 1108
Cooke, M. L., & Marshall, S. T. (2006). Fault Slip Rates from Three-Dimensional Models of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, California. Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L21313. doi: 10.1029/2006GL027850.. SCEC Contribution 1032
Griffith, W. A., & Cooke, M. L. (2005). How Sensitive are Fault-Slip Rates in the Los Angeles Basin to Tectonic Boundary Conditions?. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 95(4), 1263-1275. doi: 10.1785/0120040079. SCEC Contribution 804
Griffith, W. A., & Cooke, M. L. (2004). Mechanical Validation of the Three-Dimensional Intersection Geometry between the Puente Hills Blind-Thrust System and the Whittier Fault, Los Angeles, California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 94(2), 493-505. doi: 10.1785/0120030094. SCEC Contribution 735
