Michele L. Cooke
University of Massachusetts
Professor
Expertise: structural geology and rock mechanics Fault system evolution numerical models scaled physical experiments
About Me
Publications
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 Board of Directors, At-Large Member (2015 - 2016)
SCEC Mentor (2006, 2010)
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 Committee for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; Member (2020 - 2022)SCEC Board of Directors, At-Large Member (2015 - 2016)
SCEC Mentor (2006, 2010)
Anderson-Merritt, E. O., Cooke, M. L., & Scharer, K. M. (2023, 09). Estimating stress state along the San Jacinto and southern San Andreas faults on the eve of past ground-rupturing earthquakes. Poster Presentation at 2023 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 13161
Elston, H. M., Cooke, M. L., Loveless, J. P., & Marshall, S. T. (2023). A New Method to Invert for Interseismic Deep Slip along Closely Spaced Faults using Surface Velocities and Subsurface Stressing-Rate Tensors. Earth and Space Science, (in preparation). SCEC Contribution 12732
Oglesby, D. D., Kyriakopoulos, C., Tarnowski, J. M., & Cooke, M. L. (2022, 09). The effects of pre-stress assumptions on dynamic rupture with complex fault geometry in the San Gorgonio Pass, California, region . Poster Presentation at 2022 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 12490
Elston, H. M., Cooke, M. L., Loveless, J. P., & Marshall, S. T. (2022, 09). Inverting for interseismic deep slip on closely spaced faults using surface velocities and stressing rate tensors. Poster Presentation at 2022 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 12148
Anderson-Merritt, E. O., & Cooke, M. L. (2022, 09). Estimating evolving tractions and uncertainties on the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems over the last ~1000 years. Poster Presentation at 2022 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 12104
Ramos Sanchez, C. F., Cooke, M. L., Elston, H. M., Chaipornkaew, L., Visage, S., Souloumiac, P., & Sharma , A. (2022, 09). Predicting Off-fault Deformation Using Experiment-Trained Convolutional Neural Networks on Faults of Different Maturity in Southern California . Poster Presentation at 2022 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 12080
Elston, H. M., Cooke, M. L., Loveless, J. P., & Marshall, S. T. (2021, 08). Combining forward and inverse approaches to resolve interseismic deep slip and locking depths on closely spaced faults. Poster Presentation at 2021 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 11593
Anderson-Merritt, E., & Cooke, M. (2021, 08). Estimating tractions along the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults prior to ground-rupturing earthquakes of the last four centuries. Poster Presentation at 2021 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 11583
Elston, H. M., Cooke, M. L., Loveless, J. P., & Marshall, S. T. (2020, 08). An innovative technique combining forward and inverse approaches to resolve interseismic deep slip and locking depths on closely spaced faults. Poster Presentation at 2020 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 10677
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
Marshall, S. T., Madden, E. H., Dorsett, J. H., & Cooke, M. L. (2018, 08). Fault linkage through the Imperial Valley, California is required to match current slip rate estimates. Poster Presentation at 2018 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 8564
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
Dorsett, J. H., Marshall, S. T., Madden, E. H., & Cooke, M. L. (2017, 08). Mechanical Models of Fault Slip Rates in the Imperial Valley, CA. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 7609
Beyer, J. L., Cooke, M. L., & Marshall, S. T. (2017, 08). Getting pushy with the San Gorgonio Pass: Investigating active fault geometries with crustal deformation models. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 7534
Douilly, R., Oglesby, D. D., Cooke, M. L., & Beyer, J. L. (2017, 08). Dynamic Models of Earthquake Rupture along branch faults of the Eastern San Gorgonio Pass Region in CA using Complex Fault Structure. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 7379
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
Stern, A. R., Cooke, M. L., Beyer, J. L., Tarnowski, J. M., Oglesby, D. D., & Douilly, R. (2016, 08). Estimates of fault tractions in the San Gorgonio Pass region consider fault interaction. Poster Presentation at 2016 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6775
Resor, P. G., Cooke, M. L., Marshall, S. T., & Madden, E. H. (2016, 08). Role of fault geometry on the spatial distribution of the slip budget. Poster Presentation at 2016 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6490
Hatch, J. L., Cooke, M. L., & Elston, H. M. (2023). Mechanical Analysis of Fault Slip Rate Sites within the San Gorgonio Pass Region, Southern California USA. Tecktonika, 1(1), 127-145. doi: 10.55575/tektonika2023.1.1.38. SCEC Contribution 11878
Tarnowski, J. M., Kyriakopoulos, C., Oglesby, D. D., Cooke, M. L., & Stern, A. (2022). The effects of pre-stress assumptions on dynamic rupture with complex fault geometry in the San Gorgonio Pass, California, region. Geosphere, 18(6), 1710-1725. doi: 10.1130/GES02511.1. SCEC Contribution 11873
Hatch, J. L., Cooke, M. L., Stern, A. R., Douilly, R., & Oglesby, D. D. (2020). Considering fault interaction in estimates of absolute stress along faults in the San Gorgonio Pass region, southern California. Geosphere, 16(3), 751-764. doi: 10.1130/GES02153.1. SCEC Contribution 9076
Dorsett, J. H., Madden, E. H., Marshall, S. T., & Cooke, M. L. (2019). Mechanical Models Suggest Fault Linkage through the Imperial Valley, California, U.S.A.. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 109(4), 1217-1234. doi: 10.1785/0120180303. SCEC Contribution 9010
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
Hatch, J. L., Cooke, M. L., & Marshall, S. T. (2018). Sensitivity of deformation to activity along the Mill Creek and Mission Creek strands of the southern San Andreas fault. Geosphere,. doi: 10.1130/GES01666.1. SCEC Contribution 7975
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
Resor, P. G., Cooke, M. L., Madden, E. H., & Marshall, S. T. (2015, 12). Modeling Releasing Steps of Strike-Slip Fault Systems: Implications for Conflicting Estimates of Long-Term Slip Rates . Poster Presentation at 2015 AGU Fall Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6209
Fattaruso, L. A., Cooke, M. L., & Dorsey, R. J. (2014). Sensitivity of uplift patterns to dip of the San Andreas fault in the Coachella Valley, California. Geosphere, 10(6), 1235-1246. doi: 10.1130/GES01050.1. SCEC Contribution 9085
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
Herbert, J. W., Cooke, M. L., Oskin, M. E., & Difo, O. (2014). How much can off-fault deformation contribute to the slip rate discrepancy within the Eastern California Shear Zone?. Geology, 42(1), 71-75. doi: 10.1130/G34738.1. SCEC Contribution 1754
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
Plesch, A., Shaw, J. H., Bryant, W. A., Carena, S., Cooke, M. L., Dolan, J. F., Fuis, G. S., Gath, E. M., Grant Ludwig, L. B., Hauksson, E., Jordan, T. H., Kamerling, M. J., Legg, M. R., Lindvall, S. C., Magistrale, H., Nicholson, C., Niemi, N. A., Oskin, M. E., Perry, S. C., Planansky, G., Rockwell, T. K., Shearer, P. M., Sorlien, C. C., Suess, M., Suppe, J., Treiman, J. A., & Yeats, R. S. (2007). Community Fault Model (CFM) for Southern California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 97(6), 1793-1802. doi: 10.1785/0120050211. SCEC Contribution 1134
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
Last updated Sep 20, 2023.
