Chris Goldfinger

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• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Oregon State University

Goldfinger et al. (2012) interpreted a 10,000-year old sequence of deep sea turbidites at the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) as a record of clusters of plate-boundary great earthquakes separated by gaps of many hundreds of years. We performed statistical analyses on this inferred earthquake record to test the temporal clustering model and calculate...

Lacustrine sediments have been used successfully over the past few decades to develop earthquake chronologies and rupture assessments in a variety of locations and settings, from large lakes in Japan and Chile to Alpine lakes in central Europe. Although inland lakes in the Pacific Northwest have been used extensively for fire and vegetation reconst...

Many of the largest earthquakes are fundamentally marine events generated by submarine subduction zones or other plate boundary earthquakes and volcano-tectonic explosions. A large proportion of the world's population lives near coastlines; thus, a high proportion of hazard from active tectonics comes from submarine fault systems and volcanic and l...

Turbidite systems along the continental margin of Cascadia Basin from Vancouver Island, Canada, to Cape Mendocino, California, United States, have been investigated with swath bathymetry; newly collected and archive piston, gravity, kasten, and box cores; and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates. The purpose of this study is to test the...

The recent 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku, Japan, and the 2004 Mw 9.15 Sumatra–Andaman superquakes have humbled many in earthquake research. Neither region was thought capable of earthquakes exceeding Mw ∼ 8:4. Appealing proposed relationships to predict the size of earthquakes in subduction zones, such as that between earthquake magnitude and parameters such...

The presentation was made to Oregon State Agencies and the Oregon Military Department in 2019. The purpose is to consider earthquake protective actions to recommend to the public.

We compare event deposits from the historical portion of the sedimentary record from lower Acorn Woman Lake, Oregon, to historical records of regional events to determine if the lake records Cascadia megathrust earthquakes. We use the sedimentological characteristics and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) provenance of disturbance deposits (labeled A–J) from...

We infer a ∼2700-year history of Cascadia megathrust and other earthquakes from two small mountain lakes located 100 km inland of the coast near the California–Oregon border. We use the characteristics of a disturbance deposit in the historic portion of the sediment cores attributed to the 1700 CE Cascadia earthquake to identify Cascadia earthquake...

An 18,000 km2 area of the Guyana Shield of South America, known as the Gran Sabana, is characterized by savannah vegetation that contrasts strongly with surrounding rain forests. Its origin has been linked to multiple episodes of forest fires. In this paper, we report a deposit encountered in two piston cores sampled during the CASEIS marine cruise...

The seismic potential of the Lesser Antilles subduction zone is poorly known and highly debated. Only two damaging earthquakes have been reported in the historical period, in 1839 and 1843, but their sources and magnitude are still uncertain. Global Navigation Satellite Systems and coral data contradict each other, and no conclusion has been reache...

https://www.oregon.gov/dogami/pubs/Pages/ofr/p-O-23-05.aspx This Neotectonic Map v. 7.2.2, is a revision of earlier versions that have been underway since the earliest versions found in Goldfinger (1994) and Goldfinger and others (1992), and is based on interpretations of bathymetric, sidescan sonar, core, drilling, and seismic reflection data and...

We infer a ~2,700-year history of Cascadia megathrust and other earthquakes from two small mountain lakes located ~100 km inland of the coast near the California/Oregon border. We use the characteristics of disturbance deposits in the historic portion of the sediment cores from the lower lake to identify a deposit from the 1700 CE Cascadia earthqua...

We infer a ~ 2,700-year history of Cascadia megathrust and other earthquakes from two small mountain lakes located 100 km inland of the coast near the California/Oregon border. We use the characteristics of disturbance deposits in the historic portion of the sediment cores from the lower lake to identify a deposit from the 1700 CE Cascadia earthqua...

We infer a ~2,700-year history of Cascadia megathrust and other earthquakes from two small mountain lakes located 100 km inland of the coast near the California/Oregon border. We use the characteristics of a disturbance deposit in the historic portion of the sediment cores attributed to the 1700 CE Cascadia earthquake to identify Cascadia earthquak...

Subduction zones produce some of Earth’s most devastating geological events. Recent eruptions of Mount St. Helens and great earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan and Sumatra provide stark examples of the destructive power of subduction-related hazards. In the Cascadia subduction zone, large earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions have occurred in...

Cascadia subaqueous paleoseimology is shown with summary statistics of the available radiocarbon ages, simple metrics plots of bed thickness per event, and preliminary assessment of ground motion for interpreted historical events recorded in the Southern Cascadia stratigraphy.

We compare disturbances from the historic portion of the sedimentary record from Lower Squaw Lake, Oregon, to the historic record of events from the region to (1) determine if the lake records Cascadia megathrust earthquakes, and (2) if sediment deposits can be differentiated by disturbance type. We use the sedimentological characteristics and geoc...

We compare disturbances from the historic portion of the sedimentary record from Lower Squaw Lake, Oregon, to the historic record of events from the region to (1) determine if the lake records Cascadia megathrust earthquakes, and (2) if sediment deposits can be differentiated by disturbance type. We use the sedimentological characteristics and geoc...

We compare event deposits from the historical portion of the sedimentary record from Lower Acorn Woman Lake, Oregon, to historical records of regional events to determine if the lake records Cascadia earthquakes. We use the sedimentological characteristics and x-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) provenance of disturbance deposits (labelled A-J) from the histo...

The Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) is an exceptional geologic environment for recording evidence of land-level changes, tsunamis, and ground motion that reveals at least 19 great megathrust earthquakes over the past 10 kyr. Such earthquakes are among the most impactful natural hazards on Earth, transcend national boundaries, and can have global imp...

This report details investigations along the Northern San Andreas fault at lake Merced, California, and the offshore North Coast section of the fault. It investigates possible linkages between NSAF ruptures and Cascadia Subduction earthquakes.

Location, Location, Location: Turbidite stratigraphy at the interface between paleoseismic and paleoclimate records C. Goldfinger. M. Walczak, V. Sahakian, Brendan Reilly, Saray Valdez Hernandez Paleoseismic turbidites along the Cascadia margin are spatially restricted, more so than one might expect. Excellent high-resolution records are found in...

Lacustrine paleoseismology of Bull Run lake earthquake recurrence, ground motion estimates, linkages to other Cascadia paleoseismic sites.

This correction stands to correct Figure 7c listing a low minimum slip of 12 m for Case 2 instead of the correct value of 8 m, as stated in the body of the text and depicted on the chart of cumulative slip. The corrected chart explanation and caption are shown below. This error did not affect any of the findings of the paper or the chart itself. Th...

Earthquakes are part of a cycle of tectonic stress buildup and release. As fault zones near the end of this seismic cycle, tipping points may be reached whereby triggering occurs and small forces result in cascading failures. The extent of this effect on global seismicity is currently unknown. Here we present evidence of ongoing triggering of earth...

The recent Mw=9 Tohoku earthquake has demonstrated that even with 1000 years of history, and the best geodesy and instrumentation in the world, we can still fundamentally misunderstand the occurrence of great earthquakes. Long paleoseismic records are needed for an improved understanding of global plate boundary seismic behavior, particularly for u...

Beside classical turbidites representing fluidized gravity-reworked sediments (different from flood-induced ones), homogenites may occur, either as unique separate layers, or overlying, and associated to, a normally graded coarse interval similar to the basal terms of a turbidite. In this so-called homogenite+turbidite (HmTu), a third specific laye...

The submarine Cascadia forearc can be divided into several distinct structural domains. The outer wedge in northern Oregon and all of Washington is a landward/mixed vergence wedge characterized by low wedge taper, widely spaced folds, high pore-fluid pressure and mud volcanoes. This domain is separated from an older complex by a significant landwar...

This study, focusing on the northern zone of the Lesser Antilles, aims to identify sedimentary facies (turbidite, homogeneite, hemipelagite) in sediment cores and then to correlate them in order toestablish the spatial distribution of turbidite deposits. The questions we try to answer in this preliminary study are: 1)Can several turbiditic sequence...

Forecasting earthquake and tsunami hazards along the southern Cascadia subduction zone is complicated by uncertainties in the amount of megathrust fault slip during past ruptures. Here, we estimate slip on hypothetical ruptures of the southern part of the megathrust through comparisons of late Holocene Cascadia earthquake histories derived from tsu...

We identify and describe submarine channels, submarine landslides, and three unusual erosional features on the toe of the Cascadia accretionary wedge near Willapa Canyon, offshore Washington, USA. We use new high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data and chirp sub-bottom and multichannel seismic-reflection profiles. Composite data sets were generat...

Resource managers increasingly use habitat suitability map products to inform risk management and policy decisions. Modeling habitat suitability of data-poor species over large areas requires careful attention to assumptions and limitations. Resulting habitat suitability maps can harbor uncertainties from data collection and modeling processes; yet...

The Lesser Antilles subduction zone in the western Atlantic has a short historic record of earthquakes and little is known about the prehistoric record of great earthquakes and tsunami. The oblique convergence between the North America and Caribbean plates forms the Barbados Accretionary prism and may be a significant source of earthquake and tsuna...

Paleoseismology of Washington and Oregon lakes, ground motion estimates from slope stability.

The structure of the submarine Cascadia forearc can be divided into a number of distinct domains. The outer wedge in northern Oregon and all of Washington is a landward/mixed vergence wedge with low wedge taper, widely spaced folds, high pore-fluid pressure and mud volcanoes. This domain is separated from an older complex by a significant landward...

The Lesser Antilles subduction zone in the western Atlantic has a short historic record of earthquakes and little is known about the prehistoric record of great earthquakes and tsunami. The oblique convergence between the North America and Caribbean plates forms the Barbados Accretionary prism and may be a significant source of earthquake and tsuna...

Sensitivities always apply to the generation, recording, and preservation of geologic data (e.g., Nelson et al., 2006). The resolution of the recording of subsidence events in the coastal marshes of Cascadia, was estimated to be > 0.5 m in some of the original work. This estimate was improved by Engelhart et al. (2013) who demonstrated that this co...

Long paleoseismic records are needed for an improved understanding of global plate boundary seismic behavior, particularly for urban areas. We are investigating the paleoseismic history of the Peninsula segment of the San Andreas Fault adjacent to San Francisco. The history past events on the SAF on the peninsula is poorly known. A number of attemp...

In our article Kulkarni et al. (2013), we favored a clustered model for great Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) earthquakes and our statistical analysis resulted in a probability of 0.65 that clustering was present in the turbidite record. The CSZ clustering analysis was originally motivated by the need to develop a CSZ logic tree for use in probabili...

The Washington continental margin presents both a classic test of submarine paleoseismology, and an opportunity to explore advancement of the field through analysis of sediment dispersal in a heterogeneous system.New and archive core, bathymetric, backscatter and seismic reflection data from the Washington Cascadia margin show that during high-stan...

This data release includes marine geophysical data collected on three research cruises conducted in 2010 and 2012 between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino. The overall goal of this research is to better understandthe northernmost section of the San Andreas Fault (SAF). In 2010, the USGS collected seismic-reflection profiles crossing the SAF at 1 km s...

Text: The triggering, recording, and preservation of seismoturbidites depends on thresholds for each step that involve slope stability, shear strength, sediment supply, bioturbation and other factors. An important factor is the triggering distances for earthquakes of varying magnitudes from a given site. Data from paleoseismic studies globally (Jap...

Moscone South-Poster Hall We are investigating a potential paleoseismic record at Bull Run Lake, 165 km inland and 280 km landward of the tip of the plate boundary thrust, at the latitude of Portland, Oregon, central Cascadia margin. Bull Run is a landslide dammed lake in a cirque basin on the western flanks of Mt. Hood. Bull Run is potentially a g...

Moscone South-Poster Hall Tsunamis may be generated by subduction zone earthquakes in four ways: (1) elastic seafloor deformation of the upper plate induced by a buried rupture, (2) enhanced seafloor uplift due to splay faulting, (3) seaward motion of the sloping seafloor due to slip-to-trench rupture, and (4) activation of multiple thrusts and bac...

Text: New and archive cores (N=70), bathymetric, backscatter and sub-bottom data from the Washington margin reveal patterns of Holocene sediment transport and deposition. Barkley, Nitinat, Juan de Fuca (JDF), Quillayute, Grays, Guide, and Willapa Canyons each have different post-glacial mechanisms of loading and dispersal of sediment via turbidity...

In order to investigate the possibility of a long-term paleoseismic history from offshore sedimentary records in Sumatra, we collected 144 deep-sea sediment cores in the trench and in lower slope piggyback basins of the Sumatra accretionary prism. We used multibeam bathymetry and seismic reflection data to develop an understanding of catchment basi...

Tsunami Animations, Time Histories, and Digital Point Data for Flow Depth, Elevation, and Velocity for the Coos Bay Project Area, Coos County, Oregon

Building on two decades of offshore work, new and archive core, bathymetric, backscatter and seismic reflection data from the Washington continental margin reveal new insights in to patterns of sediment transport and deposition during the Holocene. Previous work, based on a sparse set of new cores, with limited numbers of archive cores supported a...

New and archive core (N=70), bathymetric, backscatter and seismic reflection data from the Washington continental margin reveal new insights into patterns of sediment transport and deposition during the Holocene. The major canyon systems, Barkley, Nitinat, Juan de Fuca (JDF), Quillayute, Grays, Guide, and Willapa Canyons each have different post-gl...

Turbidite paleoseismology requires careful consideration of site context, temporal interval of interest, sediment supply, temporal change in the pathways, and flow dynamics before interpretations can be drawn. These factors are predicated on precise navigation so that the context of the core within modern bathymetric, sub-bottom, sidescan, and back...

The Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) is a 1000 km long megathrust fault that has repeatedly produced earthquakes of a moment magnitude M w > 8 (Atwater et al. 1996). The use of submarine turbidite paleoseismology allows detailed comparisons along strike using both onshore and offshore radiocarbon, as well as well-log correlations between offshore sit...

The paleoseismic history of earthquakes along subduction zones is an important tool to evaluate the cyclic hazards that millions of coastal residents are exposed to globally. We use litho- and chrono-stratigraphic methods to correlate turbidites between sediment cores in sedimentologically isolated accretionary prism slope basins and trench setting...

Turbidite paleoseismology requires careful consideration of site context, temporal interval of interest, sediment supply, and the flow dynamics before interpretations can be drawn. These factors are predicated on precise navigation so that the context of the core within modern bathymetric, sub-bottom, sidescan, and backscatter data are known. In Ca...

Geophysical surveys were conducted in June, 2014 in the area offshore of Seal Rock Oregon for the purpose of characterizing potential renewable energy installation sites and cable routes from the shore seaward to the South Energy Test Site (SETS). The geophysical surveys included 1) a high-resolution chirp multibeam sonar survey producing detailed...

The wave and wind climates along the west coast of North America provide some of the best prospects for offshore renewable energy development, yet initial assessments of the seafloor have been patchy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requires knowledge of the seafloor environment and of seafloor-associated (benthic) organisms that may b...

The wave and wind climates along the west coast of North America provide some of the best prospects for offshore renewable energy development, yet initial assessments of the seafloor have been patchy. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requires knowledge of the seafloor environment and of seafloor-associated (benthic) organisms that may b...

Long and detailed paleoseismic records afford uncommon opportunities to examine recurrence models, clustering, segmentation, interaction with other faults, long term strain history and paleo slip characteristics. With the dearth of historical information, Cascadia has become the incubator of coastal and marine paleoseismic techniques. Building on t...

The recent 2011 Mw=9.0 Tohoku Japan, and the 2004 Mw=9.15 Sumatra-Andaman superquakes have humbled many in earthquake research. Neither region was thought capable of earthquakes exceeding Mw~8.4. These events have pointed out clearly that we no longer have a fundamental model for discrimination of M9 producing regions. At a minimum, the Tohoku eart...