Alan Yong

Current Position: Geophysicist, DOI/GD/USGS/EHT

• Co-Task Leader for Earthquake Effects component of Southern California Earthquake Hazards Assessment Project (SCEHAP),
• Lead research projects using traditional seismological methods and geomorphometry to characterize ground motions in the southern California (SCEHAP) and other tectonically active regions of the world,
• Develop and maintain statewide Vs30 database in collaboration with the California Geological Survey (CGS),
• Contribute to USGS research interests in the field of ground motion characterization,
• Accommodate Chinese media outreach activities, and
• Perform educational community outreach activities.

Current Research Interests:

• Seismic site conditions in southern California and Nevada.
• Analysis of site effects based on recorded ground motions in the SCSN region.
• PSHA of Pakistan and Iran.
• Implementation of geospatial data to improve seismological research using remote sensing imagery.
• Application of geomorphometry and geostatistics to characterize near surface geophyiscal phenomena.

Awards and Advancements:

• 2008 USGS Career Grade Advancement (accelerated).
• 2006 USGS Star Monetary Award; "In recognition of dedicated efforts in fostering an inter-agency team to develop innovative remote-sensing and site characterization methods".
• 2004 USGS Career Grade Advancement (accelerated).
• 2002 USGS Star Monetary Award: "For service above and beyond the call of duty" for efforts contributed to site effects research. 
• 1999 USGS Appreciation Certificate: "For service above and beyond the call of duty" for efforts contributed to the Los Angeles Regional Seismic Experiment (LARSE) II.

Professional Memberships:

• American Geophysical Union
• Seismological Society of America
• Geological Society of America
• Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
• American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

Background:

Experience: 

• October 2006 through Present- Geophysicist for Southern California Earthquake Hazards Assessment Program (SCEHAP) and co-Task Leader (Earthquake Effects) with Susan Hough (Scientist-In-Charge- USGS, Pasadena). Duties include: PI for ground motion characterization projects, including the use of satellite imagery and in-situ measurements (ReMi, CPT, active source seismic imaging, etc.), and collaborator with CGS to develop and maintain statewide Vs30 database and map-based/web-portal.
• April, 2009- Organizer/Co-chair for “Site Effects: Vs30 and Beyond?”, in 2009 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, to be held in Monterey, CA, April 8-10, 2009.
• July 2007 through September 2007- Co-Investigator and Project Officer for data mining project, including supervision of student interns to organize and archive geophysical borehole records at Caltrans Translab Sacramento Facility.
• April, 2007- Organizer/Co-chair for “Site Effects on Ground Motions”, in 2007 Seismological Society of America Annual Meeting, held in Kona, HI, April 11-13, 2007.
• September 2004 through September 2006- Geophysicist for SCSN under Doug Given. Duties include elements in current position, data-less SEED volume production, develop and maintain Php-MySQL interface-database for site characterization project in collaboration with Susan Hough (USGS Seismologist), compile LiDAR B4 project data with hyperspectral data and lead investigation of remote sensing data/ground motions applications in collaboration with Susan Hough and Ken Hudnut(USGS Geophysicist).
• May 2006- Chair/Organizer & Program Committee Member, for “Applications of Remote Sensing in the Geosciences”, in The 38^th Symposium on the Interface of Statistics, Computing Science, and Applications: Massive Data Sets and Streams Program, held in Pasadena, CA, May 24-27, 2006, http://www.galaxy.gmu.edu/Interface2006/i2006webpage.html.
• December 2002 through September 2004- Geophysicist for SCSN under Doug Given. Duties included elements in current position, data-less SEED volume production, and data analysis contributing to the compilation of 2004 SRL “Geotechnical Characterization of TriNet Sites: A Status Report” paper.
• April 2002 through September 2002- Trainee in Geophysics for SCSN under Doug Given. Duties included elements in current position, supervision of ground motions field data acquisition under Susan Hough, SSA presentation of SCSN site ground motion investigations, and deployment of Southern California Integrated GPS Network stations under Ken Hudnut (USGS Geophysicist).
• November 1999 through December 2002- Student Career Experience Program Intern, Trainee in Geophysics for SCSN under Doug Given. Duties included elements in current position and ground motions research under Susan Hough.
• April 1999 through November 1999- Contractor for Los Angeles Regional Seismic Experiment (LARSE) II under Gary Fuis (USGS Geophysicist). Duties included supervision of survey and drill-rig crews, load of active source, deployment of portable recorders, and detonation of active source.
• August 1998 through April 1999- Intern for USGS Western Earthquake Hazards Team under Rufus Catchings. Duties included deployment of Mark Products Vertical geophones and Geometrics recorders and interpretation of seismic data.
• May 1998 through August 1998- Summer Intern for the USGS Western Earthquake Hazards Team under Rufus Catchings. Duties included deployment of Mark Products Vertical geophones and Geometrics recorders and interpretation of seismic data.
• March 1998- Volunteer for USGS Mojave refraction/reflection experiment under Rufus Catchings. Duties included supervision of post experiment survey of seismic lines.
• December 1997- Volunteer for USGS Mojave refraction/reflection experiment under Rufus Catchings (USGS Geophysicist). Duties included deployment of Mark Products Vertical geophones and Geometrics recorders and interpretation of seismic data.

Education:

• June, 2007, M.Sc. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Geophysics/Geology from California State University, Northridge.
• March, 2007, ENVI Spectral Analysis Workshop.
• October, 2006, Definiens Advanced Certification.
• August-September, 2005, ESRI Certification: ArcGIS I-II and Building Geodatabases I.
• December, 2002, B.Sc. in Geology from California State University, Northridge.

Publications:

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Abrams, M.J., Cox, H.M., Wills, C.J., and Simila, G.W., (2008), Quantification of site characterization using integrated imaging analysis methods on satellite data of the Islamabad, Pakistan region, Bulletin Seismological Society of America, v98, n6, pp2679-2693.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Abrams, and Wills, C.J., (2008), Preliminary results for a semi-automated quantification of site effects using geomorphometry and ASTER satellite data for Mozambique, Pakistan and Turkey, Journal of Earth System Science, v117, nS2, pp797-808.

· Hauksson, E., Felzer, K., Given, D., Giveon, M., Hough, S.E., Hutton, K., Kanamori, H., Sevilgen, V., Yong, A., and Wei, S., (2008) Preliminary report on the 29 July 2008 Mw5.4 Chino Hills, eastern Los Angeles basin, California, earthquake sequence, Seismological Research Letters, Seismological Research Letters, 79(6), pp885-866.

· King, N., Yong, A., and Langbein, J., (2007), How well do GPS-derived and historic strain rates agree in southern California, Geophysical Research Letters, in review.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Wills, C.J., and Wald, D.J., (2008), Distribution of ground motions for the 2008 Mw5.4 Chino Hills earthquake, in 2008 AGU Fall Meeting in Abstracts for Oral Presentations, held in San Francisco, CA, December 15-19, 2008.

· Thompson, M., Dhar, M.S., Pancha, A., Louie, J.N., Yong, A., and Pullammanappallil, S., (2008), Comparison of Vs30 measurements against predictions in southern California, in 2008 AGU Fall Meeting in Abstracts for Oral Presentations, held in San Francisco, CA, December 15-19, 2008.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Schwarz, S., Yu, E., Louie, J.N., and Wills, C.J., (2008) Geotechnical site characterization in California, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2008 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 6-11, 2007, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 197.

· Giveon, M., Hauksson, E., Hutton, K., Kanamori, H., Wei, S., Hough, S.E., Felzer, K., Given, D., Sevilgen, V., and Yong, A., (2008) Preliminary report on the 29 July 2008 Mw5.4 Chino Hills, eastern Los Angeles basin, California, earthquake sequence, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2008 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 6-11, 2007, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 81.

· Pancha, A., Louie, J.N., Yong, A., Thompson, M., and Dhar, M., (2008) Comparison of measured Vs30 values against Vs30 predictions based on topographic slope, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2008 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 6-11, 2007, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 96.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Pullammanappallil, S., Louie, J.N., and Abrams, M., (2008), A comparison of ReMi-interpreted Vs30 values to proxies for site conditions: a preliminary case study in Shavers Valley, California, in 2008 SSA Annual Meeting in Abstracts for the Annual Meeting, held in Santa Fe, NM, April 16-18, 2008, p 351.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Abrams, M., Hulslander, D., and Wills, C., (2007), Geophysical site characterization using space-based imagery and integrated imaging analysis methods: an overview, in 2007 AGU Fall Meeting in Abstracts for Poster Presentations, held in San Francisco, CA, December 10-14, 2007.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Abrams, Wills, C.J., Owens, W., Merriam, M., Schwarz, S., Dollar, R.S., Khan, M., Varghis, N., Israel, J., and Coss Y Leon, D., (2007) Geotechnical site characterization in California and beyond, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2007 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 8-12, 2007, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 68.

· Wills, C.J., Silva, M., and Yong, A., (2007), Progress toward more detailed site-conditions maps in southern California, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2007 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 8-12, 2007, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 70.

· Yong, A., (2007), Geophysical site characterization using geomorphology, geology and integrated digital imaging methods on satellite data, M.S. Thesis: California State University, Northridge.

· King, N., Argus, D., Langbein, J., Agnew, D., Bawden, G., Dollar, R., Liu, Z., Galloway, D., Reichard, E., Yong, A., Webb, F.H., Bock, Y., Stark, K., and Barseghian, D., (2007), Space geodetic observation of expansion of the San Gabriel Valley, California, aquifer system, during heavy rainfall in winter 2004-2005, Journal of Geophysical Research, doi:10.1029/2006JB004448, v112.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Wills, C., and Abrams, M., (2007), Site Characterization Using Satellite Imagery: A Progress Report, in 2007 SSA Annual Meeting in Abstracts for the Annual Meeting, held in Kona, HI, April 11-13, 2007, p 272.

· Yong, A., Hough, S.E., Wills, C., and Abrams, M., (2006), Site characterization using satellite data, in 2006 AGU Fall Meeting in Abstracts for Oral Presentations, held in San Francisco, CA, December 11-14, 2006.

· King, N., Yong, A., and Langbein, J., (2006), Comparison of southern California shear strain rates from triangulation, trilateration, and GPS, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract G23B-1282.

· Yong, A., Hough, S., Wills, C., Abrams, M., and Barseghian, D., (2006), A report on the geotechnical site characterization efforts in southern California, in Proceedings and Abstracts of the 2006 SCEC Annual Meeting, September 9-14, 2006, held in Palm Springs, CA, p 183.

· Yong, A., Hough, S., Cox, H., Tiampo, K., Braverman, A., Harvey, J., Hook, S., Hudnut, K., and Simila, G., (2006), Balloons to satellites: A century of progress in geotechnical site characterization, in SSA 2006 Meeting Announcement, Seismological Society of America: Abstracts of the Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco, CA, April 17-21, 2006, Seismological Research Letters, v77 n2, p 302.

· King, N., Argus, D., Langbein, J., Agnew, D., Dollar, R., Bawden, G., Liu, Z., Reichard, E., Yong, A., Bock, Y., Stark, K., and Barseghian, D., (2006), A GPS anomaly, probably related to hydrology, in the San Gabriel Valley, California, in SSA 2006 Meeting Announcement, Seismological Society of America: Abstracts of the Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco, CA, April 17-21, 2006, Seismological Research Letters, v77 n2, p 291.

· Bevis, M., Hudnut, K., Sanchez, R., Toth, C., Grejner-Brzezinska, D., Kendrick, E., Caccamise, D., Raleigh, D., Zhou, H., Shan, S., Shindle, W., Yong, A., Harvey, J., Borsa, A., Ayoub, F., Elliot, B., Shrestha, R., Carter, B., Sartori, M., Phillips, D., Coloma, F., and Stark, K., (2005), The B4 project: scanning the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault zones, in 2005 AGU Fall Meeting in Abstracts for Poster Presentation, held at San Francisco, CA, December 5-9, 2005.

· Hutton, K., Hauksson, E., Clinton, J., Franck, J., Guarino, A., Scheckel, N., Given, D., and Yong, A., (2006), Southern California Seismic Network update, Seismological Research Letters, v77 n3 p389.

· Yong, A., Hough, S., Hudnut, K., Healy, S., Giberson, J., and Simila, G., (2005), “Geotechnical site characterization using remote sensing data: A feasibility study, in SSA 2005 Meeting Announcement, Seismological Society of America: Abstracts of the Annual Meeting, held at Lake Tahoe, NV, April 27-29, 2005. Seismological Research Letters, v76 n2, p 241.

· Given, D., Walter, A., Worden, B., Yong, A., Appel, V., Hauksson, E., Rico, H., Saleh, T., Solanki, K., Yu, E., Gee, L., Lombard, P., Neuhauser, D., Zuzlewsky, S., Oppenheimer, D., Dietz, L., Haddadi, H., Shakal, A., Schwarz, S., and Friberg, P., (2005), Progress toward standards within the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN), in SSA 2005 Meeting Announcement Seismological Society of America: Abstracts of the Annual Meeting, held at Lake Tahoe, NV, April 27-29, 2005. Seismological Research Letters, 76(2), 229, 2005.

· Tinsley, J., Hough, S., Yong, A., Kanamori, H., Yu, E., Appel, V., and Wills, C., (2004) Geotechnical characterization of TriNet sites: A status report, Seismological Research Letters, 75(4), 505.

· Yong, A., Hough, S., and Kanamori, H., (2002), Site response and site characterization of TrinNet stations, in SSA 2002 Annual Meeting Announcement Seismological Society of America: Abstracts of the 97^th Annual Meeting, held at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, April 17-19, 2002. Seismological Research Letters, 73(2), 255.

· Fuis, G., Burdette, T., Criley, E., Murphy, J., Perron, T., Yong, A., Benthien, M., Baher, S., Clayton, R., Davis, P., Godfrey, N., Henyey, T., Kohler, M., McRaney, J., Okaya, D., Simila, G., Keller, R., Prodehl, C., Ryberg, T., Alvarez, M., Asudeh, I., Thybo, H., and ten Brink, U.S., (1999), The Los Angeles region seismic experiment, phase II (LARSE II) — A survey to identify major faults and seismic hazards beneath a large metropolitan area, in 1999 SCEC Science Abstracts, held at Palm Springs, CA, September 29-30, 1999. 1999 SCEC Annual Meeting Program, 61, 1999.

· Fuis, G., Murphy, J., Okaya, D., Clayton, R., Davis, P., Thygesen, K., Baher, S., Ryberg, T., Benthien, M., Simila, G., Perron, T., Yong, A., Reusser, L., Lutter, W., Kaip, G., Fort, M., Asudeh, I., Sell, R., Vanschaack, J., Criley, E., Kaderabek, R., Kohler, W., and Magnuski, N., (1999), Report for borehole explosion data acquired in the 1999 Los Angeles region seismic experiment (LARSE II), southern California: Part I, description of the survey”, USGS Open File Report 01-408.