William L. Ellsworth is a professor in the Department of Geophysics at Stanford University His research focuses on the seismological study of active faults, the earthquakes they generate and the physics of the earthquake source. A major objective of his work is to improve our knowledge of earthquake hazards through the application of physics-based understanding of the underlying processes, and the transfer of scientific understanding of the hazard to people, businesses, policymakers and government agencies. As Co-Director of the Stanford Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity (SCITS) he leads multi-disciplinary studies into the causes and consequences of anthropogenic earthquakes in a wide variety of settings. Before coming to Stanford in 2015 he spent over 40 years as a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey where he served as Chief of the Branch of Seismology and Chief Scientist of the Earthquake Hazards Team. He received a B.S. in Physics and a M.S. in Geophysics from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT. He is a past President of the Seismological Society of America, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Department of the Interior.
SCEC Participation
SCEC Mentor (2011) SCEC Board of Directors, Liaison Member (2003 - 2008)
Knudsen, T. C., Ellsworth, W. L., & Beroza, G. C. (2024). Source parameter analysis using maximum amplitudes in the time domain. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, (under review). SCEC Contribution 14086
Yu, Y., Ellsworth, W. L., & Beroza, G. C. (2024). Accuracy and Precision of Earthquake Location Programs: Insights from a Synthetic Controlled Experiment. Seismological Research Letters,. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220240354. SCEC Contribution 14069
Ries, R., Beroza, G. C., & Ellsworth, W. L. (2024, 09). Analysis of physical mechanisms contributing to the spatial evolution of induced earthquake sequences in southern Kansas. Poster Presentation at 2024 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 13735
Yu, Y., Ellsworth, W. L., & Beroza, G. C. (2024, 09). Accuracy and Precision of Earthquake Location Programs: Insights from a Synthetic Controlled Experiment based on 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence. Poster Presentation at 2024 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 13716
Woo, J., & Ellsworth, W. L. (2023, 09). 2022 MW5.0 Range Hill earthquake, Midland Bain; reactivation of Precambrian fault within Midland Basin. Poster Presentation at 2023 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 13252
Yu, Y., Ellsworth, W. L., & Beroza, G. C. (2023, 09). Evaluating Relative Relocation Methods in a Synthetic Setting: The Case of the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence. Poster Presentation at 2023 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 13103
Ellsworth, W. L. (2020, 08). Foreshock Cascade to Failure in the M 6.4 July 4, 2019 Ridgecrest, California Earthquake. Poster Presentation at 2020 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 10244
Liu, M., Zhang, M., Zhu, W., Ellsworth, W. L., & Li, H. (2020). Rapid Characterization of the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California, Earthquake Sequence From Raw Seismic Data Using Machine‐Learning Phase Picker. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(4). doi: 10.1029/2019GL086189. SCEC Contribution 10122
Chu, S., Beroza, G. C., & Ellsworth, W. L. (2018, 08). Source parameter variability of intraslab earthquakes as determined from the empirical Green's function method. Poster Presentation at 2018 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 8633
Schoenball, M., & Ellsworth, W. L. (2017, 08). A systematic assessment of the spatio-temporal evolution of fault activation through induced seismicity in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 7473
Ellsworth, W. L., Boettcher, M. S., & Ogasawara, H. (2017, 08). A Test Case for the Source Inversion Validation: The 2014 ML 5.5 Orkney, South Africa Earthquake. Poster Presentation at 2017 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 7444
Moyer, P. A., Boettcher, M. S., Ellsworth, W. L., Ogasawara, H., Cichowicz, A., Birch, D., & van Aswegen, G. (2017). Call for Models—A Test Case for the Source Inversion Validation: The 2014 ML 5.5 Orkney, South Africa, Earthquake. Seismological Research Letters, 88(5), 1333. doi: doi:10.1785/0220160218. SCEC Contribution 7299
Shelly, D. R., Hardebeck, J. L., Ellsworth, W. L., & Hill, D. P. (2016, 08). A new strategy for earthquake focal mechanisms using waveform-correlation-derived relative polarities and cluster analysis: Application to a fluid-driven earthquake swarm. Poster Presentation at 2016 SCEC Annual Meeting. SCEC Contribution 6766
