Martin Chapman
· Research Professor of GeophysicsVerifiedVirginia Tech · Geosciences
Active 1977–2025
About
Martin C. Chapman is a Research Professor of Geophysics at Virginia Tech, working within the Department of Geosciences. His research focuses on the seismicity and tectonics of plate interiors, as well as strong-motion seismology. His goal is to combine results from these areas to improve the scientific basis for the assessment and mitigation of earthquake hazards, particularly in plate-interior regions such as eastern North America. He is the director of the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO), where he studies the geologic causes of earthquakes and the characteristics of seismic wave propagation using data from VTSO stations and other seismic stations in eastern North America. As a strong-motion seismologist, he utilizes a worldwide collection of strong motion data from large earthquakes to characterize and predict damaging motions in the near-fault distance range across various tectonic environments. Chapman holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Virginia Tech, earned in 1998, along with a Master's degree in Geophysics from Virginia Tech in 1979, and a Bachelor's degree in Geophysics from Virginia Tech in 1977. His work involves extensive observational research, contributing to the understanding of earthquake processes and seismic hazards in the region. He is based at Virginia Tech, with contact information including an email at mcc@vt.edu and a phone number 540-231-5036.
Research topics
- Geology
- Paleontology
- Geomorphology
- Seismology
- Physics
- Oceanography
Selected publications
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America · 2025-09-26
articleSenior authorValue in Health · 2025-12-01
articleSenior author0681 Concomitant skin conditions and comorbidities in Black/African American patients with rosacea
Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2025-07-21
article0124 The role of isotretinoin on nasal contouring using facial landmark detection technology
Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2025-07-21
articleOpen accessJournal of Hydrology · 2025-02-01 · 4 citations
articleOpen access• Aquifer recharge by injections drive pressure transients into basement rock. • Pressure transients from injections may be sufficient to induce seismicity. • Gradually increasing injection rates reduces initial pressurization magnitude. Long-term groundwater withdrawals in coastal Virginia have led to declining groundwater levels, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence, threatening regional water security and infrastructure. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) through underground injection offers a promising solution to mitigate these effects. A large-scale MAR project is under construction in southeast Virginia to replenish the Potomac Aquifer, with a combined injection rate of up to ∼ 189,000 m 3 /day at two sites. The first site, scheduled for 2026, will begin operations with an initial injection rate of ∼ 61,000 m 3 /day. Given that the Potomac Aquifer lies unconformably above crystalline basement rock, injection-induced pressure transients may propagate into the basement, increasing the risk of injection-induced seismicity. To assess this risk, a regional-scale numerical model was employed, incorporating ensemble simulations with 50 models using spatially random and equally probable permeability distributions within the basement. The simulations of a 61,000 m 3 /day injection scenario indicate significant pressure propagation into the basement, with fluid pressures reaching up to 40 kPa in some areas, which could be sufficient to induce seismicity. However, a ramp-up strategy for the injection rate, extending over a 12-month period, was found to effectively reduce the pressurization rate in the basement and mitigate the seismic risk. These results provide a probabilistic understanding of pressure changes in the basement rock and inform strategies for minimizing pressure transients that may induce seismicity while achieving effective aquifer recharge.
The Seismic Record · 2025-01-01 · 2 citations
articleOpen accessJournal of Investigative Dermatology · 2025-07-21
articleOpen accessPreliminary Observations of the 5 April 2024 Mw 4.8 New Jersey Earthquake
The Seismic Record · 2024-10-01 · 6 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract On 5 April 2024, 10:23 a.m. local time, a moment magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, about 65 km west of New York City. Millions of people from Virginia to Maine and beyond felt the ground shaking, resulting in the largest number (>180,000) of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) “Did You Feel It?” reports of any earthquake. A team deployed by the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association and the National Institute of Standards and Technology documented structural and nonstructural damage, including substantial damage to a historic masonry building in Lebanon, New Jersey. The USGS National Earthquake Information Center reported a focal depth of about 5 km, consistent with a lack of signal in Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data. The focal mechanism solution is strike slip with a substantial thrust component. Neither mechanism’s nodal plane is parallel to the primary northeast trend of geologic discontinuities and mapped faults in the region, including the Ramapo fault. However, many of the relocated aftershocks, for which locations were augmented by temporary seismic deployments, form a cluster that parallels the general northeast trend of the faults. The aftershocks lie near the Tewksbury fault, north of the Ramapo fault.
Investigation of Site Amplification and Attenuation Effects in the Changjiang Delta
Seismological Research Letters · 2023-05-04
articleSenior authorAbstract Site response in the Changjiang Delta in eastern China was studied using Lg Fourier amplitude spectra. We used broadband seismograms recorded at 70 stations from 62 earthquakes with magnitude (Ms) varying from 3.5 to 5.0 during 2009–2021. The crustal quality factor Q and site response in the Changjiang Delta were obtained simultaneously from regression of Lg Fourier acceleration amplitude versus frequency. The κ0 of each individual station was subsequently calculated from a regression of the high-frequency site terms versus frequency. The site terms exhibit obvious dependence on sediment thickness in the Changjiang Delta. The site amplification factor reaches ∼7–10 for stations overlying sediments ∼8–9 km thick in the northern Jiangsu basin. The site terms were found to behave consistently as a function of sediment thickness over the frequencies of 0.56–24.86 Hz. Site amplification shows a positive correlation with sediment thickness at lower frequencies (<7.26 Hz) but transitions to a negative correlation as frequency increases to 12.86 Hz and higher. Linear functions versus sediment thickness were used to model the site response terms at individual frequencies. We also showed that site terms calculated using the κ0 model as a function of sediment thickness fit the site response terms well at frequencies higher than 9.66 Hz. Results of this study can be incorporated in ground-motion prediction models for the Changjiang Delta. In addition, the site response estimates determined here can be used to reduce bias due to site effects in studies of earthquake source parameters.
Earthquake Spectra · 2023 · 25 citations
- Geology
- Seismology
- Geomorphology
With the recent successful accounting of basin depth ground‐motion adjustments in seismic hazard analyses for select areas of the western United States, we move toward implementing similar adjustments in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains by constructing a sediment thickness model and evaluating multiple relevant site amplification models for central and eastern United States seismic hazard analyses. We digitize and combine existing sediment thickness data sets into a composite surface that delineates the base of Cretaceous sediments under the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the base of Mesozoic sediments under the Gulf Coastal Plain. Amplification models dependent on sediment thickness, site natural period, and source‐to‐site path length are compared with data sets of observed ground motions to evaluate the ability of the new models to improve ground motion estimates. We find that the amplification models can account for observed trends in sediment‐thickness and period‐dependent residuals, but some tuning is required. For example, the model of Chapman and Guo requires a reference V S 30 , the time‐averaged shear‐wave velocity within 30 m of the Earth’s surface, for non‐Coastal Plain sites, which we estimate to be between about 1 and 2 km/s. Along with our sediment thickness model, we estimate a velocity profile for application to the Harmon et al. site‐natural‐period‐based model in order to best match the Chapman and Guo period dependence for a broad range of sediment thicknesses. The Next Generation of Attenuation models for the eastern United States Gulf Coast path‐based adjustment models can also account for seismic attenuation in the Coastal Plain sediments and reduce the standard deviation of total residuals. If enacted in the U.S. Geological Survey National Seismic Hazard Model, these amplification models will reduce predicted short‐period (<1 s) and increase predicted long‐period (>1 s) ground motions in the Coastal Plains appreciably.
Frequent coauthors
- 22 shared
Qimin Wu
Lettis Consultants International (United States)
- 15 shared
J. N. Beale
- 13 shared
G. A. Bollinger
- 11 shared
K. K. Davenport
Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
- 11 shared
D. A. Quiros
- 11 shared
M. S. Sibol
- 10 shared
J. Wright Horton
- 10 shared
J. A. Hole
Virginia Tech
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