USGS CMG N-II-07-JP Metadata

Geotechnical reconnaissance of earthquake damage is
performed following major earthquakes worldwide in order to document
and assess how large earthquakes affect the land and build
infrastructure.

The primary M6.6 tremor of the Niigata Chuetsu Oki (offshore)
earthquake occurred at 10:13 a.m local time on July 16, 2007,
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007ewac/#details
and was
followed by a sequence of aftershocks that were felt during the entire
time of the reconnaissance effort.
The event had a shallow focal depth of 10 km and struck in the Japan
Sea offshore Kariwa.
The quake affected an approximately 100 km-wide
area along the coastal areas of southwestern Niigata prefecture.
The
event triggered ground failures as far inland as the Unouma Hills, in
central Niigata, the source area of the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu
earthquake.
The primary event produced tsunami run-ups along the
shoreline of southern Niigata that reached maximum heights of about
20 centimeters.

To view proof sheet of photos linked to full resolution images:

RK Sites

SA Sites

SD Sites

Tepco Plant

YT Sites


Links also available from

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/n/nii07jp/html/n-ii-07-jp.summary.images.html

The reconnaissance was a combined effort of the Earthquake
Engineering Research Institute (EERI) - Learning From Earthquakes,
and the Geo-Engineering Earthquake Reconnaissance (GEER) activity of
National Science Foundation (NSF).
EERI and GEER dispatched the first reconnaissance team to
Niigata, Japan, within three days of the earthquake.
The EERI-GEER
team was led by Robert Kayen of the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) and composed of Scott Ashford, Steve Dickenson, and Yohsuke
Kawamata from the Department of Civil Engineering at the Oregon State
University; Brian Collins at the USGS; and Scott Brandenburg of the
University of California at Los Angeles.
EERI supported the
reconnaissance of structural engineer Santiago Pujol (co-leader) of
Purdue University.
The EERI team also included
Laurie Johnson (Kyoto University),
Yousok Kim (University of Tokyo),
Toshimi Kabeyasawa (University of Tokyo),
Nanako Marubashi (Nagoya Institute of Technology),
Kahji Tokimatsu (Tokyo Institute of Technology),
Peter Yanev, and
Mark Yashinsky (California Dept. of Transportation).
The EERI-GEER team was joined by international
GEER members Prof. Yasuo Tanaka and graduate student Hidetaka Koumoto
of Kobe University.
Norm Abrahamson synthesized the seismological
information about the event.

Web-based report is available on line at:

http://www.eeri.org 

Web-based report is available on line at:
http://gees.usc.edu/GEER/.

Kayen, Robert, Collins, Brian, Abrahamson, Norm, Ashford, Scott,
Brandenberg, Scott J., Cluff, Lloyd, Dickenson, Stephen, Johnson, Laurie,
Tanaka, Yasuo, Tokimatsu, Kohji, Kabeyasawa, Toshimi, Kawamata, Yohsuke,
Koumoto, Hidetaka, Marubashi, Nanako, Pujol, Santiago, Steele, Clint, Sun,
Joseph I., Tsai, Ben, Yanev, Peter, Yashinsky, Mark, and Yousok, Kim, 2007.
Investigation of the M6.6 Niigata-Chuetsu Oki, Japan, earthquake of July
16, 2007:  U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1365, 230 p.
[http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1365/
Kayen, Rob, 2008, USGS Researchers Lead International Team Investigating
Damange Caused by Offshore Earthquake Near World's Largest Nuclear Power Plant
in Japan, USGS Sound Waves Monthly Newsletter, Jan./Feb. 2008, available on
line at:
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/01/