Yehuda Ben-Zion

Yehuda Ben-Zion is an Israeli-American geophysicist and seismologist at the University of Southern California, known for theoretical and observational research on fault zone structure, earthquake dynamics, and seismic wave behavior in complex crustal media. His work frequently focuses on the San Andreas Fault system and other major active faults. He has developed mathematical models for fault-zone damage and rupture propagation.

Yehuda Ben-Zion is a professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He has been affiliated with USC for many years. His research group collaborates with the Southern California Earthquake Center and international partners.

Ben-Zion has extensively studied the San Andreas Fault system in California and the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey, both major transform boundaries. He has also analyzed fault-zone structures in the Middle East, including the Dead Sea Transform. His work combines field observations with numerical modeling.

Ben-Zion's research emphasizes that fault zones are not simple planar surfaces but include a 'damage zone' of fractured rock surrounding the main slip surface. This damage zone influences how seismic waves propagate and how ruptures evolve. He has developed theoretical and numerical frameworks to characterize these structures.