“NetQuakes strong-motion instruments enable seismologists to collect extensive data in urban areas where installing traditional seismographs is not practical. This instrument (in blue, to the right of the upended chairs) takes up very little space in a Bay Area resident’s garage. It is the size of a auto battery, runs on a home wifi and captures data on a 2GB flash drive.”
“Our study describes a methodology to assimilate geologic, seismologic, and geodetic data surrounding a seismic fault to form a physical model of the cycle of earthquakes that has predictive power,” says Sylvain Barbot, a postdoctoral scholar in geology at Caltech. Quoted from the Caltech press release.
Science on MSNBC.com has an article that explains some of the impacts of the 2010 Magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off the cost of Chile. The earthquake made significant changes to the intertidal environment.
The Nevada Geodetic Laboratory has a map showing the displacement of Earth’s surface as measured by GPS stations during the March 11, 2011 Sendai M9.0 Earthquake. “Japan’s coastline has moved up to 5 meters (>16 feet), and the location of the North Pole has been estimated to have moved about 10 cm (4 inches).” Quote from the NGL blog post.
USGS has developed a working “Shake Alert” system that will send early warnings that arrive from a few seconds to as much as 90 seconds before earthquake vibrations. Unfortunately, very few people/institutions are able to receive these potentially life-saving warnings. The reason: the project needs more funding.
“By using GPS to measure ground deformation from large earthquakes, we can reduce the time needed to locate and characterize the damage from large seismic events to several minutes.”
The Indiana Geological Survey has a new addition to their earthquake outreach program.
“Given Indiana’s proximity to the New Madrid and Wabash Valley fault zones, earthquake preparedness is an important component in any overall emergency planning effort, as recent global events have demonstrated.”
Erik Klemetti, author of the Eruptions Blog, does not like the earthquake and volcanic eruption predictions that he has been seeing on the internet and explains why.
An article on the Bloomberg.com website explains how some states are responding to the correlation between wastewater injection and shallow earthquake activity. Injection well disposal of hydraulic fracturing wastewater is declining rapidly as natural gas drilling operations are recycling more of their wastewater instead of sending it to injection wells.
The U.S. Geological Survey will award up to $7 million in grants and cooperative agreements for earthquake research in 2013. Applications are due on May 17th, 2012.
“In the video, Robert Leeper stands in the field while explaining how he became associated with the USGS, what types of research projects he has worked on , and what his plans are for the future.” Quote from the USGS video description.
Today’s magnitude 8.6 and magnitude 8.2 earthquakes off the western coast of northern Sumatra produced small tsunamis that tested warning systems developed since the 2004 Indian Oceantsunami.
The Oklahoma Geological Survey has published a “Position Statement on Triggered or Induced Seismicity” that was motivated by many people attributing recent earthquake activity to fluid injection.
“There is a credible connection between the wastewater injection activities near Youngstown and the recent earthquakes, including the magnitude 4 earthquake that occurred on New Year’s Eve, 2011. This connection is based on the close proximity of the earthquakes to the injection well and depth of injection, and the observation that these events began soon after the start of the injection activities.” Quoted from the USGS FAQ.
Erik Klemetti comments on a small volcanic eruption in Mexico that occurred at about the same time as the Oaxaca Earthquake. Many people speculate that the two events are related.
“Altough the Tohoku quake did not occur in the United States or its territories, it was one of the most thoroughly recorded seismic events of its magnitude and provides valuable information to U.S. scientists seeking to understand how similar events would affect this Nation.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
Small devices that monitor motion in three directions will be installed in buildings to gather data during Japan’s small earthquakes. The data will be used to determine how the building might be damaged in a large earthquake.
One would think that lots of people in California have earthquake insurance coverage on their home and business. An article in The Orange County Register reports that 88% of homeowners and 90% of businesses are not covered.
This recording of the 2011 Japanese earthquake was taken near the coastline of Japan between Fukushima Daiichi (the nuclear reactor site) and Tokyo. The initial blast of sound is the 9.0 mainshock. As the earth’s plates slipped dozens of meters into new positions, aftershocks occurred. They are indicated by “pop” noises immediately following the mainshock sound. These plate adjustments will likely continue for years. Created by Zhigang Peng, associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
CNN has an early report on the damage done by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck near Acapulco, Mexico shortly after noon today local time. Hundreds of houses have collapsed.
Geologist Dave Brumbaugh and seismic technician Lisa Linville, both of the ArizonaEarthquake Information Center, describe the role of the Arizona Integrated Seismic Network in monitoring earthquake activity in the Grand Canyon State.
Could a partnership between a commercial telecommunications company planning an undersea cable across the Pacific Ocean and science researchers seeing ocean bottom monitoring be a great opportunity for both?
The United States Geological Survey has an “Education Resources” area on their website that can be used by teachers and students to find information about biology, geology. geography, water and more.
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 caused millions of tons of debris to be swept into the Pacific Ocean. Now winds and currents are carrying the debris eastward
A study of ruptures in the Martian surface and associated “displaced” boulder suggest that earthquakes as powerful as M7.0 could have occurred in the past few million years.
“Yulee, Florida. Not a place one usually thinks of as an Earthquake Epicenter. But this swampland not far from the Georgia state line is now home to a state-of-the-art seismic station known as 457A.” Quoted from the NSF press release.
“Geologists have a new tool to study how earthquakes change the landscape–down to a few inches. It’s giving scientists insights into how earthquake faults behave.”
Out of nearly 6000 homes damaged by the August 23 earthquake in Virginia, only a few percent will be covered by earthquake insurance. A bill in the Virginia legislature, if passed, will require insurance companies to notify all homeowners who have purchased a homeowners insurance policy that does not cover earthquakes.
“The TsunamiReady Program, developed by the National Weather Service, is designed to help cities, towns, counties, universities and other large sites in coastal areas reduce the potential for disastrous tsunami-related consequences.” NOAA has educational materials available for people of all ages.
“Decision-support systems can be used to help synthesize, visualize, and analyze the natural-science and socioeconomic information needed for making risk-reduction and land-use choices.”
“The United Nations reports 2011 was the costliest year in history for catastrophes. It says economic losses from natural disasters, including earthquakes, storms and floods, amounted to $366 billion.” Quoted from the Voice of America article.
Someone must have blamed the Virginiaearthquake of August 23 on hydraulic fracturing. An extensive article in the Daily Press explains why that is impossible.
Water levels at Lake Mead have risen rapidly from record lows about one year ago. This change may have triggered an increase in seismic activity beneath the lake.
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