3D Fault Information Improves Earthquake Alert Accuracy

HWY 302 after Nisqually earthquake

3 December 2021–Three-dimensional fault models are generally more accurate than two-dimensional line models at sending ground shaking alerts to the correct areas as part of an earthquake early warning system, according to a new study. The benefits of 3D fault models vary depending on the fault style (a strike slip … Continue Reading »

“Beach Ball” Representations Calculated for U.S. Underground Nuclear Tests Can Aid Monitoring

Nevada National Security Site

21 September 2021–Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have calculated moment tensors for 130 underground nuclear and 10 chemical test explosions that took place at the Nevada National Security test site. Often represented graphically to resemble a striped “beach ball,” moment tensors “are essentially a mathematical concept that’s used to … Continue Reading »

P. Martin Mai Named BSSA Editor-in-Chief

P. Martin Mai

16 June 2021–The Seismological Society of America (SSA) announced today the appointment of P. Martin Mai as editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA). Mai is a professor of geophysics in the Earth Science and Engineering program of the Physical Sciences and Engineering Division at KAUST. … Continue Reading »

Balanced Rocks Set Ground Motion Values for New Zealand Dam

FGF at Clyde Dam

15 June 2021–For the first time, researchers have used precariously-balanced rocks to set the formal design earthquake motions for a major existing engineered structure—the Clyde Dam, the largest concrete dam in New Zealand. Mark Stirling of the University of Otago and colleagues identified and assessed the ages of these gravity-defying … Continue Reading »