“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 »

Pictograms Are First Written Accounts of Earthquakes in Pre-Hispanic Mexico

T-R codex Mexico 16th century 640x358px

25 August 2021–The Codex Telleriano Remensis, created in the 16th century in Mexico, depicts earthquakes in pictograms that are the first written evidence of earthquakes in the Americas in pre-Hispanic times, according to a pair of researchers who have systematically studied the country’s historical earthquakes. Gerardo Suárez of the Universidad … Continue Reading »