Advancing earthquake science worldwide
13 May 2020–Three hundred-year-old administrative documents from the Roman government, granting residents permission to repair damage to their buildings, can help modern-day seismologists calculate intensities for a notable sequence of earthquakes that struck central Italy in 1703. Details gleaned from these “Lettere Patenti” offer a unique glimpse at the geographical … Continue Reading »
6 May 2020–Yes, there’s a prize for the most beautiful flower-filled float in the Rose Parade each year, but how about a prize for the most ground-shaking marching band? According to a new study, the 2020 honors go to the Southern University and A&M College, followed closely by the hometown … Continue Reading »
28 April 2020–Hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas production can trigger earthquakes, large and small. A new approach to managing the risk from these quakes could help operators and regulators hit the brakes early enough to prevent nuisance and reduce the chance of property damage and injury. The approach, published … Continue Reading »
14 April 2020–At the regional level and worldwide, the occurrence of large shallow earthquakes appears to follow a mathematical pattern called the Devil’s Staircase, where clusters of earthquake events are separated by long but irregular intervals of seismic quiet. The finding published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of … Continue Reading »
7 April 2020–In complex fault zones, multiple seemingly disconnected faults can potentially rupture at once, increasing the chance of a large damaging earthquake. Recent earthquakes including the 1992 Landers, 1999 Hector Mine and 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes in California, among others, ruptured in this way. But how can seismologists predict whether … Continue Reading »
30 January 2020–Nearly 40 years ago, analog data tapes faithfully recorded intense seismic activity in the two months before the historic eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State in May 1980. It took some lengthy and careful restoration efforts—including a turn in a kitchen oven for some of the … Continue Reading »