11 May 2018–How big is an earthquake? Seismologists have been measuring this feature—the magnitude of an earthquake—for more than a century, but the answers are not always as straightforward as one would think, says Allison Bent, a research seismologist with Natural Resources Canada. Numbers associated with the Richter scale and … Continue Reading »
2 May 2018–Researchers reexamining historical seismograms from the 1906 Meishan earthquake have uncovered a new mechanism for the quake, one of the deadliest to ever strike Taiwan. The new mechanism provides a better fit for the fault rupture expected for the magnitude 7.1. earthquake, as well as for the distribution … Continue Reading »
17 April 2018–For centuries people have claimed that strange behavior by their cats, dogs and even cows can predict an imminent earthquake, but the first rigorous analysis of the phenomenon concludes that there is no strong evidence behind the claim. The paper published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society … Continue Reading »
11 April 2018–In 1994, Natalia Ruppert arrived at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to start graduate school, uncertain whether she would stay for more than one semester. Now, Ruppert has been studying earthquakes in her adopted state and country for almost 25 years, with no plans to leave Fairbanks in … Continue Reading »
Rachel Hatch, Meredith Kraner, Heather McFarlin and Nadine Reitman are the first recipients of a new student travel program established by the Board of Directors in December 2017. Part of the Society’s effort to support the development of careers in seismology and earthquake science, the grants ranged from $500 – … Continue Reading »
28 March 2018–Signs of a 1755 earthquake that was strong enough to topple steeples and chimneys in Boston can be seen in a sediment core drawn from eastern Massachusetts’ Sluice Pond, according to a new report published in Seismological Research Letters. Katrin Monecke of Wellesley College and her colleagues were … Continue Reading »