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Index

 


May/June SRL Focuses on "The SCEC Geodetic Transient Detection Validation Exercise"

3 May 2013

Cover of SRL 84:3.

Volume 84, Number 3, the May/June issue of Seismological Research Letters (SRL), is now available online. This issue includes a special focus section, “The SCEC Geodetic Transient Detection Validation Exercise,” which shows how GPS networks and data-mining are providing new ways to detect and track slow-slip earthquakes, with important implications for operational earthquake forecasting (a press release on the focus section is available). Also featured are an Opinion, A Dispassionate View of Seismic-Hazard Assessment by Polat Gülkan, an Electronic Seismologist about a Python tool for automated retrieval of seismological waveform data, an EduQuakes column about using music to teach seismology and six electronic supplements.

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BSSA Special Issue on the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Now Available

2 May 2013

This special May issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA vol. 103, no. 2B) is a dedicated to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. Click to view the table of contents for the issue. A press release for the issue is available here. SSA members should log in to the members' area to access the issue. If you're not a member you may join SSA to receive immediate access to the entire issue or pay to view individual articles at bssa.geoscienceworld.org.

Issue Highlights

The special issue contains 31 papers (~500 pages) and reflects the unprecedented instrumental information available for the earthquake sequence that was recorded in Japan and around the world. The papers cover aspects of the mainshock, its aftershocks and foreshocks and include analysis of seismograms for earthquake source parameters, strong ground motion and earth structure, as well as use of GPS and geodetic data. Papers also focus on the tsunami, changes in groundwater levels, landslides, and the triggering of tectonic tremor by the mainshock. The issue also includes twelve electronic supplements available on the SSA website.

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SSA Seeks Nominations for SRL Editor

19 Feb 2013

The Seismological Society of America invites nominations for a new Editor for the Seismological Research Letters (SRL). Under Jonathan Lees’ leadership, SRL has remained one of the most interesting and useful journals in seismology. Unfortunately, he needs to step down due to other expanding professional responsibilities.

SRL has a popular and newsy outlook, and includes unique community features and very diverse material spanning all of the field. Thus, the SRL Editor is at the exciting center of news, information, and SSA activities. In addition to a vision for the unique character of this journal, the SRL Editor must have broad interests, excellent communication skills, and the wide contacts within the international research community necessary to both shepherd articles and obtain solid reviews. It is a volunteer position—except for a small honorarium, it is not paid. However the position is fulfilling in many professional and personal ways. Of all the activities of the Seismological Society of America, our journals are arguably our farthest-reaching and most enduring legacy.

Should you know of colleagues who are promising candidates for the position, or if you are interested yourself please contact the Search Committee at SRLSearch@seismosoc.org. The search committee is being led by the chair of SSA’s Publication Committee, Andy Michael, and consists of Luciana Astiz, Diane Doser, Susan Hough, Jonathan Lees and David Wald.

Sincerely,

Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade

President

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Earthquake Notes and Early SRL’s Are Now Online

1 Feb 2013

Did you know that SRL began its life as a journal of the Eastern Section of SSA?

It began back in 1929 as Earthquake Notes, a tiny journal (4-8 pages) with news, an abstract or two, notifications of papers published elsewhere, and reports of scientific findings focused on Eastern North America. Over time it evolved to include more scholarly articles. Then, in 1987 it changed its name to Seismological Research Letters and in 1995 it assumed the format we use today. (The earlier journal survives in today's SRL as a special section on Eastern North America and intraplate earthquakes.)

And why is this important today?

Now when you view SRL online, you have access to issues back to 1929!

Due to the small size of most issues of Earthquake Notes (volumes 1-57), each of those issues is posted online as a single PDF that includes all the articles in the issue. You can see (and search on) the Table of Contents for each issue. In areas where earthquakes are less frequent, historical records and journal archives become especially important to the science.

Enjoy this new online resource either via the Members' Area of the SSA website (for members) or by going directly to GeoScienceWorld.

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SSA Opposition Letter to Senate Amendment 2060

3 Dec 2012

The Seismological Society of America has written and delivered the letter below to targeted Members of Congress opposing the passage of any postal reform bill that includes Senate Amendment 2060. Senate Amendment 2060, if approved, would strictly limit Federal spending on conferences and employee travel, and impose stringent constraints on the participation of government scientists in public meetings, scientific conferences, and professional society activities.


December 3, 2012

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
31 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer:

I am writing on behalf of the Seismological Society of America (SSA), an international scientific society of over 2,000 members devoted to the advancement of seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society, to respectfully urge you to oppose passage of any postal reform bill that includes Senate Amendment 2060, which is currently in the postal reform bill (S.1789) passed by the Senate in April, 2012.

SA 2060 is unrelated to the fiscal crisis facing the Postal Service and would have the unintentional effect of severely restricting government employees from attending meetings and conferences held by associations, nonprofits and other private sector organizations. While intended to improve accountability and financial reporting for government-sponsored meetings, the amendment in the Senate postal reform bill has unintentionally broad and serious implications for participation at non-governmental meetings that would hinder scientific progress in the public interest. One of the provisions, for example, would limit federal agencies’ participation to just a single conference sponsored by a private organization per year.

At SSA’s scientific meetings, many government, academic and consulting scientists share the latest research in earthquake seismology and related fields. In addition to seismologists, members include geophysicists, geologists, engineers, insurers, and policy makers actively engaged with government, academic, and private sectors to promote earthquake public safety. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of our focus on earthquake safety, many of these scientists also attend a conference focused on their broader discipline: geology, geophysics, engineering, etc.

Approximately 20% percent of the registrants for our annual meeting are employed by federal agencies such as the US Geological Survey, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and National Institute of Standards and Technology. The dialogue that takes place at meetings among government, academic and private sector scientists is essential to the development of informed policymaking on earthquake hazards. Our meetings are also heavily attended by university faculty and students, and the associations and interchanges that occur between government representatives and the next generation of scientists are critical to determining career paths and promoting future service to the U.S. Government. If SA 2060 were passed without modifications as part of postal reform, it would severely impact these dialogues.

While addressing the long-term solvency of the Postal Service is a critical issue, allowing SA 2060 to be included in any final bill would have long-term and serious repercussions for assuring that federal employees stay well-informed about current scientific results affecting the nation’s interests and would also be detrimental to the pipeline of young scientists who are considering national service.

Thank you for your consideration of this important issue and please contact me if you have any questions about how this amendment affects the Seismological Society of America and many other science societies.

Regards,




Susan Newman
Executive Director, SSA




Seismological Society of America • 400 Evelyn Avenue, Suite 201 • Albany, California 94706-1375

Telephone: 510-525-5474 • Fax: 510-525-7204 • E-mail: info@seismosoc.org

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SSA Releases Statement on Conviction of Italian Seismologists

25 Oct 2012

The Seismological Society of America has released the following statement on the conviction and sentencing of six Italian scientists and one government official for manslaughter in connection with the tragic L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009:

The seismological community is alarmed by the conviction and sentencing of six Italian scientists and one government official for manslaughter in connection with the tragic L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. We are concerned that this verdict may only serve to reduce life-saving communication about earthquake hazards in the future in Italy and in many other countries around the world.

The occurrence of this disastrous earthquake illuminates both the high level of uncertainty in the science of short-term earthquake forecasting and the lack of a public policy framework in Italy and many other parts of the world for providing short-term guidance for coping with that uncertainty to the communities, populations, and infrastructure at risk.

Rather than pursuing unprecedented legal action against members of the seismological community, SSA urges public officials and community leaders to work to improve the way earthquake risks are communicated to the public. We also urge continued proactive efforts to support earthquake science and engineering and to establish and implement local and national programs in earthquake preparedness and risk mitigation. The best approaches currently available for mitigating the effects of future earthquakes are education, awareness, and preparedness of public officials and the general public, coupled with sound construction practices and retrofitting of older structures.

As background, SSA has posted the audio of a presentation by Thomas H. Jordan given at the Public Policy Luncheon at the SSA 2012 Annual Meeting on Lessons of L'Aquila for Operational Earthquake Forecasting.

Dr. Jordan chaired the International Commission on Earthquake Forecasting for Civil Protection. He is Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Earth Sciences at USC, and currently serves on SSA’s Board of Directors.

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SSA Hosts Congressional Briefings on Earthquake Early Warning (EEW)

28 Sep 2012

(L-R) Chris Terzich, Richard Allen, Bill Leith

On Friday September 28th SSA hosted two congressional briefings on Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) — a morning briefing on the House side and an afternoon session on the Senate side. The briefing moderator, Bill Leith of USGS Natural Hazards Risk & Resilience Assessment, provided an overview and discussed the USGS's efforts on EEW to date. Richard Allen of the UC Berkeley Seismological Lab detailed California’s current plans and timeline for public inclusion. Allen noted efforts still needed in order to make California’s EEW system suitable for the public and how that is addressed by current plans. Chris Terzich, with the Regional Consortium Coordinating Council, provided the public/private sector partnerships perspective and focused on the benefits of early warning for the private sector as well as the public safety angle.

Additional information about the briefing, including Powerpoint presentations and speaker biographies, is available on this page at the USGS website.

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SSA Strategic Plan

4 Sep 2012

For the last year SSA has been working to develop a strategic plan to set forth new SSA initiatives and future Society objectives. We are proud to announce that a basic plan has been carefully crafted with the help of SSA’s Board of Directors, outside consultants, and most notably SSA’s members.

A letter from SSA's President, Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade, further describing the strategic plan process and the strategic plan itself are both now available online. SSA could not have accomplished this important task without the broad participation of SSA members and leadership. We now have a plan to guide us into the future.

To read the letter from the President and the Strategic Plan, please follow the link: http://www.seismosoc.org/inside/Strategic_Plan/message_from_the_president.php

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SSA Online Store

1 Sep 2012

SSA has a new online store!

SSA has opened a new online store on Fieldhouse.com with everything from SSA shirts & sweats to baseball caps & back-packs. The online store has lots of different items for you to choose from.

Pick and personalize gifts for yourself, friends, and family.

Visit the SSA online store here: www.fieldhousestorecom/ssa

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BSSA and SRL Available on GSW Mobile Site

31 Aug 2012

GeoScience World has recently launched a new mobile-optimized site and SSA members can easily read both BSSA and SRL on any equipped mobile device.

The mobile sites have a user-friendly interface, easy search features, and will allow you to check out recent SSA journal articles on the go.

Visit the new GSW mobile sites for BSSA (http://m.bssa.geoscienceworld.org/) and SRL (http://m.srl.geoscienceworld.org/) from your handheld device and see for yourself how easy it is to read SSA's journals from anywhere!

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Help identify regional ground motion databases and reports for PEER’s Global GMPE Project

19 Jul 2011

The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation has awarded the PEER Center with a project aimed at selecting a suite of Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) that can be used for Seismic Hazard evaluation at global and regional levels.

To complete this work for the Global GMPE Project, PEER researchers are in the process collecting comprehensive data and publications from around the world. In an effort to make sure that all relevant information is collected, PEER is seeking help from all members of the earthquake community to identify regional resources. In particular, the following two items are needed:

(1) Any regional Ground Motion Databases with a minimum moment magnitude Mw of 4.5 (except PEER, SHARE, K-Net, and KIK-NET);

(2) Any published Reports and Papers showing compatibility or performance of exisiting GMPEs versus regional data.

Please direct your information, references or publications to peer_center@berkeley.edu, before August 30, 2011 so that they can be included in the research project.

Additional information on PEER’s Global GMPE Project can be found at http://peer.berkeley.edu/globalgmpe/.

Thanks for your collaboration!

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SSA Releases Statement on Prosecution of Italian Seismologists

30 Jun 2011

The Seismological Society of America has released the following statement:

We are deeply concerned to learn that members of our society and their colleagues have been indicted by the Prosecutor’s Office in L’Aquila in connection with the tragic L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. The occurrence of this disastrous earthquake unfortunately brought into the harsh light of public scrutiny both the high level of uncertainty in the science of short-term earthquake forecasting and the lack of a public policy framework in Italy (and, for that matter, many other parts of the world) for providing short-term guidance to the communities, populations, and infrastructure at risk.

Rather than pursuing unprecedented legal action against members of the seismological community, SSA urges public officials and community leaders to work to improve the way earthquake risks are communicated to the public. We also urge continued proactive efforts to support earthquake science and engineering and to establish and implement local and national programs in earthquake preparedness and risk mitigation. Education, awareness, and preparedness of the public officials and the general public, coupled with sound construction practices and retrofitting of older structures are currently the best available approaches for mitigating the effects of future earthquakes.

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SSA President Rick Aster Testifies before Congress on USGS Budget Priorities

24 Mar 2011

SSA President Rzick Aster and others at Congressional HearingSSA President Rick Aster (left) testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee's subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

On 9 March 2011 the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on Examining the Spending Priorities and the Missions of the U.S. Geological Survey and the President’s FY 2012 Budget Proposal". SSA President Rick Aster provided invited testimony.

A webcast of the hearing is available at the Natural Resources Committee's website.

Also testifying were Marcia McNutt, USGS Director; John Palatiello of he Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS); Johnathan Price representing the Association of American State Geologists (AASG); Craig Schriffries of the Geological Society of America (GSA).

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House Holds Hearings on NEHRP Reauthorization

26 Jun 2009

Hearings on the Reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: R&D for Disaster Resilient Communities were held on June 11, 2009 by the the US House of Representatives Committee of Science and Technology, subcommittee on technology and Innovation. Testimony of the invited witnesses is available on the Committee's website at http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2483. SSA submitted a written comment for the record. It is posted at http://www.seismosoc.org/society/government/NEHRP_reauth_comment.php.

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Last Modified: 3 May 2013

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