Advancing earthquake science worldwide
This category is for the At Work column
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves travel throughout the Earth. As they encounter material of different rigidity, however, they slow down or change direction. By mapping out where this happens, scientists can create images of the structures and processes within the deep Earth – a technique known as global tomography. … Continue Reading »
On 30 November 2018, users of the LastQuake app received notifications on their phones and computers—an M7.0 earthquake had just struck Alaska. Upon clicking the notification, they were taken to a page with maps, data and comments from those who felt the quake. Within seconds, they knew exactly where and … Continue Reading »
Gaining insight into where earthquake aftershocks might occur is a long-standing challenge in earthquake science, especially as some aftershocks can approach the size of the mainshock earthquake and can damage buildings and roads already weakened by the main earthquake. Phoebe Robinson DeVries and her coauthors are pursuing one way to … Continue Reading »
Seismology has always been a part of Amanda Price’s life – even if she didn’t always know it would be her job. “I grew up in southern and central California around earthquakes,” she says. “They’ve always fascinated me.” After taking time off after high school, she returned to college and … Continue Reading »
1 October 2018–Before becoming a professor within the Sophisticated Earthquake Risk Evaluation Program – part of Kyoto University’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute – Hiroshi Kawase seemed destined to become an architect or structural engineer. He grew up watching his father design and build houses at the same time Japan was … Continue Reading »
5 September 2018–SSA President Peter Shearer has deep ties to the Society he now heads. He published his first professional paper in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, and he gave his first professional talk at the 1981 SSA Annual Meeting in Berkeley. “I was incredibly nervous,” he … Continue Reading »