Advancing earthquake science worldwide
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 Pre-Eruption Seismograms Recovered for 1980 Mount St. Helens Event
28 January 2020–Earthquakes along a complex series of faults in the upper plate of New Zealand’s northern Hikurangi Subduction Margin were responsible for coastal uplift in the region, according to a new evaluation of local marine terraces. The findings, reported in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, could… Continue Reading Upper-Plate Earthquakes Caused Uplift Along Northern Hikurangi Margin
22 January 2020–The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence, which startled nearby California residents over the 4 July holiday with magnitude 6.4 and magnitude 7.1 earthquakes, included 34,091 earthquakes overall, detailed in a high-resolution catalog created for the sequence. The catalog, developed by David Shelly at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden,… Continue Reading Catalog Shows Complex Rupturing During 2019 Ridgecrest Sequence
7 January 2020–The magnitude of the Great Lisbon Earthquake event, a historic and devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Portugal on All Saints’ Day in 1755, may not be as high as previously estimated. In his study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Joao F. B.… Continue Reading Magnitude of Great Lisbon Earthquake May Have Been Lower than Previous Estimates
18 December 2019–Alan Kafka’s career as a seismologist began with a Ph.D. studying earthquakes associated with the Caribbean plate, but “I ended up focusing on the Northeast U.S. (NEUS) for a not-very-exotic reason,” he explains. “I feel at home in the NEUS, and I didn’t want to leave.” “What I… Continue Reading At Work: Alan Kafka
16 December 2019–The term “public service” has broad meaning when it comes to the Frank Press Public Service Award, which the Seismological Society of America created to honor outstanding efforts on behalf of seismology and public safety. In part, the award has a broad reach due to the trailblazing and… Continue Reading Press Award Demonstrates Many Facets of Public Service in Seismology