Word: seismologists
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...elevates to yellow or red based on seismic readings, Lowenstern says, "Ultimately it's my responsibility to put out alerts. The National Park Service and local officials would be responsible for civil defense measures and evacuation plans. For now, life goes on. The system is generally automated, and a seismologist at the University of Utah is on call to make sure it's a real event should it be anything unusual...
...accidental discovery has brought seismologists one step closer to being able to predict earthquakes. As part of an unrelated effort to measure underground changes caused by shifts in barometric pressure, a team of researchers found that increases in subterranean pressure preceded earthquakes along California's San Andreas Fault by as much as 10 hours. If follow-up tests advance the findings, seismologists may eventually be able to provide a few hours' notice for people to find safe haven prior to quakes. As the horrific images from China demonstrate, the effort is well worth the alternative. "Predicting earthquakes is the final...
...rupturing of the ground underfoot but from seismic waves that propagate out from the fault at 8,000 or more m.p.h. While the punch packed by these waves tends to diminish as the distance from the fault increases, that's not always the case. From historical accounts, USGS seismologist Jack Boatwright has assembled a ShakeMap for 1906--a map that displays the intensity of shaking in different areas. For San Francisco and other communities close to the San Andreas, it was quite severe. But even more severe was the shaking that occurred in the city of Santa Rosa, more than...
...slammed so hard? At least part of the answer lies in the loosely consolidated sediment that sits below the surface. Seismic waves pass quickly through bedrock, but they become trapped in sediment-filled basins. "It's sort of like being in a bathtub filled with water," says USGS seismologist Thomas Brocher. "When you start splashing, the waves keep bouncing up and down and from side to side." The basin effect amplifies not only the intensity of the shaking but also its duration, which is no doubt why buildings collapsed in Santa Rosa in 1906, killing some 100 people. There...
...shallower waters. All that earth muffled the force of last week's quake and kept the seafloor from rising suddenly, which could have triggered a major tsunami. "There just wasn't a big enough bulge in the water to create a big set of waves," says Kerry Sieh, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. Some minor tsunami waves were generated, according to computer models, but they appear to have moved southwest to the open ocean...