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At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
USGS1983

Active submarine volcano sampled

On June 4, 1982, two full dredge hauls of fresh lava were recovered from the upper flanks of Kavachi submarine volcano, Solomon Islands, in the western Pacific Ocean, from the water depths of 1,200 and 2,700 feet. the shallower dredge site was within 0.5 mile of the active submarine vent shown at the surface by an area of slick water, probably caused by gas emissions. Kavachi is a composite stratovolcano that has been observed to erupt every year or two for at least the last 30 years (see photographs). An island formed in 1952, 1961, 1965, and 1978; but, in each case, it rapidly eroded below sea level. The latest eruption was observed by Solair pilots during the several weeks up to and including May 18, 1982.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1974

New seismic study begins in Puerto Rico

A new seismological project is now underway in Puerto Rico to provide information needed for accurate assessment of the island's seismic hazard. The project should also help to increase understanding of the tectonics and geologic evolution of the Caribbean region. The Puerto Rico Seismic Program is being conducted by the Geological Survey with support provided by the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, an agency responsible for generation and distribution of electric power throughout the Commonwealth. The Program will include the installation of a network of high quality seismograph stations to monitor seismic activity on and around Puerto Rico. These stations will be distributed across the island to record the seismicity as uniformly as possible. The detection and accurate location of small earthquakes, as well as moderate magnitude shocks, will aid in mapping active seismic zones and in compiling frequency of occurrence statistics which ultimately wil be useful in seismic risk-zoning of hte island.

Puerto Rico↗
USGS1978

Quakes; U. S. plans ways to cope

To minimize damage and loss of life when, as is believed inevitable, a major earthquake strikes the United States, plans have been prepared for the creation of new Federal agencies, widespread reinforcement of structures and extensive research on earthquake prediction, control, and hazard reduction.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1980

The earthquake educational institute at San Francisco State University

The Earthquake Educational Institute was established in 1978 at San Francisco State University under a grant from the U.S National Science Foundation. The goal of the Institute is to develop earthquake-related curricula for use in elementary and secondary schools in the hope that, by educating students about earthquakes, they will be better prepared for the disruptions associated with a major quake. To date, about 140 elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators have enrolled in the program.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1980

Earthquake alarm; operating the seismograph station at the University of California, Berkeley.

An alarm bell rings at the seismographic station and at the office of the campus police. It is 3:00 on a foggy San Francisco morning. Somewhere in the world an earthquake has occurred. The police telephone the duty seismologist at home telling him that the alarm has triggered. He makes his way into the seismograph station, bathrobe and all, to locate the earthquake and determine its magnitude. In this way, many seismology graduate students have been initiated into the responsibilities of running a seismographic station. At the University of California seismographic stations, the task of locating and determining magnitudes for both local and distant earthquakes is a continuous one. Teleseisms must be located rapidly so that events that occur in the Pacific can be identified and the Pacific Tsunami Warning System alerted. For great earthquakes anywhere, there is a responsibility to notify public agencies such as the California Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, the California Seismic Safety Commission, and the American Red Cross. In the case of damaging local earthquakes, it is necessary to alert also the California Department of Water Resources, California Division of Mines and Geology, U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit. These days, any earthquakes that are felt in northern California cause immediate inquiries from the news media and an interested public. The series of earthquakes that jolted the Livermore area from January 24 to 26 1980, is a good case in point.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1981

Preliminary observations on the Campania-Basilicata, Italy, earthquake of November 23, 1980

The authors comprised a field study team sent by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institue (EERI) and the National Research Council (NRC) of the United States to make a reconnaissance study of the earthquake in southern Italy. The team members were selected for their experience and expertise and served the EERI and the NRC as individuals, into as representatives of employers or agencies with which they are affiliated. The team's preliminary obersvations are given below. A report of the study will be published jointly by EERI and NRC.

Campania-Basilicata↗
USGS1977

Earthquakes in the United States

To supplement data in the report Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), the National earthquake Information Service (NEIS) also publishes a quarterly circular, Earthquakes in the United States. This provides information on the felt area of U.S earthquakes and their intensity. The main purpose is to describe the larger effects of these earthquakes so that they can be used in seismic risk studies, site evaluations for nuclear power plants, and answering inquiries by the general public.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1974

Computer systems for automatic earthquake detection

U.S Geological Survey seismologists in Menlo park, California, are utilizing the speed, reliability, and efficiency of minicomputers to monitor seismograph stations and to automatically detect earthquakes. An earthquake detection computer system, believed to be the only one of its kind in operation, automatically reports about 90 percent of all local earthquakes recorded by a network of over 100 central California seismograph stations. The system also monitors the stations for signs of malfunction or abnormal operation. Before the automatic system was put in operation, all of the earthquakes recorded had to be detected by manually searching the records, a time-consuming process. With the automatic detection system, the stations are efficiently monitored continuously.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1985

The basin and range viewed from Borah Peak, Idaho.

In 1883, the brilliant geologist G. K. Gilbert wrote an article for the Salt Lake Tribune, "A theory of earthquakes of the Great Basin," which began: There are many geologists who are very wise, but even they do not understand the forces which produce mountains. And yet it must be admitted, not only that mountains have been made, but that some mountains are still rising (Gilbert, 1884). Today, more than a hundred years later, Borah Peak has proved to be among those mountains still rising. During the 28 October 1983 M=7 Borah Peak, Idaho, earthquake, the Lost River Range that Borah Peak caps was lifted 20-30 cm relative to distant points, and was tilted downward away from the range-bounding Lost River fault. The downthrown side of the fault, which subsided as much as 120 cm, was also tilted down toward the fault. The similarity between the earthquake deformation and the cumulative deformation preserved by the dip of strata is striking; it tends to confirm Gilbert's notion that Basin-and-Range topography is built by repeated slip events on normal faults that bound the range. The U.S Geological Survey had just published a preliminary volume of 40 research papers on the Borah Peak earthquake, focusing on the surface faulting, seismology, geodesy, hydrology, and geology of the earthquake and tis setting (Stein and Bucknam 1985). Also included is a field guide to the spectacular earthquake landforms, such as sruface rupture, exploratory trench excavations, sand blows, and landslides.

Idaho↗
USGS1977

Measuring the size of an earthquake

Earthquakes occur in a broad range of sizes. A rock burst in an Idaho silver mine may involve the fracture of 1 meter of rock; the 1965 Rat island earthquake in the Aleutian arc involved a 650-kilometer lenght of Earth's crust. Earthquakes can be even smaller and even larger. if an earthquake is felt or causes perceptible surface damage, then its intesnity of shaking can be subjectively estimated. But many large earthquakes occur in oceanic area or at great focal depths. These are either simply not felt or their felt pattern does not really indicate their true size.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1979

International Seismological Centre

The International Seismological Centre had its origins when the British seismologist Professor John Milne returned to England from Japan in 1895 to retire at Shide on the Isle of Eight. In cooperation with the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Milne had set up a number of seismographic stations around the world and, while Tokyo, had published a Catalogue of 8,33 Earthquakes Recorded in Japan, 1885-1892.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1985

An interview with Karl Steinbrugge

For thirty years the name of Karl V. Steinbrugge has been synonymous with the Insurance Services Office in San Francisco. There he was in charge of their earthquake engineering and research activities for the United States, and his work included detailed engineering investigations of the probable earthquake damage to structures as well as studies of actual earthquake effects. trained as a civil and structural engineer, Steinbrugge was on faculty of the University of California at Berkeley for 28 years, retiring as a Professor of Structural Design. He has served on numerous national and international committees on earthquake hazards, and he is now a consulting structural engineer, specializing in earthquake hazard evaluation. At the present moment he is chairman of an independent panel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is reviewing the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. Henry Spall recently asked Steinbrugge some questions about his long career.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1984

Eyewitness account of the 1931 great earthquake at Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

No part of New Zealand is far from a known earthquake origin. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake of 1931 at Hawke's Bay, North Island, on February 3, 1931, was the most serious event recorded in New Zealand hsitory. It was responsible for 256 deaths. The Modified Mercalli intensity reached XI in Napier, a city of 35,000 people, and hence, caused considerable destruction to property.

Hawkes Bay↗
USGS1981

Charles Darwin and the 1835 earthquake at Concepcion, Chile

On a stormy night in October 1836, H.M.S Beagle hove to and dropped anchor at Falmouth, a remote harbor in southwest England. Charles Darwin, the ship's naturalist, came ashore to take the mail coach to Shrewsbury. This was inauspicious end to an epic 5-year voyage around the coast of South America, the results of which were to have a tumultuous impact on scientific thought that has lasted to this day.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1980

Sir Harold Jeffreys

Sir Harold Jeffreys is a world authority in theoretical geophyiscs. hew as born in Northumbria (northeast of England) and educated at Armstrong College (now the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and Cambridge University. He is now a Senior Fellow of St.John's College, Cambridge. He has published over 300 scientific papers and is the author of 7 books, including Theory of Probability and Mathematical Physics (with his wife, Lady Bertha Swirles Jeffreys) . Sir Harold has made innumerable theoretical contributions to seismology. Many of these are documented in his book The Earth , which has been published in six editions. His papers have recently been collated by Gordon and Breach (Publishers) into six volumes, Collected Papers on Sir Harold Jeffreys on Geophyiscs and other Sciences. Some idea of the breadth of this research can be seen from the individual volume titles: "Theoretical and Observational Seismology," "Observational Seismology," "Gravity," "Dissipation of Energy and Thermal History," "Astronomy and Geophysics," and "Matematics, Probability and Miscellaneious Other Sciences."

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
USGS1980

Seismology in South America; an interview with Alberto Giesecke

Dr. Alberto A. Giesecke is head of the Instituto Geofisico del Peru, in Lima, Peru, and Director of Centro Regional de Sismologia para America del Sur (CERESIS). The center is dedicated to the coordination and promotion of earthquake hazard mitigation. Dr. Giesecke was President of the National Research Council of Peru and currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Industrial Technological Research and Standards and of the National Institute for Research and Training in Telecommunications. He presided over the Organizing Committee for the General Assemblies of the International Association for Seismology and Physics of the Earth's interor and the International Union for Radio Science held in Lima, Peru, in 1973 and 1975, respectively.

Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗