Unusual animal behavior before earthquakes
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Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
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Earthquake research in China
On the evening of February 4, 1975, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred near Haicheng in Liaoning Privince in eastern China. Almost 90 percent of the structures in Haicheng, a city of 90,000 people, were destroyed or seriously damaged. Given the time of day, the subfreezing temperatures, and the population density in the city and the surrounding area, casualties of 100,000 might ordinarily have been expected. Yet the earthquake was predicted accurately enough to enable a massive evacuation of the local population from the city on February 4. The prediction of the Haicheng earthquake was an extraordinary achievement by the geophysical workers of the People's Republic of China, whose national program in earthquake reserach was less than 10 years old at the time. To study the background to this prediction, a delgation of 10 U.S scientists, which I led, visited China in June 1976.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Can we control earthquakes?
In 1966, it was discovered that high pressure injection of industrial waste fluids into the subsurface near Denver, Colo., was triggering earthquakes. While this was disturbing at the time, it was also exciting because there was immediate speculation that here at last was a mechanism to control earthquakes.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
The Survey’s first venture into seismology
The occurrence of two small but widely felt earthquakes in the Eastern United States in 1884 led an editor of the research journal Science to suggest, in the October 3 issue of the magazine, that an "earthquake club" be formed. Its purpose was so that observers and students of "this branch of physical geography" could become acquainted with each other and thus insure the proper collection and collation of their observations. Because this was its intent, he though the club should be "unembarrassed by formal regulations"; consequently, there is no record of whether such an organziation ever existed. But the other suggestion, thata of collecting earthquake records was acted on promptly.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
The role of the Organization of American States in the development of seismology in Latin America
Seismological studies in Latin America were initiated at the beginning of the 20th century, when the first seismological stations were deployed by certain scientific associations. These efforts provided an incentive to the professional community for further activites. Until this date, the only seismic records that existed were historical accounts of catastrophes caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This type of information of course, leads to "fantasy" and incorrect descriptions of what has taken place.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
A “natural and legitimate ambition . . . .”
Grove Karl Gilbert (1843-1918) was Chief Geologist for the U.S Geological Survey from 1889 to 1892. Still working for the Survey, he was in Berkeley when the 1906 earthquake struck San Francisco. Immediately on waking, he began to study the motion of the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, trying to decipher the direction of Earth waves and to time the intervals between tremors and hoping to gain some insight into the quake's magnitude. What Gilbert called a "tumult of motions and noises" brought him "unalloyed pleasure." He later announced that it was the "natural and legitimate ambition of properly constituted geologist to see a glacier, witness an eruption and feel an earthquake..." Having narrowly missed the 1872 Inyo earthquake (while with the Wheeler Survey) and the 1899 Alaska earthquake (while with the Harriman Expedition), the 63-year-old Gilbert considered the 1906 earthquake to be one fo the highlights of his career. He was to be comissioned by both the State and Federal committees that investigated the earthquake.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Mitigating earthquakes; the federal role
With rapid approach of a capability to make reliable earthquake forecasts, it essential that the Federal Government play a strong, positive role in formulating and implementing plans to reduce earthquake hazards. Many steps are being taken in this direction, with the President looking to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in his Executive Office to provide leadership in establishing and coordinating Federal activities.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Geologic mapping and earthquakes in southeastern Idaho
On April 14, 1973, a magnitude 4.75 earthquake occurred in Oneida County, Idaho. The intensity of ground motion was too slight to cause damage, and local interest in this event was so slight that it was not even noted in the weekly newspaper, the Idaho Enterprise , published in Malad City, the county seat. Two years later, an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 and three shocks, each of a magnitude greater than 4, occurred in nearly the same place under Pocatello Valley (fig 1). The main shock on March 27, 1975, was the strongest in the United States since the 1971 San Fernando Valley, Calif., event and was reported in newspapers across the country.
Idaho↗
The Guatemala earthquake and Caribbean Plate tectonics
The main fault along which the destructive Guatemala earthquake occurred was the Motagua fault. Ground breakage was observed in a continuous, well-defined line for 230 km. At its closest point, the fault is 25 km north of Guatemala City. Surface displacement across the fault was dominantly horizontal and sinistral (see back cover). The strike-slip component averaged 1.08m and was as high as 3.40m. Unlike many other earhtquake-related strike-slip displacements in the world (such as the San Andreas system in California), subsidiary faults, splays, and an echelon offsets are relatively rare along the Motagua fault. Most of the fault trace is marked by linear stream valleys, minor scarps, shutter ridges (a fault-displaced ridge which "shuts in" the adjacent canyon), and sag ponds (fault-formed depressions which fill with water).
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Worldwide standardized seismograph network
A global network of seismographs is as indispensable to seismologists as telescopes are to astronomers. The network is used to catalog the thousands of earthquakes that occur each year and to provide the data needed for detailed studies of earthquake mechanisms, deep Earth structure, and tectonic processes. Like astronomy, seismology is an observational science, and most of the scientific advances have been preceded by improvements in instrument technology. To be useful for seismic studies, new technology must be applied on a global scale. During the past two decades, there has been notable success in meeting this objective. The network that exists today (fig. 1) is a vital scientific resource. Continued innovations and improvements are needed to insure that its keeps pace with the data needs of the seismological community.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Laboratory experiments duplicate conditions in the Earth’s crust
An experimental device that simulates conditions in the Earth's crust at depths of up to 30 kilometers has been constructed by geophysicists working at the U.S Geological Survey laboratories in Menlo Park, California. A high pressure "bomb" is being used to experimentally measure the velocity of seismic waves in different types of rock at various confining pressures and temperatures. The principal purpose of these measurements is to determine the elastic and non-elastic properties of rocks and minerals under conditions of high-pressure such as exist deep in the Earth's crust.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes, September-October 1984
There were no major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) during this reporting period but earthquake related deaths wre reported from Japan Turkey. Algeria the USSR, and Yugoslavia had damaging earthquakes. In the United States, Wyoming experienced a couple of moderate earthquakes, and off the coast of northern California, a strong earthquake shook much of the northern coast of California and parts of the Oregon coast.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes November-December 1984
Major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) were located in Sumatera, the Philippine Vanuatu Islands, Kamchatka, and the Mid-Atlantic Ocean during this reporting period. Earthquake-related deaths were reported from a magnitude 5.8 quake in India. There was no significant damage from earthquakes in the United States.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes March-April 1985
There were two major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) during this reporting period-both were in Chile and both caused fatalities. Earthquake-related deaths were also reported from the Philippine Islands, Bolivia, and China. In the United States a strong earthquake occurred in Alaska on March 9 and a magntidue 6.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of Oregon on March 13.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes, July-August 1984
There were no major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) and no earthquake related deaths reported during this period but injuries and damage were experienced in Japan from earthquakes. There were no earthquake casualties reported in the United States but some minor damage was reported.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes, January-February 1985
There were no major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) during the first two months of the year. Argentina reported the first deaths from an earthquake on January 26 and Iran reported on earthquake-related death on February 2. In the United States, there were no casualties or damage reported from earthquakes.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes; September-October 1983
Two major earthquakes (magntidue 7.0-7.9) occurred during the month of October. The first was on October 4 in northern Chile. the second occurred in the United States in the State of Idaho on October 28. This was the first major earthquake in the conterminous United States since a magnitude 7.2 event occurred near the coast of northern California on November 8, 1980, and was the first earthquake to cause fatalities in the conterminous United States since February 9, 1971. The most deadly earthquake occurred in eastern Turkey on October 30.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗
Earthquakes; November-December 1983
There were four major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) during the last 2 months of the year. The most devastating earthquake, a magnitude 6.4 which killed hundreds of people and injured many, occurred along the northwestern coast of Africa on December 22. Earthquake deaths also were reported in Afghanistan, Belgium, China, and Pakistan. The strongest earthquake in the United States during this period occurred in Hawaii on November 16 and caused injuries and considerable damage.
Earthquake Information Bulletin (USGS)↗