Seafloor Seismographs Rapidly Deployed Following Major Earthquake Offshore Northern California

Within just 11 days of the earthquake—the fastest response in our program’s history—9 ocean bottom seismographs were deployed off the coast of Cape Medocino, California. These instruments complement about 115 nodes and 18 real-time aftershock stations deployed on land by the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Since the mainshock and most of the aftershocks are up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) offshore, combining ocean bottom seismograph data with the data collected on land should significantly improve fault zone imaging, as well as our understanding of aftershock locations and the velocity structure near the rupture zone. The team will return in 45 days to recover the instruments.