After the Great Shakeout: Take the Next Step in Earthquake Readiness
After the Great Shakeout: Take the Next Step in Earthquake Readiness DENVER – Across the nation, more than 19 million people ‘Dropped, Covered and Held On’ during the Great Shakeout earthquake drill last week. This is a great time to remember the threat of earthquakes and take actions to minimize your own risk. Earthquakes may happen anywhere you work, live, or travel. The Great Shakeout serves as a powerful opportunity to raise awareness of the threat earthquakes pose. Knowing what to do when a quake happens is important and having a plan will help you take important steps now to
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
Earthquake monitoring at Newberry volcano (December 18, 2024)
Beginning on December 22, 2024, and continuing off-and-on for several weeks to months, a private exploration company called Mazama Energy will conduct geothermal exploration work near Newberry volcano. As their geothermal work proceeds, many small magnitude, non-volcanic earthquakes will occur, which will be detected by the Newberry seismic network. During geothermal exploration activities at Newberry in 2012 and 2014, for example, hundreds of small earthquakes of magnitude M2.5 or less occurred while a company conducted its work. Increased rates of seismicity will be closely monitored by the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory and its monitoring partner the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
What Have We Learned Since the 2020 Stanley, Idaho, Earthquake?
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Zach Lifton, geologist with the Idaho Geological Survey. Map of USGS “Did You Feel It?” reports for the March 31, 2020, M6.5 Stanley, Idaho, earthquake. Taken from https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us70008jr5/dyfi/intensity. For many years, the Sawtooth fault, in central Idaho, was recognized as an active fault, but it remained understudied. Then the Stanley earthquake shook much of the northwestern USA in 2020, providing dramatic confirmation of the area’s tectonic activity. The quake spurred a flurry of research that is shedding light