You are browsing the archive for seismology Archives - GeoSpace.
17 June 2020
Utah’s arches continue to whisper their secrets
Seismic studies assess the stresses and health of iconic rock structures.
3 March 2020
Researchers develop new explanation for destructive earthquake vibrations
Two researchers propose that rocks colliding inside a fault zone as an earthquake happens are the main generators of high-frequency vibrations. That’s a very different explanation than the traditional one, they say, and it could help explain puzzling seismic patterns made by some earthquakes. It could also help scientists predict which faults are likely to produce the more damaging quakes.
25 September 2019
Historic earthquakes suggest Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt’s quiet regions are active
Seemingly low-hazard seismic regions in Mexico have experienced multiple, strong earthquakes since the 1500s, new research finds, suggesting the regions have many unmapped, active fault lines. The areas are inside the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, home to roughly 40 percent of Mexico’s population, who may be unaware of the land’s seismic history.
6 September 2019
New research provides better look at ocean plate under Central America
Convection in Earth’s mantle is the “engine” driving plate tectonics. Hot material rises to the Earth’s surface from the boundary between the planet’s core and mantle, at a depth of about 3000 kilometers. Cold material then flows downward due to oceanic tectonic plates sinking into the mantle at subduction zones on the Earth’s surface.
23 May 2019
Aftershocks of 1959 earthquake rocked Yellowstone in 2017-18
Aftershocks from large earthquakes can take their time coming — almost six decades in the case of Yellowstone’s deadly Hebgen Lake earthquake of 1959.
16 May 2019
Earthquake in 2009 intensified American Samoa’s rising sea levels
The 2009, magnitude-8.1 Samoa earthquake dealt a great deal of damage to the Samoan Islands: Tsunami waves as high as 14 meters (46 feet) wiped out multiple villages, claiming nearly 200 lives and severely damaging water and electrical systems. New research reveals the damage is likely to continue in the island Tutuila, also known as American Samoa.
22 October 2018
Quiescent British Columbia fault capable of producing large earthquakes
A Canadian fault scientists thought was inactive may actually be capable of producing large-magnitude earthquakes, a new study finds.
30 July 2018
Study reveals how sand dunes alter seismic waves
A new study finds that sand dunes act like seismic echo chambers and suggests new ways to filter out the noise they create in seismic surveys.
30 May 2018
Seismometer readings could offer debris flow early warning
Instruments designed to record earthquakes revealed information about debris-flow speed, the width of the flow and the size of boulders carried by the January 2017 mudslide in Montecito, California, and the location of the event, suggesting that the current generation of seismometers in the field could be used to provide an early warning of an incoming debris flow to residents in mudslide-prone areas.
6 December 2017
Scientists capture Earth’s “hum” on ocean floor
Researchers have successfully quantified Earth’s vibrational “hum” using seismic instruments on the bottom of the ocean. A new study determined at the ocean bottom the frequencies at which the Earth naturally vibrates, and confirmed the viability of using ocean instruments to study the phenomenon.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.