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Graphic showing the Transition Zone inside the Earth Princeton seismologist Jessica Irving worked with then-graduate student Wenbo Wu and another collaborator to determine the roughness at the top and bottom of the transition zone, a layer within the mantle, using scattered earthquake waves. They found that the top of the transition zone, a layer located 410 kilometers down, is mostly smooth, but the base of the transition zone, 660 km down, in some places is much rougher than the global surface average. “In other words, stronger topography than the Rocky Mountains or the Appalachians is present at the 660-km boundary,” said Wu. NOTE: This graphic is not to scale. Credit: Kyle McKernan, Office of Communications

Massive Bolivian earthquake reveals mountains 660 kilometers below our feet

Geology Page - February 16, 2019

Indonesia’s devastating 2018 earthquake was a rare supershear, UCLA study finds

On the area map on the left, the colored background is the ground displacement induced by the Palu earthquake and the thin black line is the fault, both derived from satellite radar images. The black dot is the city of Palu. The circles are spots that radiated waves during the earthquake; their color indicates time (blue at the beginning, red at the end). The right figure shows the timing and position of these earthquake radiators. Their alignment indicates a steady earthquake speed of about 4.1 km/s Credit: © Han Bao et al., Nature Geoscience

Earthquake with magnitude 7.5 in Indonesia—an unusual and steady speed

Floating seismometers dubbed MERMAIDs -- Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers -- reveal that Galapagos volcanoes are fed by a mantle plume reaching 1,900 km deep. By letting their nine MERMAIDs float freely for two years, an international team of researchers created an artificial network of oceanic seismometers that could fill in one of the blank areas on the global geologic map, where otherwise no seismic information is available. Drifting a mile below the surface, MERMAIDs cover a large area. The red circles show where a MERMAID picked up a seismic signal. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

MERMAIDs reveal secrets from below the ocean floor

Where plates collide: The main frontal thrust (red line) extends over the entire length of the Himalayas. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Waiting for the complete rupture

Drilling deep for clues on earthquakes

Geology Page - January 17, 2019

New computer modeling approach could improve understanding of megathrust earthquakes

Geology Page - January 17, 2019

Map of the locations and depths of the deep low-frequency (DLF) earthquakes beneath the Laacher See Volcano ("Lake Laach Volcano") in Germany. Brittle earthquakes are marked as circles, DLF events as stars. Credit: Hensch et al.

Deep low-frequency earthquakes indicate migration of magmatic fluids beneath Laacher See...

Geology Page - January 14, 2019

A snapshot of seismic data taken at a single station during the peak of an aftershock sequence

Q&A: Creating a “Virtual Seismologist”

Geology Page - January 6, 2019

Transportable Array station P19K is one of the closest stations to the Iniskin earthquake origin. Solar panels power the station, and the seismometer is buried in a specially drilled borehole to insulate it from surface noise. Photo taken in 2017 during a service site visit by Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). IRIS manages the Transportable Array station installation and maintenance. Credit: Doug Bloomquist, IRIS

Alaska earthquakes offer new insight into improving hazard assessment

Geology Page - December 11, 2018

Angelenos play below derricks at Huntington Beach pier, c. 1930-40. In the early decades of the twentieth century, LA residents accepted ground subsidence and small earthquakes as the cost of producing oil. But discontent began to rumble in the late 1930s. Rapid exploitation of Wilmington, one of the largest oil fields in California, and the Huntington Beach field caused Long Beach harbor to sink, buckling railway lines and forcing the city to build higher piers. Credit: Orange County Archives

Oil extraction likely triggered mid-century earthquakes in L.A.

Geology Page - November 22, 2018

Christopher DuRoss of the USGS updates maps of the trench walls while sitting on one of the benches excavated across the sackungen. Flags on the wall denote different layers of sediment the team identified that moved during past earthquake events. Credit: Ryan Gold.

Punctuated earthquakes for New Madrid area: New research uncovers cluster of...

Geology Page - November 7, 2018

Ed Garrett of Durham University examines bleached coralline algae related to the the 2016 magnitude 7.6 Chiloé earthquake in Chile. Credit: Martin Brader

White line of algae deaths marks uplift in 2016 Chilean earthquake

Geology Page - November 7, 2018

$This is an aerial view of hydraulic fracturing operations across the Jonah field, a large natural gas field in Wyoming.$

Where water goes after fracking is tied to earthquake risk

Geology Page - November 4, 2018

Illustration of the North Anatolian fault zone

Micro-earthquakes preceding a 4.2 earthquake near Istanbul as early warning signs?

Geology Page - November 1, 2018

Rice University scientists studied how the density of microseismicity, or small tremors, related to the seismic structure of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Red lines in the graphic at left correspond to cross-sections from northern Washington (top), central Oregon (middle), and northern California (bottom).

Relationship between tremors, water at the Cascadia margin

Geology Page - October 26, 2018

Mexico’s 2017 Tehuantepec quake suggests a new worry

Geology Page - October 26, 2018

Seismogram

Quiescent British Columbia fault capable of producing large earthquakes

Geology Page - October 23, 2018

Huge earthquake simulator getting upgrade to better simulate deadly temblors

Geology Page - October 17, 2018

Kaikoura earthquake research suggests new approach to earthquake forecasting

Geology Page - October 3, 2018

Seismogram

New approach offers high-resolution seismic monitoring of the shallow subsurface

Geology Page - October 3, 2018

This image shows widely-felt earthquakes that struck north-central Oklahoma and southern Kansas

Researchers map susceptibility to human-made earthquakes

Geology Page - September 27, 2018

Seismic analysis identifies 2017 North Korean nuclear explosion, collapse, earthquakes

Geology Page - September 27, 2018

Regional seismic data help to locate September 2017 North Korean nuclear...

Geology Page - September 27, 2018

$How slick water and black shale in fracking combine to produce radioactive waste$

How slick water and black shale in fracking combine to produce...

Geology Page - September 19, 2018

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