UAF Geophysical Institute’s Post

Meet one of my legendary mentors, Jason "Jay" R. Patton, an engineering geologist with a passion for seismic safety. As earthquakes shape Humboldt's landscape, Jay's expertise ensures we're prepared. Discover how he navigates earthquake country, from tsunami readiness to cutting-edge early-warning tech. Join the conversation and learn how to stay safe in shaky terrain. #SeismicSafety #TsunamiPreparedness #EarthquakeCountry 🌍🚨 https://lnkd.in/gWP2Ewa7

Viewed from a sufficient height, or space, the Alpine Fault looks like a long, straight cut made along the western edge of the Southern Alps. Closer up, the fault is seen to be segmented lengthwise, and geoscientists have long laboured to work out which segments have ruptured in past earthquakes. What has remained unknown is the direction in which the fault has ruptured (southwest to northeast, northeast to southwest, from the middle in both directions, or something else), and whether the fault always ruptures in the same direction. That information matters: a magnitude-8 earthquake rupturing towards you in Nelson, say, produces very different shaking and will feel very different from the same-sized earthquake rupturing away from you. As part of a project funded by the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Jesse Kearse, Nic Barth and colleagues have taken the next painstaking step in deciphering which way the Alpine Fault ruptured in its most recent large earthquake 307 years ago - from southwest to northeast - and have uncovered evidence for previous earthquakes rupturing in different directions. Using completely different observations made at Gaunt Creek during the Deep Fault Drilling Project, colleagues and I hypothesized in 2013 that the fault typically ruptures from southwest to northeast, but the work Jesse and Nic describe in their Conversation article and associated publication in Geology is the first to demonstrate a particular rupture direction in a specific Alpine Fault earthquake. #NZscience #earthquakes #seismology #naturalhazards #fundamentalscience

Miguel Neves led this research. We demonstrate that the 2020 Mw 5.1 Sparta, NC had a complex rupture that included the fault strand that caused the surface rupture (Figueiredo et al al, 2022, GSA) and another fault strand, in depth. The event shows how a previous structure can be reactivated in an intraplate setting and alerts for similar events that may have been overlooked. Well done Miguel! PS- Two more papers will be out hopefully in a few months! PS2- Differently from Miguel, I felt it and some hours later I was in the field!

As soon as the shaking subsided on Friday, April 5 from a rare Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake in New Jersey, geologists in the the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick immediately went to work to deconstruct what happened. The USGS rated the earthquake as a 4.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale, and mapped the epicenter near Whitehouse Station, NJ at a depth of 4.7 km. The Ramapo Border Fault system runs through this region and regularly experiences earthquakes, but they are generally much smaller than the one that occurred on April 5th. (i.e. magnitude 3 or less). Sean Kinney and David Tibbits, Rutgers University Researcher and Graduate Student, respectively, traveled to the area near the epicenter to search for fractures, slip surfaces, and other signs of earthquake movement when the magnitude 3.8 aftershock hit. Kinney and Tibbits report that they heard what sounded like a loud gunshot before they felt the ground shake again and immediately realized they were experiencing an aftershock near the site of the original epicenter. Their ongoing work is focused on estimating the timing of the rock deformation associated with the break up Pangea both within the Newark Rift Basin and elsewhere on the Eastern North American Margin in collaboration with researchers at Columbia and Westchester Universities and Middlebury College. All of which new research and data from this and future earthquakes in New Jersey can help reveal new findings and understandings. Read more about the earthquake and what Rutgers EPS Faculty say about it here: https://lnkd.in/egsC7A-t

GEO DISASTER ⚠ WHERE DO MOST EARTHQUAKE OCCUR? #gex #academygex #jeoxplorer #geologist #theorytoreality #geohazard #geophysical #geotechnical #siteinvestigation #training #workshop #skill #refreshknowledge #exchangeidea

GEO DISASTER ⚠ WHERE DO MOST EARTHQUAKE OCCUR? #gex #academygex #jeoxplorer #geologist #theorytoreality #geohazard #geophysical #geotechnical #siteinvestigation #training #workshop #skill #refreshknowledge #exchangeidea

New Research from Imperial College London Challenges Earthquake Hazard Estimates Near Los Angeles Recent research by Anna Rood, a Seismic Hazard Scientist at the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, and her team at Imperial College London suggests that the #SanAndreas #fault near #LosAngeles may pose less of a threat than previously estimated. By analysing the survival of ancient precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) near the fault, they found that past large rare #earthquakes were likely less intense than previously believed, with ground shaking 65% less severe. This ground-breaking research has significant implications for #seismic #hazard #assessment and #disasterpreparedness in the Los Angeles area, and holds promise for refining earthquake hazard assessments in other seismically active regions around the world. Read the press release here: https://lnkd.in/dKBazaVf Link to the research paper: https://lnkd.in/dPAgvkRA #earthquakehazard #LosAngeles #science #earthquakeresearch #PBRs #GEMFoundation #inverseseismometers

⚛️🚀 Impactful earthquake shaking and damaged left by the recent earthquake in Taiwan 👨🏻🏫 The recent earthquake in Taiwan, with reported between Mw 7.2 and Mw 7.4, caused extensive damage and significant casualties. The quake resulted in at least 9 deaths and injured more than 1,000 individuals. It was centered off the coast of Taiwan, where buildings suffered severe damage, including complete or partial collapses. The impact was felt across the island. Rescue efforts have been widespread, with rescuers searching for trapped individuals and addressing infrastructure damage that includes landslides and compromised roads, bridges, and tunnels. A tsunami warning was initially issued but later lifted. The quake's timing during the morning rush hour compounded its impact, and the occurrence of multiple aftershocks added to the distress #engineering #science #geology #technology #innovation #sustainability ⏩ Felipe Ochoa Cornejo 👨🏻🏫🇨🇱 for more science, engineering, geology, and technology

Landslide-Induced Earthquake in Greenland: Key Facts Recently, scientists detected unusual seismic waves globally, attributed to a landslide in Greenland that lasted nine days. Unlike typical earthquake signals, these waves exhibited a single frequency, indicating a non-seismic origin. #GreenlandLandslide #MegaTsunami #SeismicEvent #ClimateChange #DicksonFjord #NaturalDisasters #GeologicalResearch #EarthquakeAwareness #EnvironmentalImpact #MeltingGlaciers #TsunamiAlert #SeicheEffect #ArcticResearch #GlobalSeismicMonitoring #CascadingHazards

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on July 19th. Shaking was felt throughout the region, particularly in Calama (Chile). This earthquake in Chile can provide invaluable insights into hazard assessment. What’s important about this event is that while powerful (magnitude 7.4), it caused surprisingly little damage due to its unusual depth (~120 km, USGS) within the subducting Nazca Plate. This deep normal faulting offers a rare glimpse into how these submerged slabs deform under immense pressure. The earthquake struck near triple country borders, providing a window into the complex interplay of tectonic forces at such junctions. This event highlights the importance of both depth and fault mechanisms in understanding earthquake impacts and offers valuable data for improving seismic hazard assessments in subduction zones. While magnitude is a significant factor, depth plays a crucial role in determining the surface impact and potential destruction from an earthquake. Shallower earthquakes, despite having a lower magnitude, can be more damaging in localized areas due to the stronger shaking intensity. #ChileEarthquake #ChileEarthquake #AtacamaEarthquake #AtacamaEarthquake #DeepEarthquake #DeepEarthquake #NormalFaulting #NormalFaulting #TriplePlateBoundary #TriplePlateBoundary #EarthScience #Earthscience #Seismology #Seismology #SubductionZones #SubductionZones #EarthquakeHazards #EarthquakeHazards #PlateTectonics #PlateTectonics