SANTA FE – The Seismological Society of America (SSA) will convene its international annual meeting April 16 - 18 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa and Hilton Hotel. More than 475 of the world’s leading seismologists are expected to attend and present their latest research. Registration for reporters will be located in the Eldorado Hotel (Concourse Level). The meeting is hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory in cooperation with other Rio Grande institutions including New Mexico Tech, Sandia National Laboratory & University of Texas at El Paso.
Highlights of presentations follow, with indications of full news releases when available. Please note that this information is embargoed until the time and date of the overall session.
In order to contact scientists who may be at the SSA meeting, please contact Nan Broadbent at 408-431-9885 or press@seismosoc.org.
The complete program and full news releases can be found on EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org) or requested by calling 408-431-9885 or writing press@seismosoc.org.
Embargo times vary by presentation and are noted on each item (see below). Full program is attached to this news release.
HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESENTATIONS
What Lies Below the Rio Grande Rift?
Extensional Seismotectonics of the Rio Grande Rift and Its Margins
Embargoed for Thursday, April 16, 10:30 AM Eastern; Location: Hilton—Mesa A&B
The Rio Grande Rift, running from Colorado into Mexico, represents a dramatic thinning of the Earth’s crust, pulled apart from east to west beginning 35 million years ago. Rifting is the force behind New Mexico’s distinctive mountains and valleys along the Rio Grande, its ancient volcanic cones and the earthquake “swarms” in the central part of the state. But what was the cause of Rio Grande rifting, and is the land beneath New Mexican feet still on the move" Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico State University, the University of Colorado and other institutions will present an updated view of the Rift’s history and future. For instance, researchers believe that an ancient bit of the Earth’s crust called the Farallon Plate is buried deep below the region, and may be responsible in part for starting the Rift. There is some evidence that melting of the Farallon Plate could be responsible for seismic anomalies imaged by seismologists hundreds of kilometers below the region. Other researchers are targeting their observations on a huge body of magma underneath the Socorro area of New Mexico, probably responsible for the concentration of earthquakes in the state’s central region. New studies in the area suggest that the earthquake swarms can’t be explained by east-west rifting motions alone. And although the Rio Grande Rift has been monitored extensively by seismologists for more than 30 years, a new project using global positioning system (GPS) technology should help researchers answer the question: is the Rift still pulling apart"
New Hazard Estimates Could Downplay Quake Dangers In New Madrid, Charleston Areas
Complexity, Statistics, and Physics of Seismicity and Earthquakes
Embargoed for: Wednesday, April 16, 3:30 PM Eastern; Location: Eldorado Hotel--Zia
The dangers posed by a major earthquake in the New Madrid and Charleston, South Carolina zones in the Midwestern and Southern parts of the United States may be noticeably lower than current estimates if seismologists adjust one of the major assumptions that go into calculating seismic hazard, according to a study presented at the Seismological Society of America.
The study revolves around this question: is it unlikely that one major earthquake will follow directly on the heels of a big quake, or are other major earthquakes equally likely to occur any time after a major quake" Hazard estimates for a seismic zone depend on which scenario seismologists choose to plug into their hazard calculations.
Full news release available at www.eurekalert.org.
Unearthing Clues of Catastrophic Earthquakes: “An Inviting Tale of Destruction”
Archaeoseismological Methodologies: Principles and Practices
Embargoed: Wednesday, April 16, 3:30 PM Eastern; Hilton—Mesa C
The destruction and disappearance of ancient cultures mark the history of human civilization, making for fascinating stories and cautionary tales. The longevity of today’s societies may depend upon separating fact from fiction, and archeologists and seismologists are figuring out how to join forces to do just that with respect to ancient earthquakes. "It's an idea whose time has come, " said Robert Kovach, professor of geophysics at Stanford University and a leading proponent that seismology needs to be included in any framework for understanding what happened to past civilizations. Very large earthquakes may have recurrence rates that exceed 500 years, making it very difficult to assign potential hazard estimates.
Archaeoseismology, a young scientific discipline that studies past earthquakes in the archaeological record, allows scientists to broaden the time window to detect these rare seismic catastrophic events. But archaeological evidence for past earthquakes raises a lot of reservations from seismologists, some of them strongly questioning whether man-made structures can be used as earthquake indicators at all.
Full news release available at www.eurekalert.org.
New Effort Funded by UNESCO to Expand Archaeoseismological Research Eastward
Archaeoseismological Methodologies: Principles and Practices
Wednesday, April 16, 3:30 PM Eastern; Hilton Hotel--Mesa C
UNESCO just awarded a five-year grant (IGCP 567) in support of the new discipline of archaeoseismology to Manuel Sintubin, professor of geodynamics at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and his colleagues, who will speak to its importance and of their recent new proposed standardized method for documenting evidence of earthquakes at excavation sites. “We are indeed at a turning point with respect to archaeoseismology -- either earthquake evidence in archaeological sites remains in a world of conjecture and drama or a more objective and quantitative approach gets the upper hand,” said Sintubin. The UNESCO grant will allow scientists to broaden the scope of archaeoseismology to excavations in the Far East.
Tiny Tremors Can Track Extreme Storms in a Warming Planet
Session: Models, Methods and Measurements: Seismic Monitoring Research
Embargoed: Thursday, April 17, 10:30 AM Eastern; Hilton Hotel, Mesa A&B
Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves—often dismissed as “background noise” at seismographic stations around the world—suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global warming trends. The tiny tremors, or microseisms, offer a new way to discover whether these predictions are already coming true, said Richard Aster, a geophysics professor at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Unceasing as the ocean waves that trigger them, the microseisms show up as five- to 30-second period oscillations at seismographic stations around the world. Even seismic monitoring stations “in the middle of a continent are sensitive to the waves crashing all around the continent,” Aster said.
[Full news release available at www.eurekalert.org].
Historic Soviet Nuclear Test Site Offers Insights for Today’s Nuclear Monitoring
Session: Models, Methods and Measurements: Seismic Monitoring Research
Embargoed: Thursday, April 17, 10:30 AM Eastern; Hilton Hotel--Mesa A&B
Newly published data from the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, the Soviet Union’s primary nuclear weapons testing ground during the Cold War, can help today’s atomic detectives fine-tune their monitoring of nuclear explosions around the world, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
From 1949 to 1989, Semipalatinsk was scrutinized furtively by U2 spy planes, satellites and seismologists hoping to learn more about the Soviet Union’s weapons capabilities. Now, for the first time, researchers can compare the information gleaned from these operations with the actual records from the test site to see how accurate Western researchers were in predicting the number and size of Semipalatinsk’s nuclear detonations.
The treasure trove of data from Semipalatinsk is especially important in light of the fact that only a few nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998 and one by North Korea in October 2006 have been conducted since the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1996, said Paul Richards of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. [Full news release available at www.eurekalert.org]
Nuclear Monitoring on A 3-D Earth
Session: Models, Methods and Measurements: Seismic Monitoring Research
Embargoed: Thursday, April 17, 10:30 AM Eastern; Location: Hilton Hotel--Mesa A&B
In October 2006, North Korea conducted its first test of a nuclear weapon underground, sending shockwaves through the global political scene. But the explosion also sent seismic waves to the hundreds of monitoring stations around the planet, offering a rare chance to test--in real time--the latest advances in seismological monitoring techniques against a surprise nuclear event. As scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory and other institutions will discuss, one of the biggest challenges for seismological monitoring has been developing a three-dimensional model of the Earth for their calculations. Earthquake researchers have long used 3-D modeling, but the nuclear monitoring research community is just beginning to adopt the same methods at a finer scale suitable for their efforts. Advances in high-speed computing, along with a better understanding of structural and spatial differences within the Earth’s crust and mantle, are making 3-D models more useful in seismological nuclear monitoring. These increasingly detailed models can help researchers more accurately pinpoint the geographical source and timing of future nuclear tests, the SSA scientists say.
SSA Honors a “Can Do” Seismologist
SSA Annual Luncheon, April 17; Location: Eldorado Hotel--Pavilion
On Thursday, April 17, SSA will present Michael Fehler, a seismologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with its Distinguished Service Award, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the work of the Society.
“He has worked tirelessly on behalf of not just SSA, but the entire seismological community, which has earned him his “can do” reputation,” said Susan Newman, executive director of SSA. Fehler is the former president of SSA in 2005 and editor of its prestigious journal, the Bulletin of the Seismological Society from 1995 to 2004. He is credited with improving the quality of the journal’s editorial process, reducing the time from submission to publication and thereby improving the flow of communication through the international seismological community. He streamlined the review process and expanded the number seismologists involved in reviewing, soliciting, and editing the papers, resulting in greater range of expertise at the journal.
While Editor, Fehler produced his own research and collaborations, one result of which was the publication of a highly-cited book (“Seismic Wave Propagation and Scattering in the Heterogeneous Earth”, by H. Sato and M. Fehler, 1998). Meanwhile, he kept his original work going, and his tally of peer-reviewed publications kept pace, totaling nearly 80 by 2004.
SSA was established in direct response to the 1906 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault that destroyed much of San Francisco. This year's conference will feature research on the closely watched Hayward Fault east of San Francisco, the geology of the Rio Grande Rift, seismic monitoring, earthquake prediction research, archaeoseismology, and more. SSA's scholarly journal, the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA), features a special section on the 1906 earthquake in its April issue, which presents new research on the intensity of the quake's ground motion and the link between the San Andreas and Cascadia faults.
Contact: Nan Broadbent
Cell: 408-431-9885
E-mail: nan0604@msn.com