Last week, the headlines were particularly frightening. 'Massive Earthquake Along the San Andreas Fault Is Disturbingly Imminent', 'Risk of big earthquake on San Andreas fault rises after quake swarm at Salton Sea', all related to a swarm of earthquakes in the Salton Sea that researchers feared might trigger an epically large earthquake in the area. That earthquake hasn't materialized (yet) but it raises the question: how well can we actually predict earthquakes?
Seismometers are used to measure shaking that occues during earthquakes, but they can also measure other kinds of shaking, like the roar of fans after a touchdown and even bear attacks. Now, researchers are paying even more attention to seismometer records, as they can also be used to pinpoint different kinds of weapons, in an expanding field known as forensic seismology.
Conventional wisdom in a large earthquake is that large unstable objects tend to fall down in the midst of all the shaking. But not always. In one area of California, close to the famous San Andreas fault, there are a few delicate geological formations that have weathered intense historical earthquakes without falling down.
Design student James Boock is turning Christchurch's seismology into something more than a record of natural disaster. Quakescape, a project conceived in the aftermath of last year's earthquakes, transforms seismological data into a work of art in realtime, splashing color across a 3D topographical model of Christchurch that corresponds to the magnitude of the earthquakes that occur there.
Most of the concern in local quarters in relation to coal seam gas mining is usually to do with either the release of the methane gas accidentally into the atmosphere, or the contamination of the water used in fracking, which can potentially then be released into the water table. Well, it turns out we might be able to add one more problem to the list - fracking can aggravate geological faults, causing earthquakes.
