New Opportunities for Exploring

Global and Regional Earthquakes

in the Classroom and Beyond

Alan Kafka, Justin Starr, Anastasia MoulisWeston Observatory

Department of Earth and Environmental SciencesBoston College

Tammy BravoIRIS Consortium

Ben ColemanDepartment of Computer Science

Moravian College

John TaberIRIS Consortium

What (and Where) is an Earthquake Observatory in the 21st Century?

In the early 1900s, an earthquake observatory was a building housing seismographs. Now the concept of an earthquake observatory has evolved into much more than “bricks and mortar” - it is a distributed network for earthquake monitoring and research, and for providing educational and public outreach resources about all aspects of the science of seismology and earthquake hazards.

We are experimenting with different ways to present seismograms and other earthquake information to optimize the dissemination of information for the many different audiences that are served by the earthquake observatory of the 21st Century.

What (and Where) is an Earthquake Observatory in the 21st Century?

Mid-1900s

2013 and beyond…

Weston Observatoryin the 21st Century...

SeismologyResearch

Science Education

PublicOutreach

• Earthquakes• Monitoring Planet Earth• Earth’s Interior• Earth Processes

Science Educationand Public Outreach Through Seismology

The Earthquake Observatory of the 21st Century is a variety of things to a variety of people: People feel earthquakes & are concerned about their effects.

People find out about earthquakes through news media & want the observatory to be a reliable resource to explain what happened.

Students record earthquakes with seismographs in schools.

Research seismologists record earthquakes in unprecedented ways & new earthquakes inform advances in research on a daily basis.

Earthquakes sometimes change the political landscape (such as Fukushima nuclear disaster…)

Large earthquakes are regional, and sometimes global, social events.

And, more...

Fukushima’s Fallout: The Half-Lives of Nuclear Refugees To this day, the plant still leaks toxic, radioactive water and tens of thousands of “nuclear refugees” from nearby towns are still outcasts in their own lands.

October 3, 2013

Seismological observatories operate a variety of types of seismographs, each “tuned in” to some aspect of watching the Earth quake. We monitor earthquakes recorded by “research seismographs” and by “educational seismographs” in schools and other publicly accessible locations. Seismographs in classrooms, and other publicly accessible locations, give students of all ages direct experience with recording earthquakes. But these inexpensive educational seismographs are limited in terms of their quality of seismic recording compared to what can be achieved with much more expensive research seismographs. A new development is now enabling us to integrate these two aspects of our seismic recording. New software (currently in beta testing) called jAmaSeis, being developed by Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, in collaboration with Moravian College, makes it possible to bring educational and research seismograph data together in the same seismogram viewing and analysis environment. 

Boston College

Sitting Bull Academy

jAmaSeis

Peru, Magnitude 7.0September 25, 2013

Weston Observatory

Quiet site, but remote.

Devlin Hall

Noisy site, but direct access to seismograph.

California3.8

California3.8

August 10, 2013

Weston, MA (WOBC)

Apple Valley, CA (SBCA)SBCA WOBC

Magnitude 3.8 Earthquake: Pine Valley, California(and Magnitude 3.3 Aftershock)

Magnitude3.8

3.3 Aftershock

BC-ESP Bicoastal Quake Watchers

jAmaSeis

Boston College

Sitting Bull Academy

Canada5.3

California3.9

Canada5.3

Canada5.3

California3.9

August 4, 2013Weston, MA (WOBC)

Apple Valley, CA (SBCA)SBCA

WOBC

jAmaSeis

Boston College

Sitting Bull Academy

Hollis Center, MaineMagnitude 4.0

October 16, 2012

Boston College Educational Seismology Project

Weston ObservatoryGleason Public Library

Carlisle, MA

16 sec

16 sec

Weston, MA (NESN Research Seismograph)

Devlin Hall, Boston College(EQ1 Educational Seismograph)

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake: Alaska, August 30, 2013

Magnitude 7.7 September 24, 2013

Magnitude 6.8 September 28, 2013

PakistanEarthquake

and Aftershock:

Illustration of the

Concept of Magnitude

“Touchfoil” Project:People of all ages interact with air quality data to engage in science “on the spot”...

Possibilities for doing the same thing with

earthquakes:

People of all ages could interact with seismic data to engage in science “on the spot” in schools, libraries and other public places.

From: Mike BarnettBoston College

Lynch School of Education

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