Lost River Gets Seismic Monitoring System
/
Ties into Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
LOST RIVER – Mark Ferrara’s middle school science class, on the count of three, all jumped at the same time. They did it a second time, and a third. Dr. Leland O’Driscoll, Oregon Seismic Network manager from the University of Oregon, held up a computer screen with lines running horizontally. Just after the students jumped, the lines zigged and zagged.
“You can see, there’s three strong pulses there,” O’Driscoll said. “That’s your guys’ three earthquakes for the day. Hope you feel good. You made some big earthquakes.”
O’Driscoll’s computer showed data from a new device that watches more than just earthquakes caused by students’ feet. It’s a seismic monitoring station that ties Lost River Jr./Sr. High School into the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.
In late January, O’Driscoll installed the monitoring station and taught science classes about how it works. It’s one of hundreds across the northwest ready to record any activity below the Earth’s surface.
“They’re always listening, they’re always live,” O’Driscoll told the students. “When an earthquake happens, we need a way to know that it happened. Where did it happen? How big was the earthquake? And can we talk about why it happened in the first place?”
The University of Washington and University of Oregon cooperate in operating the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. “The PNSN is an organization dedicated to reducing impacts of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the states of Washington and Oregon by providing accurate and fast information about earthquakes and ground motions to scientists, engineers, planners, and the public,” the organization’s webpage states.
The new monitoring station at Lost River adds to that mission by providing yet another point of data. It ties into all PNSN stations, including the closest sites on Hogback Mountain and at Oregon Tech. Lost River is just far enough away from those other stations to provide a unique set of data.
“We need the right kind of spacing between sensors,” O’Driscoll said, “so when an earthquake happens, and it moves out, we can get a good sampling.”
The Klamath Basin is a place riddled with faults, part of the Basin and Range section of the United States. That makes Lost River a prime spot for monitoring local earthquakes, such as those centered near Upper Klamath Lake in 1993. The network also helps scientists learn more about the interior of the Earth from far-away quakes.
“If you have an earthquake from anywhere around the world that’s big, it travels through the inside of the Earth, through the core, to the outer part of the Earth,” O’Driscoll said. “You can record an earthquake that came from Japan to here with perfect clarity. We can use that to understand the internal structure of the Earth.”
Students and the public can see the data from the station by going to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network’s seismograph website, pnsn.org/seismograms/map clicking on the map and finding Lost River. Or check out the seismogram data by clicking here. The station is formally called UO.LOST.
Press release provided by Klamath County School District.