|
The annual SCEC Intern Colloquium (pictures) and Field Trip (pictures)
was held August 3-6. The Colloquium has held on the first day.
After everyone introduced themselves and Intern Program Coordinator
Mark Benthien provided an overview of the the next four days,
USC Professor Thomas Jordan gave a presentation on the history
and future of SCEC. Outreach Director Jill Andrews then gave
a presentation about SCEC's Outreach programs. For the remainder
of the Colloquium each intern shared their project and its status
mid-way during the summer.
Online versions of the Intern presentations
will be added to the SCEC Website over the month of August. Click
on the following links to view the first set of presentations
by three of the ten interns. The second
set is now available.
Alexandra Jordan
Organizing
a HAZUS Users Group in Southern California
Mentors: Mark Benthien and Jill Andrews, USC
The purpose of this project is to begin
planning for a southern California User Group for the computer
application HAZUS, short for Hazards U.S.. HAZUS is a program
designed to produce earthquake related loss estimates, aid in
planning for earthquake loss mitigation, and assist with emergency
preparedness and response and recovery. HAZUS was developed by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through a cooperative
agreement with the National Institution of Building Sciences
(NIBS), to be a standardized, nationally applicable earthquake
loss estimation methodology. This program is a PC-based Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) software designed to produce detailed
maps and analytical reports that describe a communities potential
losses. The application can be used not only to produce loss
estimates but aids in planning for loss mitigation and assists
with emergency preparedness and response and recovery as well.
A successful HAZUS User's Group has been
operating in the Bay Area (http://www.hazus.org),
and SCEC is considering forming a southern California User Group
to accomplish similar goals.
Daniel Raymond
Seismic
Hazard Assessment of the San Joaquin Hills Using GIS
Mentor: Lisa Grant, UCI
The San Joaquin Hills region in southern
Orange County is an area that is undergoing tremendous growth.
Recent studies suggest that the anticlinal structure of the San
Joaquin hills is due to a combination of folding, and faulting
in the area. The tectonic and seismic hazard significance of
the
faults is not understood. Considering the rapid growth of the
region, it is imperative that the seismic hazard of these faults
be assessed so regional planning can proceed in an informed manner.
The goal of my research project is to create a GIS-based map
and database, which will compile information on these faults
from geotechnical development reports and unpublished geologic
maps. This information may be used to assess seismic hazards
in the San Joaquin Hills region. This project involves collecting
fault data from geologic consulting firms along with local and
regional governments. The data is the basis for a regional GIS
map, which will display important seismic hazard information
such as recency of fault rupture, fault location and dip, sense
of motion (if
known) and a bibliography of published and unpublished sources.
It is my goal to make this map as useful as possible for the
sound planning of the region. If the faulting and neotectonic
structures can be considered and incorporated into mitigation
measures for the area, the risk of property damage and loss of
life may be significantly reduced in the future.
Marie Ammerman
Evidence
for Fault Zone Trapped Waves
Mentor: Ralph Archuleta, UCSB
When an earthquake occurs within a fault,
it generates longer period waves, fault zone trapped waves (FZTW),
that arrive after the direct S wave. My project involves investigating
the source of these FZTW from aftershocks of the 1999 Hector
Mine earthquake. FZTW are generated by the lower velocities that
characterize the fault zone. When FZTW are observed, they reveal
the
structure of the fault zone, including the width and the velocity
of the material within the fault zone.
FZTW can be differentiated from waves trapped
in near surface low-velocity material by comparing the directions
and phase velocities of the FZTW and the direct S waves. If it
is concluded that the observed waves are FZTW, the maximum depth
at which they are observed may show us the depth at which the
fault becomes too thin to trap waves.
Seismograms from the Bullion Wash Array
will be analyzed for FZTW using Seismic Analysis Code. Seismograms
from earthquakes that occur both on and off the fault will be
compared to ensure that the waves are FZTW.
|
SCEC INSTANeT
News