Earthquakes

"Close to 75 million people in 39 states face some risk from earthquakes. Earthquake hazards are greatest in the western United States, particularly in California, but also in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Earthquake hazards are also prominent in the Rocky Mountain region and the New Madrid Seismic Zone (a portion of the central United States), as well as in portions of the eastern seaboard, particularly South Carolina. Under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), the federal government supports efforts to assess and monitor earthquake hazards and risk in the United States. Given the potentially huge costs associated with a large, damaging earthquake in the United States, an ongoing issue for Congress is whether the federally supported earthquake programs are appropriate for the earthquake risk. This report discusses: [1] earthquake hazards and risk in the United States, [2] federal programs that support earthquake monitoring, [3] the U.S. capability to detect earthquakes and issue notifications and warnings, and [4] federally supported research to improve the fundamental scientific understanding of earthquakes with a goal of reducing U.S. vulnerability."

"The development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing has created new demand for wastewater disposal wells that inject waste fluids into deep geologic strata. Deep-well injection has long been the environmentally preferred method for managing produced brine and other wastewater associated with oil and gas production. However, an increasing concern in the United States is that injection of these fluids may be responsible for increasing rates of seismic activity. The number of earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the central and eastern United States has increased dramatically since about 2009 from an average of approximately 20 per year between 1970 and 2000 to over 100 per year in the period 2010-2013. Some of these earthquakes may be felt at the surface. […] The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulates the subsurface injection of fluids to protect underground drinking water sources. EPA has issued regulations for six classes of injection wells, including Class II wells used for oil and gas wastewater disposal and enhanced recovery. Most oil and gas states administer the Class II program. Although the SDWA does not address seismicity, EPA rules for certain well classes require evaluation of seismic risk. Such requirements do not apply to Class II wells; however, EPA has developed a framework for evaluating seismic risk when reviewing Class II permit applications in states where EPA administers this program."

This is a compilation of the March 27, 2014 hearing on "Advances in Earthquake Science" held before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. From the opening statement of Doug Lamborn: "Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Good Friday Great Alaska Earthquake. It was a massive 9.2 magnitude quake making it the second largest earthquake ever recorded with 'modern' seismic equipment, and the largest in the US. Technically, the earthquake occurred in the Aleutian Trench 'subduction zone' - although at the time the earthquake occurred 'subduction zone' was not a part of the geologic lexicon. The rupture occurred along a 580 mile stretch of the fault and lasted between 4 and 5 minutes. The earthquake caused the greatest amount of vertical uplift ever measured, almost 34 feet, and Southern Alaska moved more than 6S feet seaward. The earthquake also caused the largest tsunami to ever hit the west coast of the United States and Canada with the largest wave, 222 feet high, hitting Valdez at Shoup Bay." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Doug Lamborn, William Leith, Lisa Grant Ludwig, John Vidale, and Reginald DesRoches.

From the opening statement of David Pryor: "I want to thank all of you for being here today for this hearing before the Ad Hoc Committee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration. We are calling this hearing 'The New Madrid Seismic Zone: Whose Fault is it Anyway?' a little bit of a play on words. I know you earthquake researchers get tired of that play on words, but we couldn't resist. We are talking about a very serious subject today, one that touches my State very directly, as you can see from the map, and that is the New Madrid fault line. I want to welcome Dave Maxwell and thank him for being here. He is in the back of the room. He is on our next panel, but he is from my home State of Arkansas and we will give him the proper introduction in a few moments. As most people who follow earthquakes in this country and understand the history of earthquakes in this country, in 1811 and 1812, a series of three very large earthquakes struck the New Madrid region. The earthquakes measured between 7.0 and 8.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquakes were so powerful that they changed the course of the Mississippi River and the Mississippi River actually flowed backwards for some time. The tremors from the earthquakes could be felt as far away as 1,000 miles. In fact, there are recorded stories of church bells ringing in Boston because the ground was shaking in Boston, Massachusetts." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: David Pryor, Glenn M. Cannon, John R. Hayes, David Applegate, David Maxwell, and Callen Hays.

This site provides detailed information about earthquakes in the United States as well as throughout the rest of the world. Included on this page is information on the top 20 largest earthquakes in the US; the top 17 largest earthquakes in the world; earthquakes of a magnitude greater than 6, 7, or 8; and special earthquake studies. The page also provides a tool to search the USGS earthquake catalog by location, and a page with statistics on U.S. and worldwide earthquakes including average annual statistics for earthquake count, deaths per year and counts by U.S. State.

This dynamic map provides a list of and displays the location and size of world-wide earthquakes from the past 24 hours, with a magnitude of 2.5 or greater.

The United States National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) mission "is to develop, disseminate, and promote knowledge, tools, and practices for earthquake risk reduction-through coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency partnerships among the NEHRP agencies and their stakeholders-that improve the Nation's earthquake resilience in public safety, economic strength, and national security." The four NEHRP agencies are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

This online resource provides information about earthquakes. This includes public health issues, info for specific groups, and recovery resources.

This page hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides valuable information about earthquakes.

"Founded in 1984 with support from the National Science Foundation, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) is a consortium of over 100 US universities dedicated to the operation of science facilities for the acquisition, management, and distribution of seismological data. IRIS programs contribute to scholarly research, education, earthquake hazard mitigation, and verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. IRIS is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Delaware with its primary headquarters office located in Washington, DC."

The United States National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) mission "is to develop, disseminate, and promote knowledge, tools, and practices for earthquake risk reduction-through coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency partnerships among the NEHRP agencies and their stakeholders-that improve the Nation's earthquake resilience in public safety, economic strength, and national security." The four NEHRP agencies are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

"The mission of the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) is to determine rapidly the location and size of all destructive earthquakes worldwide and to immediately disseminate this information to concerned national and international agencies, scientists, and the general public. The NEIC/WDC [World Data Center] for Seismology compiles and maintains an extensive, global seismic database on earthquake parameters and their effects that serves as a solid foundation for basic and applied earth science research."

The mission of the Southern California Earthquake Data Center (SCEDC) is "to maintain an easily-accessible, well-organized, high-quality, searchable archive of earthquake data for research in seismology and earthquake engineering." This website "provides access to a large and well-maintained Oracle database of earthquake data in a very active seismic region and is able to provide near real-time access to data, approximately 2-3 minutes after an event. The SCEDC currently archives nearly 3000 data channels from 375 stations, processing and archiving an average of 15,000 earthquakes each year."

This site provides detailed information about earthquakes by region. Included on the page are seismicity maps and reports for world regions from 1900-2013, as well as earthquake, fault, and seismicity information and links to additional resources for each of the 50 U.S. states.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) "is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) led by the National Instititute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The USGS role in NEHRP is to provide Earth sciences information and products for earthquake loss reduction. The goals of the USGS' EHP are: (1) Improve earthquake hazard identification and risk assessment methods and their use; (2) Maintain and improve comprehensive earthquake monitoring in the United States with focus on 'real-time' systems in urban areas; (3) Improve the understanding of earthquakes occurrence and their effects and consequences. The USGS's EHP also provides External Research Support, which funds external cooperators and awards external grants through a competitive, peer-reviewed proposal process. Participants in the Earthquake ERP include State and local government, the academic community, and the private sector. Priorities for both the internal and external programs are guided by the Earthquake Hazards Program's Five Year Plan (1998-2002)."