Devastating Alaska earthquake

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Alaska and my family still lives there. Most people I know lost a fair amount of glasswear, there were plenty of toppled lamps And Christmas trees and such, but it’s nearly entirely property damage. Some people are seeing cracks in their buildings, which are obviously more serious. My mother is freaked out, and my Facebook feed is filled with nervous people commenting about the numerous aftershocks. Alaskans take earthquakes in stride and the fact that this one is freaking people out is an indicator of how unusual it is.

Earthquakes were common when I was growing up but this is easily the most serious one In my lifetime (I was born after the big 1964 quake).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

Are you the seismologist who did the AMA on DCUM? Just curious. Do you live in the DMV and if so, how often does your basement device register something from around here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

Are you the seismologist who did the AMA on DCUM? Just curious. Do you live in the DMV and if so, how often does your basement device register something from around here?

I did. My basement seismometer as detected a couple of earthquakes from central va and the DE earthquake from one year ago. I have had it up for 13 months so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am from Southern California so when I think of seismologists I think of think of the amazing Caltech professor- a woman who was always on the news explaining the magnitude, epicenter, etc. Ask anyone from Southern California and they will know who I am talking about.

You are talking about Lucy Jones. She is not a Caltech professor, but rather was a scientist at the USGS office in Pasadena (which sits in the Caltech seismology laboratory). I believe she has retired from the USGS. She wrote a book about the human effects of big disasters, titled "The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them) ". I imagine she will be here in DC the week of the 10-14 as the fall American Geophysical Union Meeting will be in DC.

Lucy Jones is giving a free public evening lecture on this stuff at the Carnegie Institution next week. I imagine it's already sold out, though - these lectures usually fill up pretty fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am from Southern California so when I think of seismologists I think of think of the amazing Caltech professor- a woman who was always on the news explaining the magnitude, epicenter, etc. Ask anyone from Southern California and they will know who I am talking about.

You are talking about Lucy Jones. She is not a Caltech professor, but rather was a scientist at the USGS office in Pasadena (which sits in the Caltech seismology laboratory). I believe she has retired from the USGS. She wrote a book about the human effects of big disasters, titled "The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them) ". I imagine she will be here in DC the week of the 10-14 as the fall American Geophysical Union Meeting will be in DC.

Lucy Jones is giving a free public evening lecture on this stuff at the Carnegie Institution next week. I imagine it's already sold out, though - these lectures usually fill up pretty fast.

Tickets are available

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Fascinating! You were able to pick up the activity from Alaska here in NOVA? How often does your Raspberry Shake pick up activity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Seismologist, please tell that warming poster that earthquakes along fault lines are caused by tectonic plates shifting, not fracking and not atmospheric warming.

I already did. 0733 was by me.

You're a seismologist. Sure you are.


What you ARE is a global warming denier and a proponent of fracking and fossil fuels. Basically a useful idiot for the billionaires who are poisoning this plant.

That's what YOU are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Fascinating! You were able to pick up the activity from Alaska here in NOVA? How often does your Raspberry Shake pick up activity?

Activity, all the time. Usually It is local clutter like cars/trucks hitting the speed bump in front of my house, our HVAC/Laundry, etc. Seismic events, about 1-2x per month usually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Seismologist, please tell that warming poster that earthquakes along fault lines are caused by tectonic plates shifting, not fracking and not atmospheric warming.

I already did. 0733 was by me.

You're a seismologist. Sure you are.


What you ARE is a global warming denier and a proponent of fracking and fossil fuels. Basically a useful idiot for the billionaires who are poisoning this plant.

That's what YOU are.

1) I am not a global warming denier, 2) Fracking has real issues.
But neither had anything to do with the Alaska Earthquake. Fracking only impacts within a few km of the the injection site. You only frack in regions that have shale, which can contain oil/gas. The rocks in that area are igneous and metamorphic. There are no petroleum products in southern Alaska. Therefore, there would be no reason to Frack there.

Similarly, there is no fracking in Central VA, as the rocks of he Piedmont are metamorphic. The people who do the fracking do it to make money. They are not going to do it in a place where they will not make money.

And earthquakes only may tangentially related to global warming in that in regions were large scale glacial melting (e.g., Greenland) will cause isostatic rebound (look it up, I do not feel like lecturing morons). At the edge of the of the rebound, a lot of stress and strain can accumulate, which can trigger earthquakes.

That is not what is happening in AK. In AK, the pacific plate is subducting under AK. The earthquake yesterday was the result of stress transform related to the subduction.

[Anonymous]

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Word to the seismologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Fascinating! You were able to pick up the activity from Alaska here in NOVA? How often does your Raspberry Shake pick up activity?

Activity, all the time. Usually It is local clutter like cars/trucks hitting the speed bump in front of my house, our HVAC/Laundry, etc. Seismic events, about 1-2x per month usually.

sigh. he's married.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Fascinating! You were able to pick up the activity from Alaska here in NOVA? How often does your Raspberry Shake pick up activity?

Activity, all the time. Usually It is local clutter like cars/trucks hitting the speed bump in front of my house, our HVAC/Laundry, etc. Seismic events, about 1-2x per month usually.

sigh. he's married.....

and to follow up on this, what's up with the "my generation" comment.... I take that to mean you are not mid-career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Seismologist, please tell that warming poster that earthquakes along fault lines are caused by tectonic plates shifting, not fracking and not atmospheric warming.

I already did. 0733 was by me.

You're a seismologist. Sure you are.


What you ARE is a global warming denier and a proponent of fracking and fossil fuels. Basically a useful idiot for the billionaires who are poisoning this plant.

That's what YOU are.

1) I am not a global warming denier, 2) Fracking has real issues.
But neither had anything to do with the Alaska Earthquake. Fracking only impacts within a few km of the the injection site. You only frack in regions that have shale, which can contain oil/gas. The rocks in that area are igneous and metamorphic. There are no petroleum products in southern Alaska. Therefore, there would be no reason to Frack there.

Similarly, there is no fracking in Central VA, as the rocks of he Piedmont are metamorphic. The people who do the fracking do it to make money. They are not going to do it in a place where they will not make money.

And earthquakes only may tangentially related to global warming in that in regions were large scale glacial melting (e.g., Greenland) will cause isostatic rebound (look it up, I do not feel like lecturing morons). At the edge of the of the rebound, a lot of stress and strain can accumulate, which can trigger earthquakes.

That is not what is happening in AK. In AK, the pacific plate is subducting under AK. The earthquake yesterday was the result of stress transform related to the subduction.

how dare you attack our seismologist with your nonsense. everyone knows fracking happens in shale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

I am from Southern California so when I think of seismologists I think of think of the amazing Caltech professor- a woman who was always on the news explaining the magnitude, epicenter, etc. Ask anyone from Southern California and they will know who I am talking about.

Lucy Jones!!!!! Right?
I’m from CA and know exactly who you mean. She’s super awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seismologist here. The real problem with this event was it was really close to Anchorage. Most of the damage I have seen is related to ground failure/liquefaction.

Fortunately, since AK is seismically active, the building codes reflect the hazard, and to date, I have not heard of any loss of life.

This did generate some beautiful/classic surface waves across the continent. My basement seismometer (Raspberry Shake) recorded it nicely.

I love you.

+1 if I was dating and had to create a profile with a list of ideals, seismologist would be listed. - totally serious. This stuff fascinates me. ‘My basement seismometer’ ....swoon....

Wait. Assuming that the posters responding are women, are we assuming Seimologist is a man? Seismologist, are you a man?

I am a man. All of the basement seismometers in NoVA are owned by men (I know who they are . The hardware is remarkably easy to set up. it is from https://raspberryshake.org. It costs a few to several hundred dollars. The device works remarkably well.

As for swooning for me, I never thought my PhD in seismology could be used to pick up women. In my generation, most seismologist were male (80+%), but today, about half of the grad students are female. I think this is great.

Fascinating! You were able to pick up the activity from Alaska here in NOVA? How often does your Raspberry Shake pick up activity?

Activity, all the time. Usually It is local clutter like cars/trucks hitting the speed bump in front of my house, our HVAC/Laundry, etc. Seismic events, about 1-2x per month usually.

sigh. he's married.....

Yes. Married. Sorry to ruin your fantasies. Again, I went to the science for the love of it. Never occurred to me in my mid 50’s, it would make in “interesting.”