Month: December 2016

1959 – Kanab, UT – M 5.7

Posted on by webdev

Intermountain Seismic Belt Historical Earthquake Project

July 21, 1959 – Kanab, UT – M 5.7

This earthquake was felt over an area of 21,000 square kilometers, primarily in southern Utah and northern Arizona, according to newspaper accounts. Dishes and canned goods were knocked to the floor, cars were jostled on roads, and minor rockslides occurred. Felt reports were received from as far south as Flagstaff, Arizona–approximately 195 miles from the epicenter.

Near the epicenter, in the Kanab-Fredonia area, there were also reports of windows and dishes breaking, as well as canned goods tumbling from market shelves. In Kanab, the police chief reported bricks falling from at least one chimney. And plaster in the county courthouse was shaken from the walls. A truck driver traveling through the area at the time of the earthquake related that he “thought his steering had gone haywire.”

The earthquake, which occurred at 10:39 am local time, sent frightened Kanab residents scurrying from their homes–but no injuries or significant damage was reported.

 

For additional information about this earthquake:

Earthquake Summary 3D Newspaper Articles 3D Additional Resources 3D Blank Thumbnail

For more information about this project:

ISB Hist EQ Proj

 

UUSS and University of Utah Seismology at AGU 2016

Posted on by Paul Roberson

AGU Fall Meeting 2016 (American Geophysical Union) presentations from UUSS and other University of Utah Seismologists.

Amir Allam

Jamie Farrell

Paul Geimer

Keith Koper

Guanning Pang

Kevin Ward

Sin-Mei Wu

Hao Zhang

 

Origins of a National Seismic System in the United States

Posted on by Paul Roberson

Origins of a National Seismic System in the United States

John R. Filson, Walter J. Arabasz

Seismological Research Letters Nov 2016, DOI: 10.1785/0220160039

ABSTRACT

This historical review traces the origins of the current national seismic system in the United States, a cooperative effort that unifies national, regional, and local-scale seismic monitoring within the structure of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The review covers (1) the history and technological evolution of U.S. seismic networks leading up to the 1990s, (2) factors that made the 1960s and 1970s a watershed period for national attention to seismology, earthquake hazards, and seismic monitoring, (3) genesis of the vision of a national seismic system during 1980–1983, (4) obstacles and breakthroughs during 1984–1989, (5) consensus building and convergence during 1990–1992, and finally (6) the twostep realization of a national system during 1993–2000. Particular importance is placed on developments during the period between 1980 and 1993 that culminated in the adoption of a charter for the Council of the National Seismic System (CNSS)—the foundation for the later ANSS. Central to this story is how many individuals worked together toward a common goal of a more rational and sustainable approach to national earthquake monitoring in the United States. The review ends with the emergence of ANSS during 1999 and 2000 and its statutory authorization by Congress in November 2000.