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Earthquake Resources Archive

2018 Oct 19th

New Animation! “What is the Moho?”

The Mohorovicic Discontinuity, commonly called the “Moho” is recognized as the boundary zone between Earth's crust and the mantle. Learn more about what it is and how it was discovered!

2018 Oct 9th

3 new Spanish language animations!

Grafico Tiempo de Viaje—¿A qué distancia estaba ese terremoto?; Cambiando la magnitud de un Terremoto ¿Por qué los sismólogos hacen eso?; Sismogramas de 3 componentes—¿Cómo capturamos el movimiento de un terremoto?

2018 Sep 25th

NEW ANIMATION! Using Seismographs to Study Hurricanes

How can a seismograph help determine the strength of a hurricane?

2018 Sep 25th

IRIS Station Monitor App now available!

Explore earthquakes near you or around the world using the new IRIS Station Monitor app! Available for both Android and iPhone!
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2018 Sep 14th

Jump and Watch Earthquake Display

The “Jump and Watch” display, sometimes called “Make Your Own Earthquake”, is very popular in museums, universities and science fairs. We have basic instructions and suggestions to help you make your own “Jump and Watch” earthquake display.

2018 Sep 12th

USArray in the news!

USArray Transportable Array science featured in exciting Accuweather video special feature!
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2018 Aug 27th

Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments

Are you looking for information about the recent large earthquakes? Check out these Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments - classroom ready presentations by seismologists and educators!
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2018 Aug 3rd

GSN seismic station recorded the sounds of Hurricane Maria

Newly installed infrasound sensors at a GSN station on Puerto Rico recorded the passage of Hurricane Maria.
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2018 Jul 19th

New Animation! Why do earthquake magnitudes change?

Obtaining an accurate preliminary magnitude can be difficult due not only to the complex processes that occur deep within the Earth but because there are over a dozen techniques of for calculating the magnitude of an earthquake. In this animation we look at two magnitude scales, and use two examples of magnitude changing.
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2018 Jul 5th

IRIS Internship Program 20th anniversary!

The IRIS Internship Program celebrates 20 years of success!
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2018 May 21st

Take a Peek at a Day in the Life of an IRIS Seismologist

IRIS Seismologist Kasey Aderhold shares the excitement of her work to discover more about earthquakes, including field work in Alaska.
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2018 May 5th

IRIS Joins NASA to Engage the Public about the Mars InSight Mission

IRIS Seismology Education & Outreach Specialist Tammy Bravo (third from right) poses with the NASA Mars InSight Team prior to the launch.
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2018 Mar 1st

Navigating IRIS Educational Products

The IRIS website has 300+ resources for teaching and learning about earthquakes, geology, geophysics & earth systems. This tutorial can help you find, filter, and share these resources!

2018 Feb 27th

Register for the 2018 IRIS Workshop!

2018 IRIS Workshop: Foundations, Frontiers, and Future Facilities for Seismology
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2018 Feb 15th

IRIS Animations, Webinars and Videos

IRIS has more than 200 animations, webinars and videos to provide information and background on Earth science fundamentals from plate tectonics to seismic wave propagation.
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2018 Jan 22nd

New Animation! A Brief History of Plate Tectonics

The theory of plate tectonics represents a fairly young science. This animation gives an overview of the most-recognized proponents (and opponents) of Plate Tectonics Theory from the 1600's into the 1960's.

2018 Jan 16th

New Animation! Plate Boundaries and Tectonic Plates

The cool, rigid, outer layer of the earth, the lithosphere, is broken into massive plates along discrete boundaries. What are these plates, and what do the boundaries represent?

2018 Jan 16th

New Animation! What Drives Plate Tectonics?

Lithospheric plates are part of a planetary scale thermal convection system. The energy source for plate tectonics is Earth’s internal heat while the forces moving the plates are the “ridge push” and “slab pull” gravity forces.

2017 Oct 4th

EarthScope’s Transportable Array Spans Alaska, the Last Frontier

After covering the lower 48 United States from coast to coast with a grid of nearly 1700 sites, the final seismic station of the EarthScope Transportable Array has been installed in Alaska!
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2017 Sep 27th

IRIS Special Event Pages

IRIS Special Event web pages provide links to data products and images of data and materials available from IRIS programs and preliminary research results from the seismology community.
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2017 Sep 27th

Free Online Course: “Geology and Geophysics in the Petroleum Industry”

This course instructs students on the basics of geology and geophysics in the petroleum industry. Webinars, PPTS, exercises and course materials are included!

2017 Aug 29th

Tsunamis Generados por Terremotos en la Zona de Subducción

Mega–terremotos de la Zona de subducción, los terremotos más potentes, pueden producir tsunamis a través de una variedad de estructuras que no son detectadas por los modelos simples. En esta animación exploramos diferentes mecanismos productores de tsunamis examinando tres terremotos famosos: Japón 2011, Chile 2010, y Alaska 2014.

2017 Aug 21st

Explicación de los Mecanismos Focales en los Terremotos

Esto describe la dirección de desplazamiento en un terremoto y de orientación de la falla sobre la cual ocurre. Cuando se produce un terremoto, los sismólogos crean gráficos de mecanismos focales, informalmente conocidos como pelotas de playa para mostrar los movimientos de falla que producen un terremoto.

2017 Aug 15th

NEW ANIMATION! Volcanic evolution of the Pacific Northwest: A 55 million year history

This animation integrates the unique and rich eruptive volcanic history of the Pacific Northwest in relation to the complicated tectonic regime revealed by seismology and geodetics in recent decades. We weave together geologic maps, time scales, and cross sections to help simplify and clarify elusive hidden structures and processes below Earth’s surface.

2017 Aug 14th

My Experience as an IRIS Alaska Transportable Array Intern

Follow IRIS intern Amin Abbasi through his adventures installing Transportable Array seismometers in Alaska!
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2017 Aug 3rd

Intensidad de Terremoto: ¿Que controla la sacudida que sientes?

La intensidad sísmica, que es el temblor que experimentas, puede ser leve o severo, corto o largo, brusco o de bandeo. A diferencia de la magnitud de un terremoto, que es una medida de la energía liberada y es la misma para todos los lugares, la intensidad sísmica que percibes depende de dónde te encuentras.

2017 Aug 3rd

Magnitudes: Explicación de la Magnitud de Momento

Los científicos han desarrollado sismómetros mucho más sensibles, que con computadoras más rápidas, les han permitido registrar e interpretar un espectro más amplio de señales sísmicas, estas mejoras les permitieron determinar de una mejor manera la energía liberada por grandes terremotos.

2017 Jun 15th

New Animation! “Japan: Overview of Earthquakes & Tectonics”

Japan has more measurable earthquakes than any other country and has over 100 active volcanoes. The tectonics are complicated, but in this animation we look at the basic mechanics of the region as we focus on two famous earthquakes: the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. For additional resources please visit IRIS In Class.

2017 Jun 2nd

WEBINARS: Geology and Geophysics in the Petroleum Industry

Please join Dr. Fred Schroeder, Retired from Exxon-Mobil and Noble Energy, for lessons from his course on Geology and Geophysics in the Petroleum Industry.
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2017 May 25th

Earth Science FAQ’s

Do you have questions about earthquakes or seismology? Are you interested in learning more about Alaska or Cascadia? Visit our new and improved FAQ page!

2017 Mar 16th

Animations

Modern seismometers include 3 elements to determine the simultaneous movement in 3 directions: up-down, north-south,and east-west. Each direction gives information about the earthquake. This animation shows both the movement of the three basic waves (P, S, and surface) and the effect of the waves on a building.