Distinguished Lectureship - Speakers

Dr. Thorne Lay

Professor
Department of Earth and Marine Sciences,
University of California, Santa Cruz,
Santa Cruz, California

A Global Surge of Great Earthquakes and What We are Learning From Them

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During the decade 2004-2014, 18 huge earthquakes with seismic magnitudes larger than 8.0 struck around the world, sometimes causing horrendous destruction and loss of life. The annual rate of such events was 2.5 times greater than had been experienced over the previous century of seismological observations.  Deployment of global networks of very high-quality seismic, geodetic, and tsunami recording systems had preceded most of these events, allowing unprecedented signals to be recorded for these great earthquakes.

Geophysicists have analyzed the recorded waves and ground motions to determine details of each earthquake, advancing our understanding of these dangerous events.  Most of the earthquakes have involved surprises, rapidly revising scientific ideas about the behavior of huge fault ruptures and indicating the need for improved mitigation efforts.

Date Venue
Mar 04 2015, 11:00 AM University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States
Jun 22 2015, 2:00 PM IRIS Webinar, Internet
Jul 13 2015, 7:00 PM OMSI Science Pub, The Hollywood Theatre, Portland, Oregon, United States
Sep 10 2015, 7:30 PM Seattle Town Hall, Seattle, Washington, United States
Oct 08 2015, 12:00 PM University of California Center Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States
Oct 23 2015, 7:00 PM Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Nov 12 2015, 6:30 PM American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States