How Should Geophysics Contribute to Disaster Planning?

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters often showcase the worst in human suffering – especially when those disasters strike populations who live in rapidly growing communities in the developing world with poorly enforced or non-existent building codes. This week in Cancun, a researcher from Yale-National University of Singapore (NUS) College in Singapore is presenting a comparison between large-scale earthquakes and tsunamis in different parts of the world, illustrating how nearly identical natural disasters can play out very differently depending on where they strike.

View | Comment

Volcanologist Can Discuss ‘Popo’, the Ash-Spewing Volcano That Has Towns Near Mexico City on Alert

View

Expert: More Frequent Fires in California Changing Landscape

Dylan Schwilk can discuss the anatomy of the Springs Fire north of Los Angeles.

View

Researchers Develop New Metric to Measure Destructive Potential of Hurricanes

Researchers at Florida State University have developed a new metric to measure seasonal Atlantic tropical cyclone activity that focuses on the size of storms in addition to the duration and intensity, a measure that may prove important when considering a hurricane’s potential for death and destruction. Just ask the survivors of Hurricane Sandy.

View | Comment

WIU Emergency Management Professor Says IL Emergency Managers in Various Modes of Flooding Response

View

Hundreds of Aftershocks: Mine Disaster Bigger than Thought

A new University of Utah study has identified hundreds of previously unrecognized small aftershocks that happened after Utah’s deadly Crandall Canyon mine collapse in 2007. The aftershocks suggest the collapse was as big – and perhaps bigger – than shown in another study by the university in 2008.

View

Superstorm Sandy Shook the U.S.

When superstorm Sandy turned and took aim at New York City and Long Island last October, ocean waves hitting each other and the shore rattled the seafloor and much of the United States – shaking detected by seismometers across the country, University of Utah researchers found.

View

Global Competition Launched to Help Hurricane Sandy Communities Rebuild

NYIT students have launched a global architecture and design competition to address major rebuilding challenges faced by coastal communities hit by Hurricane Sandy. Architects and students from more than a dozen countries have already registered. The competition addresses the problem of varied rebuilding efforts that could destroy the unique character of coastal towns.

View | Comment

New York Sea Grant Provides $50K for Two Research Projects in Wake of Superstorm Sandy

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) has responded by funding two new research projects on Long Island's South Shore valued at $50,000. These projects add to NYSG’s suite of research and outreach projects that address the state’s coastal hazards.

View | Comment

Breaking News Experts Needed: 1) U.S. Government Sequester, 2) Child "Cured" of HIV, 3) SpaceX Supply Ship Arrives at ISS.

View