Tag Archives: earthquake

References: Earthquakes & Tsunami: Current Events & Local Hazards

This is a summary of my recent talk, with links to sources and more information. Geoscience Background Plate Tectonics The surface of the Earth is composed of tectonic plates. They move relative to each other at about the same rate … Continue reading

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Talk: Earthquakes & Tsunami: Current Events & Local Hazards

If you’re in the Vancouver region and have questions about the recent hazards and any implications for us, I’m giving an open-to-the-public talk. The events will run about 20 minutes followed by unlimited time for questions. Title: Earthquakes & Tsunami: … Continue reading

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Literature Review: Tides & Earthquakes

After discussing how supermoon was not going to kill us all, Donald-the-linguist and Jon-the-astrophysicist became so intrigued by the relationship between tides and earthquakes that I had to pull together a literature review on the topic for them. A few … Continue reading

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EXERCISE: Tsunami Warning Communication

Today, the Caribbean, US Pacific, and British Columbia are holding a tsunami exercise. To be perfectly clear: this is a drill, a way to practice response and communication, and is not a regularly scheduled earthquake and tsunami. This event is … Continue reading

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Review: StarTalk Radio “A Violent Earth”

I read absurdly quickly and am not an auditory learner, so I usually skip podcasts in favour of text or videos. However, I have a soft spot for Neil Degrasse Tyson, so when his StarTalk Radio covered current disaster events, … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Tsunami

The 11 March 2011 earthquake near Honshu, Japan triggered a tsunami that spread across the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami arrived an hour before I gave the first tsunami lecture for the Natural Catastrophes class. In that context, it seems an … Continue reading

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Book Review: Vancouver, City on the Edge

I have given away more copies of Vancouver, City on the Edge: living with a dynamic geological landscape by John Clague and Bob Turner than I can easily count. I do this because it’s a well-written book accessible to anyone … Continue reading

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AGU: Disaster Days

A speaker in the U13 session declined to list numbers for how many people were killed, buildings destroyed, or damage caused by his particular hazard, pointing out that every scientist seems to claim their disaster is the deadliest. Where I … Continue reading

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ShakeOut BC

Following the success of ShakeOut in California, we’re stepping up earthquake preparation in the Cascadia subduction zone with Shakeout BC. California is along a transform fault, where the Pacific tectonic plate is sliding past the North American tectonic plate (or … Continue reading

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Disaster History of British Columbia

Earthquakes The active subduction zone along the west coast of British Columbia is responsible for most of the ≈1,450 earthquakes each year in Canada, and most of the highest-magnitude events. In the 19th and 20th centuries, western Canada experienced eleven … Continue reading

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