Weston Observatory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College

Weston Observatory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College Earthquake Research, Education, and Citizen Science

Donate to Weston Observatory -
http://www.bc.ed

Weston Observatory is a geophysical research and science education center of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College. We are located in Weston, Massachusetts about 10 miles west of BC's Chestnut Hill campus. The Observatory, which has been recording earthquakes since the 1930s, conducts basic research on earthquakes and related processes, provides public information af

ter significant earthquakes occur, contributes to earthquake awareness to help reduce the tragic effects of earthquakes, and educates future generations of geophysicists, geolgists, environmental geoscientists, and scientifically literate citizens. Weston Observatory houses seismic instruments for the New England Seismic Network and the World-Wide Standardized Seismic Network. The Observatory monitors earthquakes around the world, with emphasis on the northeastern U.S., disseminates information pertinent to seismic events that are recorded, and is a center for education and public outreach about earthquakes and related phenomena.

=============================
Alan Kafka
Director, Weston Observatory
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Boston College
www.bc.edu/westonobservatory
www2.bc.edu/alan-kafka
http://akafka.wordpress.com

Updated seismicity map of New England:January 1975 - December 2022
01/09/2023

Updated seismicity map of New England:
January 1975 - December 2022

Earthquake in Haiti recorded by Raspberry Shake citizen science seismographs at Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center...
08/15/2021

Earthquake in Haiti recorded by Raspberry Shake citizen science seismographs at Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, MathWorks, and Weston Observatory.

Once again, the people of Haiti experienced a tragic earthquake. We are working together to bring science to people and people to science for the common good.

Once again, the people of Haiti experienced a tragic earthquake 😢
08/15/2021

Once again, the people of Haiti experienced a tragic earthquake 😢

P wave from magnitude 8.2 earthquake off southern coast of Alaska, recorded by Raspberry Shake seismographs along the "N...
07/30/2021

P wave from magnitude 8.2 earthquake off southern coast of Alaska, recorded by Raspberry Shake seismographs along the "Northeast Corridor" (DC-NYC-Boston).

Magnitude 8.2 earthquake off southern Coast of Alaska, July 29, 2021
07/30/2021

Magnitude 8.2 earthquake off southern Coast of Alaska, July 29, 2021

Seismographs record more than just earthquakes. They also record human activities, such as traffic, sports events, and c...
05/25/2021

Seismographs record more than just earthquakes. They also record human activities, such as traffic, sports events, and crowds gathering to celebrate commencements.

Here are seismograms of the 2019 & 2021 BC commencement, showing the difference between activities in 2021 vs 2019.

Lower attendance at 2021 BC Commencement than in 2019 because of COVID-19 pandemic protocols.

Are we now living in the "Early Post-Anthropause"?
05/09/2021

Are we now living in the "Early Post-Anthropause"?

Are we "flattening the curve" yet?Plotting new cases in MA, in addition to mobility.Seismic noise at Boston College (upd...
04/17/2021

Are we "flattening the curve" yet?

Plotting new cases in MA, in addition to mobility.

Seismic noise at Boston College (updated to 4/13/21). Maybe slight noise decrease in the past two weeks, but overall seems close to back to pre-pandemic levels.

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake - Cantwell, Alaska - 2021-04-08 17:10:18P waves recorded across New England by Raspberry Shake ...
04/09/2021

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake - Cantwell, Alaska - 2021-04-08 17:10:18
P waves recorded across New England by Raspberry Shake citizen science seismographs:

Top: - Springfield, VT
Middle - Weston, MA
Bottom - Alan's Basement, Stoughton, MA

I wrote this for the newsletter of the "International GeoScience Education Organization": SEISMOGRAPHS FOR CITIZENS OF P...
02/18/2021

I wrote this for the newsletter of the "International GeoScience Education Organization":

SEISMOGRAPHS FOR CITIZENS OF PLANET EARTH
http://bcespquakes.com/quakes/IGEO_February2021Newsletter_Kafka.pdf

More about IGEO's work on promoting GeoScience education worldwide at http://igeoscied.org.

How to procrastinate when I'm supposed to be preparing for classes starting tomorrow 🙂There are a variety of ways that s...
01/27/2021

How to procrastinate when I'm supposed to be preparing for classes starting tomorrow 🙂

There are a variety of ways that seismologists consider the amount that the ground moves. One is to look at the ground motion in terms of displacement (such as microns), velocity (microns/sec), and acceleration (microns/sec^2).

I think these rough estimates are right: The thickness of human hair is about 100 microns. People start to feel earthquakes at a velocity of about 1,000 microns/sec and damage to buildings starts at about 50,000 microns/sec.

Here is a plot of jumping on the 1st floor, and measuring the motion in the attic, plotted as displacement, velocity, and acceleration, acceleration.

Address

381 Concord Road
Weston, MA
02493

Telephone

6175528300

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Weston Observatory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Weston Observatory, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College:

Shortcuts

Share