An Introduction to Seismic Eruption software and an

associated classroom activity

Michael Hubenthal, IRIS Educational Specialist

• Has numerous preset views,– Investigate global and regional

geohazards

– Explore Plate Tectonics via cross-sectional perspective views of earthquake locations

• Is also very customizable – Make your own map

– Terrain files

– Event files

Additional functionality

Activity: Interrogating the Earthquake Catalog

Barker, J. (2005) Student-centered experiments with earthquake occurrence data. The Earth

Scientist 21(2), 21-23.

Whoever wishes to foresee the future must

consult the past;

Turn to you partner and discuss this statement1) What does it mean?

2) Provide an example where it applies3) Could this statement connect to earthquakes? How?

Guiding Content Questions• Where do earthquakes occur?• How frequently do earthquakes occur?• How frequently do various sized earthquakes occur?• How does regional tectonics affect distribution and

frequency?• Can past history of Earthquake occurrence “predict”

future occurrences?

Steps:

• Select a region of the world that is of interest to you by “making your own map”

• Interrogate the EQ catalogue to determine the number of various sized events that occur annually for your region. (Use M0.5 intervals)

• Plot this information on the graph provided

Questions• Do you see any patterns or trends in earthquake

occurrence in your region?• Are the numbers of earthquakes in the smallest and

largest ranges consistent with the trends in the other regions?

• Can you think of any reasons why the trend is “flat” for small and also large magnitudes?

• What is the likelihood that an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 or greater (which can cause severe damage) will occur in the next year in your region?

• How might this information be useful to society?• Is there a risk for forecasting earthquake likelihood using

a data set that only goes back to 1960?

Improving skills: organizing & interpreting data

Magnitude Number #/year

8.0 4 0.1

7.5 18 0.5

7.0 63 1.6

6.5 179 4.5

6.0 508 12.7

5.5 2019 50.5

5.0 5203 130

4.5 8457 211

4.0 8457 211

3.5 8457 211

Latitude 12oS to 12oNLongitude 90oE to 130oEDates 1/1/1960 to 1/1/2000

Explore Prediction/Forecasting

Summary• Accommodates student interests by allowing them to define

the temporal & spatial limits of their study.• Simple, easily acquired data set• Explores the broad topics that lead to a general understanding

of frequency and distribution of earthquakes• Engages students in the process of science

– Making observations – Collecting empirical data – Exploring the limitation of the data – Organization, graphing and analyzing the data– Developing logical arguments to support conclusions– Skeptical review of other students’ work

for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results. Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527)

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Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past;