USGS Podcast on Samoa/Sumatra Earthquakes

"Two large earthquakes have hit the Pacific. Harley Benz, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, talks about the quakes' damage, their relationship to one another, and what USGS scientists are doing in the aftermath."

Click here for USGS Podcast about the earthquakes.

Click here for more CoreCasts.

Click here for CoreFacts - a shorter version of a CoreCast.

Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone

"There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking."

Click here for the details.

Click here for the new August 2009 Fact Sheet.

Can a Large Earthquake Trigger Global Seismic Activity?

Indonesian Quake 9/30/09

In case you've been wondering just that as multiple Ring of Fire Earthquakes occur this week:

Click here for a World Map of this week's Earthquakes.

"U.S. seismologists have found evidence that the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. The results, which appeared in the journal Nature, suggest that the Earth's largest earthquakes can weaken fault zones worldwide and may trigger periods of increased global seismic activity."

Click here for details.

Click here for another article on how large quakes trigger more smaller quakes.

AND AS ALWAYS! I hope you are having your students chart worldwide earthquakes and volcanic eruptions during your school year! Take a few moments once a week to chart the week's tectonic activity. This one activity can unify many of your Earth Science course objectives!

IN THE NEWS:

Earthquakes with related Tsunamis in the Pacific Ring of Fire area. Here's a YouTube Fox News Update:



It's important to note that loss of life is now being reported.

Click here to read more about it in the New York Times.

Water on the Moon

"NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the MOON. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small."

Click here to read the rest of the NASA press release.