The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) Intern Program has two components: SCEC/SURE, and SCEC/USEIT. The priority application period for both programs is now open, until January 31, 2006.

The SCEC Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SCEC/SURE) pairs students from from across the country one-on-one with SCEC scientists to work on a research project.

The SCEC Undergraduate Studies in Earthquake Information Technology program (SCEC/USEIT), unites students from many disciplines and schools across the country in a team-based program at the University of Southern California (USC).

More...

On Thursday, September 29th, at 8:00 PM, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pasadena Office will continue the fifth year of their free Public Lecture Series with a presentation entitled "The 1906 Earthquake: Lessons Learned and Lessons Forgotten," given by Dr. Mary Lou Zoback of the USGS Menlo Park Office. The 1906 Mw7.8 earthquake on the northern San Andreas Fault marked the birth of modern earthquake science. For the first time, the effects and impacts of a major seismic event were systematically investigated and documented in a detailed report. Scientists not only carefully mapped the entire 200-mile-long fault rupture, but they also mapped the fault south to the Mexican border, showing the San Andreas as a major geologic structure for the first time. As earthquake science evolves, reanalysis of the 1906 earthquake data continues to yield new insights about that event and the behavior of large strike-slip faults in general. Come and find out how we are still learning from “the big one” that happened 100 years ago!

A major milestone has been reached in the research project known as EarthScope. The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) has successfully drilled across the San Andreas Fault from the Pacific to the North American Plate at a depth of about 2 miles, in an area of active earthquake generation. The observatory within the San Andreas Fault is critical in creating a comprehensive picture of how continents form and the physical properties that control earthquake nucleation and rupture propagation. Researchers will now be able to measure directly these processes and answer basic questions about whether earthquakes are predictable and why certain parts of the San Andreas fault system behave differently. More...

The 2005 SCEC Annual Meeting was held on September 11-14 at the Riviera Resort and Racquet Club in Palm Springs, California. This year's meeting featured several associated workshops and field trips, including a viewing of the Salt Creek trench along the southern San Andreas fault, a rupture dynamics code validation workshop, and an earthquake education workshop. Abstracts from the meeting's poster sessions (pictured at right) can now be searched online! The complete meeting volume is also available for download. If you couldn't attend the meeting, you can still get in on the exciting results shared by SCEC researchers! More...

This summer at the Southern California Earthquake Center, 22 undergraduate students are embracing a challenge - to develop a program that allows seismologists to monitor earthquakes in four dimensions in real time. The challenge is a part of an 11-week program at the SCEC's Undergraduate Summer in Earthquake Information Technology... read more

A moderate earthquake occurred at 1:53:25 pm (PDT) on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The moment magnitude 4.9 event has been located 5 km (3 miles) northeast of Yucaipa, CA. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 12.5 km (7.8 miles).

A major earthquake occurred at 7:50:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, June 14, 2005. The magnitude 7.0 event occurred 146 km (91 miles) WSW of Crescent City, CA. The hypocentral depth is 10 km (6.2 miles).

A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:41:46 AM (PDT) on Sunday, June 12, 2005. The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 9 km (6 miles) ESE of Anza, CA. The hypocentral depth is 13.5 km (8.4 miles).

Potential earthquakes on the Puente Hills fault beneath the Los Angeles area could result in 3,000 to 18,000 fatalities, 142,000 to 735,000 displaced households, and more than $250 billion in total damages, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) research. The new research results, published in the May 2005 issue of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's Earthquake Spectra, were based on shaking scenarios created using newly available software for seismic hazard analysis developed by SCEC and the USGS, coupled with HAZUS loss-estimation software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). More...

A moderate earthquake occurred at 12:18:13 PM (PDT) on Saturday, April 16, 2005. The magnitude 5.2 event occurred 22 km (13 miles) W of Wheeler Ridge, CA. The hypocentral depth is 11 km (7 miles).

A great earthquake occurred at 16:09:36 (UTC) on Monday, March 28, 2005. The magnitude 8.7 event has been located in NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)

The need for high-resolution simulations in fields such as physics, industrial engineering, and geology continually pushes the information technology requirements of modern research universities such as USC. SCEC's seismic tomology research, creating 3-dimensional maps of the Earth's crust through analysis of earthquake waves, is a prominent example which USC's Architectural Advisory Committee is studying to define needs for future developments... Read more

The ground moves, mountains explode, the sky turns black and violent — paradoxically, natural forces that helped create life on our green planet can also imperil it. National Geographic, in partnership with Graphic Films, delivers an experience 10 years in the making — the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes and tornadoes brought to the giant screen. Encounter Earth's fiercest powers and the death-defying science behind them when "Forces of Nature," a giant-screen film made possible by Amica Insurance and funded in part by the National Science Foundation, which opened January 28, 2005 at the California Science Center IMAX Theater. More...

On Wednesday, February 9th at 8:00 PM the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pasadena Office will continue their free Public Lecture Series. The presentation, entitled "Real-time Forecasting of Tomorrow's Earthquakes" will be given by Dr. Matt Gerstenberger of the USGS Pasadena Office.

After a large earthquake in California, the questions on everyone's minds are: "How many aftershocks will there be?" and "Is a big one coming next?". While we may not be able to answer these questions with absolute certainty, based on past observations of aftershocks we have a good idea of what to expect. More...

On Wednesday, January 12th at 8:00 PM the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pasadena Office will hold a public briefing to discuss the Sumatran earthquake and tsunami disaster.

In place of the regularly scheduled lecture, the staff of the USGS office in Pasadena will provide a briefing on what is known so far about the science of the Sumatran earthquake and tsunami.  They will describe the geologic setting of the earthquake, why it was so large, and how the tsunami was created.  Preliminary analysis of the earthquake and how it affected the Earth will be discussed, as well as the reasons why the loss of life was so high and whether or not a tragedy of this type could strike the United States. More...

The Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) Intern Program has two components: SCEC/SURE, and SCEC/UseIT. Both programs provide interns a $5000 summer stipend, some travel expenses, and group activities, and are supported by the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

The SCEC Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SCEC/SURE) pairs students from from across the country one-on-one with SCEC scientists to work on a research project. More...

The SCEC Undergraduate Studies in Earthquake Information Technology program (SCEC/UseIT), unites students from many disciplines and schools across the country in a team-based program at the University of Southern California (USC). More...

In recent months an e-mail has been circulating which describes an alternative to the long-established "drop, cover, and hold on" method for earthquake safety. This email advocates the "triangle of life" method and other alternative actions to take during an earthquake. The email may seem to present reasonable advice and may seem to be from a credible source. However, the advice is potentially life-threatening, and the author has been broadly discredited.