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 Between August and October 2012, the Pacific Northwest experienced the longest slow slip event ever recorded. It started on Vancouver Island in Canada (red dots), and over several weeks migrated south into the Olympic Mountains and deeper into Washington state (blue dots). Credit: Source: A. Wech Slow motion earthquakes, called “slow slips”, are a phenomenon that scientists are just coming to understand. And one of the longest of these events, which some say portend more high-intensity temblors, happened last fall in across the PNW. ESS’ John Vidale is quoted; read the full article by Science News here.
This city’s urban shoreline on Puget Sound was never built with photo-snapping tourists in mind, or technology entrepreneurs jogging in the rain. In decades past, stretching back to the big-timber-and-fish era of the 1800s, the waterfront was a place of gaff hooks, warehouses and stink. But as brawny old Seattle faded, the hard parts of its industrial past — a shadow-casting highway viaduct, a crumbling sea wall — remained behind like bleached fossils even as the modern gloss of restaurants, hotels and apartment towers moved in. Part of the renovation will include ecological considerations for how the seawall is constructed, which will help juvenile salmon as they transit to and from sea. Read more about the planned waterfront facelift here.
For decades, a source of powerful earthquakes and volcanic activity on the Pacific Rim was shrouded in secrecy, as the Soviet government kept outsiders away from what is now referred to as the Russian Far East. But research in the last 20 years has shown that the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands are a seismic and volcanic hotbed, with a potential to trigger tsunamis that pose a risk to the rest of the Pacific Basin. Read some of the details about this issue here.
 On Monday morning, a 3.2 magnitude earthquake struck just on the Washington side of the Columbia River, in the Portland-Vancouver area. The quake did not lead to damage or injuries, due its deep epicenter. ESS‘ John Vidale is quoted; read more here.
 At the Seismology Lab at the University of Washington, there is concern that the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred on the British Columbia coast over the weekend could affect Washington. Learn why they’re concerned; ESS‘ John Vidale is quoted.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake off British Columbia triggered tsunami warnings for California, Alaska and Hawaii this weekend, though damage due to the event and its aftershocks ended up being minimal. Read more about why this earthquake was not related to our region’s predicted mega-quake, and why its effects are still unknown; ESS‘ John Vidale is quoted.
The number, and distance from the epicenter, of aftershocks following April’s 8.6 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra has scientists surprised. ESS‘ John Vidale suggests more study of the nature of these post-event rumblings. Read more here!
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