The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL) is a research lab at the Department of
Geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. It was created from the Berkeley Seismographic Stations, a site on the Berkeley campus where
Worldwide Standard Seismographic Network instruments were first deployed in 1959. Today, BSL's mission is to "support fundamental research into all aspects of earthquakes, solid earth processes, and their effects on society".
An experimental
early warning system developed by BSL issued a warning 10 seconds before the
6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the Napa region on August 24, 2014. Such a warning system could potentially give people time to take cover in the event of a quake, preventing injuries caused by falling debris, automatically stopping trains or shutting off gas lines.
The system, developed in conjunction with the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
(USGS), the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
, will eventually cover the entire West Coast. The system would cost $80 million in funding to run for five years in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, or $120 million for the whole West Coast. In July 2015, USGS awarded $4 million in funding to the project partners to turn the current
ShakeAlert prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
into a more robust system.
See also
*
Andrew Lawson
*
*
Harry O. Wood
References
External links
History of the BSL
University of California, Berkeley
Seismological observatories, organisations and projects
Earthquake engineering
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