Berkeley Seismological Laboratory

Last updated
Network codeBK
Location 37°52′25″N122°15′40″W / 37.8735°N 122.2610°W / 37.8735; -122.2610
Elevation49 metres (161 ft)
NetworksBerkeley Digital Seismic Network
High-Resolution Seismic Network
Source doi:10.31905/EL3FQQ40

The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory (BSL) is a research lab at the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley. It was created from the Berkeley Seismographic Stations, a network of regional seismographs with the oldest dating to 1887 [1] . In 1962, one of these seismographs was installed on the Berkeley campus under the station name BKS which belonged to the Worldwide Standard Seismographic Network [2] . Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and subsequent issues with stations resulting from the shaking, an effort was made to replace the seismographs with digital equipment resulting in the formation of the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network. Today, BSL's mission is to "support fundamental research into all aspects of earthquakes, solid earth processes, and their effects on society". [3]

Contents

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. [4] The system, developed in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the California Institute of Technology and the University of Washington, will eventually cover the entire West Coast. The system would cost $80 million in funding to run for five years in California, or $120 million for the whole West Coast. [5] In July 2015, USGS awarded $4 million in funding to the project partners to turn the current ShakeAlert prototype into a more robust system. [6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Observatory Seismology". publishing.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  2. ↑ Jon Peterson and Charles R. Hutt. ">USGS Open-File Report 2014–1218: World-Wide Standardized Seismograph Network: A Data Users Guide". pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  3. ↑ "Berkeley Seismological Laboratory" . Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Experimental warning system gave 10-second alert before California earthquake". CBS News. August 24, 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Elinson, Zusha (25 August 2014). "Expanding Earthquake Warning System May Help the Public". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Earthquake early warning system moves closer to reality". 31 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-23.


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