Education and Outreach Based on Data from the Anza Seismic Network in Southern California

Abstract

Innovative and exceptional education and outreach services often require collaborative efforts from diverse members of the scientific community, educators, emergency response personnel, and the media. This collaboration is essential when large earthquakes occur in highly populated regions where detailed and accurate information is required immediately to assure the safety of the general public. To streamline these interactions the Anza group has taken the following steps: (1) When we respond to large earthquakes globally, or smaller earthquakes locally, we collaborate with other research institutions, such as SCEC and the IRIS-DMC, to provide information quickly and effectively to the general public and emergency response personnel. (2) In the event of a major earthquake within our area of responsibility we provide data to other researchers as needed and collect data from them to support our efforts. (3) The Anza group makes a special effort to meet the needs of the local educational community through cooperation in the development and maintenance of educational modules. While our raw data are readily available, some end users prefer additional assistance in data manipulation and interpretation. We frequently provide our services to assist others in specialized uses of our data. These efforts include the incorporation of real-time seismic displays in museum settings (see later in this paper). Through these efforts, the Anza group extends the value of the Anza seismic data to include broadening the common seismological knowledge of San Diego residents and visitors. (4) We have held planning sessions with the local utilities companies ( e.g., SDG&E) to understand their needs better in the event of a large earthquake in southern California. (5) We have routinely dealt with the media in response to relatively small earthquakes in our region and expect that these interactions have prepared us to respond quickly and efficiently to more dire situations. (6) We …