A càrrec de Prof. Andrew MEIGS (Department of Geosciences Oregon State University, EUA)
Organitzat conjuntament CSIC-UB

Data: 12-07-2011
Hora: 12:00
Lloc: Sala d'actes de l'Institut Jaume Almera

Descripció:
In 1984, convergence along Cascadia was thought to occur aseismically. In 2011, it is now known that the last event was at least a Mw 9 or larger, that it occurred 311 years ago, that 18 events have occurred in the last 10,000 yr, that past earthquakes have had variable sizes and lengths, that large tsunamis accompanied past earthquakes and affected coastlines around the Pacific basin, that slow earthquakes occur roughly 14 months apart, and a myriad of other details of the subduction process on earthquake cycle timescales.

This talk presents an overview of data and observations that form the basis of the current understanding of the earthquake threat posed by the Cascadia subduction zone to western North America and the Pacific Rim. The Cascadia story reveals how science forces a paradigm change and how the paradigm shift poses substantial new challenges for societies attempting to mitigate loses due to the giant earthquakes and tsunamis generated by subduction zone earthquakes.