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Seismological Society of America 2007 Annual Meeting, Hawaii April 11-13 2007, Hilton Waikoloa Village |
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Program for the SSA Meeting is now Online. PDF File (File is ~ 5.5MB) New Developments in Semi-automatic and Fully-automatic tools in Seismic Data AnalysisDecreased monitoring thresholds and increased expectations for faster and more sophisticated products from the seismological community have led to the inevitable need for more automatic or semi-automatic data analysis methods. Evaluations of source parameters, signal quality, structural interpretation, etc. are important for members of the seismological community, as well as public and private constituents for a variety of time-critical applications. These needs for automated tools transcend the various disciplines within seismology, as well as the multiple tasks of seismologists and those to whom they report. Fortunately increasing computer capacity, available digital waveform data, and growing maturity of our understanding of the processing algorithms involved have allowed partial or complete automation of many tasks that were done with extensive human intervention only a few years ago. We welcome contributions for all aspects of new automation and semi-automation in the realm of seismic data analysis and reporting - including but not limited to: automatically adaptive digital filtering, autopicking, auto-location, hands-off updating of velocity modeling or seismic imaging, seismic hazard analysis, eruption probabilities, tsunami warning or critical information releases to emergency responders. Conveners Dr. Charlotte Rowe Dr. Kent Lindquist Data Mining and Simulation for Earthquake Analysis, Forecasting and PredictionEver increasing volumes of observational data, coupled with rapidly improving computational technologies, have made statistical analysis and simulation approaches to studying earthquake systems not only feasible but necessary. The intent of this session is to highlight technologies and recent results that make use of such approaches to advance earthquake science. Key problems include data fusion across multiple data sources or sensor networks, assimilation of observational data into simulations, data mining of seismicity catalogs and large volume simulation output, forecasting and hazard analysis, signal detection, and interactive data exploration. Conveners Robert Granat John B Rundle Volcano Seismoacoustics: Synchronizing Sound and VibrationInfrasonic microphone arrays and seismometers extend our perception of sound and touch beyond our biometric capacity. These technologies have different installation requirements: microphones benefit from wind shelter in forested areas and seismometers prefer solid bedrock away from trees. Yet they share compatible sampling rates and frequencies of interest, and can provide complementary perspectives of eruptive processes. Volcanic eruptions are characterized by the acceleration of hot fluids from subsurface reservoirs into the atmosphere. Seismic observations allow us to assess the internal stages of the eruption process ranging from depths of 10s of km to the shallow subsurface. Infrasonic observations allow us to assess finer-scale dynamic changes in the upper conduit section (where the oscillations and phase transitions of fluids are coupled to the atmosphere), and the interactions of ash, gas, and magma with the atmosphere. Coupled seismic and acoustic models can provide constraints on the composition, phases, and pathways of the fluids. Synchronized thermal and visual observations may allow us associate seismoacoustic data with the kinetic and thermal energetics, as well as the dynamics and volumes of materials entering the atmosphere. We welcome contributions on the integration and interpretation of seismic, acoustic, thermal, and visual observations of volcanic activity with geological, chemical, deformation, radar, and other observations. We warmly encourage contributions that demonstrate how these data can be used in conjunction with theoretical and numerical models to best constrain our understanding of eruption processes. Conveners Milton Garces and David Fee Robin Matoza The Future of SeismologySSA recently celebrated its centennial with its annual meeting in San Francisco held 100 years to the day after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and a special meeting on November 20 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first official meeting of the founders of the Society. SSA was formed in response to a recognized need to better understand the basic science of earthquakes and the effects of earthquakes on society. During the 100 years that the Society has been in existence, seismology has found broad application in areas such as earthquake hazards, contributing to our fundamental understanding of global to local tectonic processes, earthquakes induced by human activities, nuclear explosion monitoring, and exploration and development of Earth resources. In this session, we will speculate on where seismologists will be making significant contributions to science and society in the future. A number of invited speakers will present their ideas about what they think both basic and applied seismologists will be doing 5 to 20 years from now. Conveners Michael Fehler Towards an Integrated Understanding of Earthquake InteractionsRecent research has shed new light on the physical processes that control aftershocks, earthquake sequences, remotely triggered seismicity, and induced seismicity. It has also raised new questions about whether static Coulomb stress changes, dynamic Coulomb stress changes, or shaking associated with seismic wave propagation, is principally responsible for these effects and their time behavior. We invite papers that explore the physical mechanism associated with earthquake triggering of any kind, including events induced by human activity and creep events, from observational constraints or theoretical analyses, as well as papers that consider the hazard implications of dependent events Conveners Dr. Susan E. Hough
Very Near-field Earthquake Source ObservationsWhat can very near-field observations of fault displacement, velocity, acceleration, strain, electric and magnetic fields within a few tens of meters of an earthquake teach us about earthquake source physics? Recently installed arrays of instruments at hypocentral depths in deep mines and deep boreholes allow exciting new insights into source scaling, fault friction, apparent stress, fracture energy, nucleation, crack formation and charge generation. In this session, we invite contributions addressing both theoretical and observational aspects of recent, and not so recent, expectations and data from these experiments. The purpose of this session will be to provide researchers an opportunity for comparing data, exchanging new ideas and exploring implications for source physics. Conveners Malcolm Johnston Integrated Borehole Geodetic and Seismic Networks: A Developing Tool for Earth ScienceDevelopment and growth of large integrated borehole geodetic and seismic networks, such as the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory in North America, HiNET in Japan and the Taiwanese network operated by the Central Geological Survey, present new opportunities and challenges for the solid earth sciences. For example, temporal and spatial resolution of slow slip events, scaling relationships between small and large earthquakes, and detection and modeling of possible earthquake precursors are all improved through the integrated use of borehole and surface techniques. At the same time, these networks produce large volumes of data with attendant data management requirements, and current modeling techniques may need to broadened to take full advantage of these data along with those from surface networks. This session will discuss will discuss all aspects of such networks including data access, formats, analysis, calibrations methods, as well as integrated research using such data. We welcome contributions that touch on any of the above and related topics, especially those that integrate data from multiple instrument platforms. Conveners Greg Andersen Seismology and Cyberinfrastructure: From Data to KnowledgeAs the utilization of information technology resources by the seismological community increases, new challenges await the community of users and developers. Issues related to efficient data access, advanced computing, integration of seismological results with other Earth science disciplines require meaningful collaborations among seismologists, information technologists, and other geophysicists and geologists. This session will be highlighting current community efforts that utilize high-end information technology resources such as Web Services, Grid computing, workflows, advanced visualization as well as high performance computing in seismological studies. The session’s goals will be to improve the interaction among research groups, bring attention to such efforts, and enable future collaborations in this new era of cyberinfrastructure-based seismological research. Conveners Dogan Seber Spinning Straw Into Gold: Improving Our Understanding of Planetary Seismology and Geophysics With New Methods and New DataThis session explores recent developments in the study of planetary and solar seismology and geophysics. Since the original acquisition and analysis of the lunar seismic data 30 years ago, new methodologies have evolved that may enhance our understanding of planetary structure and related seismic phenomena. With the new initiatives for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, we are poised not only to re-examine existing extraterrestrial data with modern methods, but we also have an opportunity to guide the acquisition of new, high-quality data through experimental design and instrumental specifications. Geophysical and seismic measurements will and should be part of future missions. This session provides a forum for discussions that may influence the scientific plan for such missions, not only lunar and Martian, but also ideas relevant to other efforts such as the Messenger mission to Mercury. We invite contributions addressing instrumental development, old and new data sets and advances in analysis techniques applied to solar, lunar and planetary seismological and geophysical research. Conveners Youshun Sun Charlotte Rowe Site Effects on Ground MotionsIt is well known that local shallow geology plays a key role in the amplification of seismic ground motions. Prominent examples of this phenomenon are observed from past earthquakes, such as the 1985 M 8.0 Michoacan earthquake in Mexico, the 1989 M 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake in California, the 1995 M 6.9 Kobe earthquake in Japan, and the 2005 M 7.6 Muzaffarabad earthquake in Pakistan. To account for site effects, or site response, a variety of observations have been used to derive predictive models. These observations have included direct data, from site characterizations using invasive or noninvasive methods, or inferential data, such as the number of reported deaths, the reported intensity of shaking felt by observants, etc. To ascertain the current state of knowledge about assessing site effects on ground motions and to facilitate innovations through regional and international cooperation for improvements to the current state of knowledge, we invite papers that address the following areas of interest: the influence of shallow geology on ground motions, linear and nonlinear soil behavior, scatter, directivity, focusing effects, basin edge effects, spatial correlation and variation of ground motions, Vs30, Z1.0 or Z1.5, and the effects of deeper crustal structures. Conveners Alan Yong John N. Louie Adventures in Earthquake Predictability ExperimentsEarthquake forecasting research is gradually shifting focus from a course of seeking precursory signals that might allow earthquake warnings to a course of quantifying predictability of earthquake processes. The latter approach emphasizes system-level understanding of earthquake physics and thus a cooperative effort is natural. In addition to this change in focus, researchers can leverage new, high-quality datasets (e.g., GPS and relocated seismicity) and consensus models (e.g., models of fault structure and seismic velocity). These developments enable and encourage collaborative, experiment-based investigations. This approach to elucidating the nature of earthquake predictability presents a new set of opportunities and challenges; these shall be the focus of this session. Submissions should address one or more of the following issues as they relate to earthquake predictability: status of current (and plans for future) regional and global experiments; integration of new data and application of new models; methods for testing and evaluation (with an emphasis on comparative approaches). Conveners Jeremy Zechar, Danijel Schorlemmer, Thomas Jordan Towards a Complete Description of the Explosion SourceThe seismic waves generated by an explosion are much more complicated than would be predicted from a point, spherical source in an elastic medium. Particularly troublesome for nuclear monitoring are the theoretical description and quantitative modeling of shear waves from explosions, which result from nonlinear effects, free surface interaction, phase conversion and scattering. This session focuses on current research to understand the complete seismic source including the excitation and propagation of all seismic phases observed from underground explosions. Conveners Howard J. Patton Jeffry L. Stevens Hawaii Kiholo Bay Earthquake, October 15, 2006Conveners Paul Okubo Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Seismic Imaging Tsunami Genesis and Tsunami Hazard Computation and Numerical Modeling Slow Earthquakes Arrays & Networks Theoretical Seismology Extracting Information from Seismic Noise Seismological Instrumentation Education and Outreach Earthscope Strong Motion Geodesy & Seismology
Contact Person: Dr. Patricia Cooper School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology University of Hawaii at Manoa 1680 East-West Road, POST 802 Honolulu, HI USA Tel: (808) 956-9513 Fax: (808) 956-9152
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