Texas Educational Seismic Project

Over the past couple of weeks, Station E1TX in Spring, TX **has** recorded very large earthquakes with magnitudes > M7.0.  Two of these earthquakes would not normally be detected at E1TX becuase the distance to the epicenters are greater than the technical capability of the EQ1 seismograph.  However, we **did** record these three global earthquakes:  Alaska M7.0 on November 30, 2018 at 17:29hrs UTC; New Caledonia M 7.5 on December 05, 2018 at 04:18hrs UTC; and, South Sandwich islands M7.1 on December 11, 2018 at 02:26hrs UTC.

What key information could probably explain why our Station easily detected these events?

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Here is a map displaying the intensity of shaking from the very large magnitude M7.0 Alaskan earthquake which occurred on November 30, 2018 at 17:29hrs UTC and was 25 miles deep. The colored contour lines delineate how much shaking was felt (or observed) at a location. Intensity ranges from a scale of 1 (not at all) to a 10 (catastrophic). Those near Anchorage reported shaking as intense as an 8ish. That’s severe! The star is the epicenter, or location, of the earthquake. Astounding and incredulous, huh?!

What does this severe shaking affect? Everything, see the photographs in the slideshow.  On the map, the colored contour lines delineate how much shaking was felt (or observed) at a location. Intensity ranges from a scale of 1 (not at all) to a 10 (catastrophic). Those near Anchorage reported shaking as intense as an 8ish. That’s severe! The star is the epicenter, or location, of the earthquake. Credits noted when known, some anonymous.

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Here is a LIVE shot of the HUGE Surface Waves propagating under Texas LIVE.  This very large magnitude M7.0 Alaskan earthquake occurred at 17:29hrs UTC and was 25 miles deep!

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Help us re-stock rocks, minerals and posters for upcoming school events!

Your generous financial support facilitates our #scienceeducational programs and ongoing solid earth geophysics

Today, a major magnitude M6.0 earthquake, followed by a strong M5.6 aftershock later in the day, occurred in Columbia, Central America, today 25 November 2018 at 03:40 and 20:56 hrs UTC.  This snapshot is from the the past hour when the aftershock occurred.

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Texas Educational Seismic Project had the support and pleasure to present a mathematics hands-on activity yesterday, November 14th, 2018. At the YWE Women and Girls in STEM Summit, we were joined by other nonprofit STEM outreach groups,  leading local schools and Universities in Houston, Texas. Our student and parent audiences were able to learn the difference between linear and logarithmic graphs and plots. What did everybody gain? They learned that using the exact same data sets on two different types of graphs can present the same information in two different perspectives. It’s a neat little math trick that can help you later on in life when you are trying to propose a solution or request an increase rate of materials, money, Etc. The data set we used for comparison was breaking pasta! Yes, we borrowed a fantastic activity from IRIS; we broke different bundles of spaghetti to demonstrate how an earthquake’s energy substantially increases when using the earthquake magnitude scales.

Not only did the students learn about the exponential growth rate associated with the energy released, they also learned two different graphical representations of the same dataset. We pulled it all together with a little real life story- that you could use this nice little math trick to present to your boss an effective graph demonstrating why your next promotion should have a much higher increase in your wages. We all love to earn more money! So we wrapped up in a bow these elements: geology, geophysics, mathematics, messaging and real life applications of the example activity.

All we needed was just a little bit of spaghetti 🙂

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We have recently observed the movement, intensity and paths of a few 2018 hurricanes.  Ground motion, which is measured by a seismograph, can be detected as a storm approaches land fall and then moves across the States.  (See TXESP’s example from 2017 Hurricane’s Season —>>click HERE).

When the air pressure, wind speed and temperatures changes, we can observe the combined affect on the ground measurements in a seismogram.  Look at this snapshot from our friends in Newtown, PA who operate Station NMPA, recorded on an AS1 educational seismograph, can you estimate what the weather pattern is doing today (November 15, 2018???) compared to weather in Texas?

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This morning, November 11, 2018 at 14:03hrs UTC (08:03 am CST) a very large magnitude M6.3 #earthquake occurred in the #NorthernAtlanticOcean.  Just North of South America, this event surprisingly had a shallow 10kms focal depth.  The #epicenter was more than 100km from any shore, assuring citizens of almost no shaking and no #tsunami.  This large earthquake follows the very large M6.8 earthquake in the #GreenlandSea on Nov 8, 2018. Generally, the North Atlantic Plate is a #spreadingcenter where new tectonic plate is created by deep sea volcanoes.

Shown is a comparison of #seismograms recorded on #RaspberryShakes across the #CentralAndEasternUS.

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Current, LIVE SCREENSHOT of a very large magnitude M6.8 earthquake rolling across Houston, TX, USA right now!  This event was 10kms deep and occurred at 01:49hrs UTC Near Olonkingyen, Svalbard and Jan Mayen (the Greenland Sea)

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Texas Educational Seismic Project is excited and eager to attend Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit in Austin TX, Dec 7, 2018.  STEM Professionals or educators are encouraged to participate and network.  We humbly thank the event sponsors for supporting our attendance!

Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit

Friday, December 7, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Engineering Education & Research Center
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas

Join the Texas Girls Collaborative Project for our 2nd Annual Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit designed to share best practices, connect organizations and individuals, and showcase outstanding efforts to increase the number of girls in STEM and support the retention of women in STEM careers.  STEM professionals and all who are engaged in education, outreach, recruitment, and/or retention of women and girls in STEM are invited to join in.

This event is hosted during Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906), and is one of the many events or programs joining in the Greater Austin STEM Ecosystem’s CSEdWeek amplification.

Thanks to the corporate partners for supporting the Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit.

• Summit Lead Sponsor: Emerson
• Session Track Sponsor: Thrivent Financial
• Summit Supporter: Cirrus Logic

Registration:

• Cost is $75 and includes parking validation, breakfast and lunch. Accepted presenters will receive a discounted registration rate. Register online by Wednesday, December 5.
• Presenters will be offered a $30 discounted registration fee.
• Limited registration scholarships are available. Inquire via email.
• Please also note that this is not an event designed for minors. Any minor presenting or in attendance must be chaperoned by a participating adult at all times.
• Who else is registered? Check out the list of organizations represented by registered participants.

Corporate Partnerships: Contact Tricia Berry at triciaberry@txgcp.org for information on how to support the Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit or check out the sponsorship opportunities overview.

Social Media: Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @TXGCP. We’ll use hashtag #TXGCPSummit for the event.

Agenda:

• 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Check-in, Networking, Breakfast Tacos & Coffee
• 9:15 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. Welcome, Stand Up for STEM Awards, Power of Mentors Panel
• 10:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. Breakout Sessions 1
• 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Breakout Sessions 2
• 12:20 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch, Networking, Meet Ups & Resource Sharing, Self-Guided Tours
• 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Breakout Sessions 3
• 2:30 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Breakout Sessions 4
• 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions 5
• 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Closing Reception, Networking, Resource Sharing

Breakout Sessions:
Breakout session information will be shared in more detail soon. Titles of planned sessions include:

• Adult and Child Interactions to Foster Engineering in the Early Childhood Environment
• Bringing a Girls in STEM Event to Life
• Coaching early for STEM success
• Community Support: The Foundation for Leading and Learning
• Early Career programs to recruit and retain women in STEM
• Equitable Access to STEM | STEM is for Everyone
• Exploring the importance of computational & analytical skills to prepare for college readiness & STEM careers in high school
• Hands-On/Minds-On: Design Thinking in Integrated STEM
• Hearing Student Voices: What High School Girls in STEM Have to Say
• Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators through FIRST Robotics
• Mouse: A Solution that Scales
• My STEM Career Path (Panel)
• Overview of the miniGEMS STEAM and Programming 2018 Summer Camp
• Questioning the Curriculum: Framing Your STEM Curriculum Development
• Research Experience for Teachers: Leading the Way to Implementing Engineering-based Classroom Lessons
• Solve it by Sunset: Inclusion, STEM, Entrepreneurship in a fun and exciting event
• STEM Insight – Connecting You To All Things STEM
• STEMINISTAS: Making Way for the Next Generation of Latina STEM Leaders
• The Importance of Soft Skills in a High Tech World
• When ALL Means ALL
• Young Scholars Program: A Bridge to Engineering in College

See the Texas Women and Girls in STEM Summit 2017 webpage for past presentations.

https://www.txgcp.org/texas-women-girls-in-stem-summit/

Your generous financial support facilitates our #scienceeducational programs and ongoing solid earth geophysics >>> CLICK HERE!

As Scientists, inquiry pushes us forward in our daily work.  Inquiry challenges our assumptions and re-shapes our research scope.  The creed scientists stand by: it’s not about finding the right or wrong answer, it’s about asking a better question.

The image below illustrates this principle beautifully.  Scientific research includes making observation, taking measurements, interpretation and analysis.  But what if you derive a conclusion which demonstrates no correlation? no new observations?  What value does research contribute in the absence of data to analyze? 

This is why Science shines so brightly and brings it’s practitioners much joy.  You see, the absence of data, which was expected, is just as valuable as observations of present data.  Stated in seismological terms, the ground motion data the instruments detect and record is just as fascinating as  the data we do not detect.  WHY !!?!

Magnitude 6.0 earthquake in the Philippines occurred on November 4th, 2018 at 07:55hrs UTC.  It had an ultra-deep focal depth of ~600kms below Earth’s surface.

Your generous financial support facilitates our #scienceeducational programs and ongoing solid earth geophysics >>> CLICK HERE!

We have recently observed the movement, intensity and paths of a few 2018 hurricanes.  Ground motion, which is measured by a seismograph, can be detected as a storm approaches land fall and then moves across the States.  (See TXESP’s example from 2017 Hurricane’s Season —>>click HERE).

When the air pressure, wind speed and temperatures changes, we can observe the combined affect on the ground measurements in a seismogram.  Look at this snapshot from Station E1TX, recorded on an EQ1 educational seismograph, can you estimate what time the cold front blew into Houston??

Your generous financial support facilitates our #scienceeducational programs and ongoing solid earth geophysics >>> CLICK HERE!