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Students' test models face rigors of tsunami research
Earthquake lessons bring Oregon middle schools to OSU wave research facility; stronger structures may save lives, experts advise evacuation improvements
Daniel Acee
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: News
The Cascadia Subduction Zone runs along the coast of northern Vancouver Island (Canada) down to northern California. This subduction zone is the same type that caused the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004.
Earthquakes from this zone could match that one in strength, ranking at level nine on the Richter scale.
"I have heard many times about the past-due earthquake we were supposed to get, but I always forget about it," said Chris Murphy, a junior in mechanical engineering. "I hope that we have enough time to become prepared for it."
Oregon State University has been conducting many research projects to help bring awareness and prepare the northwest coast of the United States to withstand the force of the inevitable earthquakes and tsunamis.
Melora Park, a site operations manager at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, explained how they are trying to promote tsunami awareness and prepare coastal cities for the earthquake.
"With an earthquake of that magnitude, it is very important to evacuate as soon as possible," Park said. "The plate convergence (a cause of earthquakes and tsunamis) could happen in one big snap, leaving little time to get to a safe distance."
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a type of convergent plate boundary. That means there is a subducted oceanic plate which is getting pushed lower underneath the continental plate.
As the oceanic plate moves lower, it heats up and eventually becomes unable to handle all the stored energy. This will cause a large earthquake.
"The stored energy from the earthquake pushes a column of ocean water with great force, creating the tsunami," Park said. "It's like a pebble dropping into a pond, except the energy creating the shockwave is much larger."
"I knew about the subduction zone, but I am unsure of how they plan to alert everyone," said Ben Weintraub, a senior in computer science. "My friend at U Dub [University of Washington] told me about a text message emergency alert system that community members sign up for; I think that would be a good start."
Earthquakes from this zone could match that one in strength, ranking at level nine on the Richter scale.
"I have heard many times about the past-due earthquake we were supposed to get, but I always forget about it," said Chris Murphy, a junior in mechanical engineering. "I hope that we have enough time to become prepared for it."
Oregon State University has been conducting many research projects to help bring awareness and prepare the northwest coast of the United States to withstand the force of the inevitable earthquakes and tsunamis.
Melora Park, a site operations manager at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, explained how they are trying to promote tsunami awareness and prepare coastal cities for the earthquake.
"With an earthquake of that magnitude, it is very important to evacuate as soon as possible," Park said. "The plate convergence (a cause of earthquakes and tsunamis) could happen in one big snap, leaving little time to get to a safe distance."
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a type of convergent plate boundary. That means there is a subducted oceanic plate which is getting pushed lower underneath the continental plate.
As the oceanic plate moves lower, it heats up and eventually becomes unable to handle all the stored energy. This will cause a large earthquake.
"The stored energy from the earthquake pushes a column of ocean water with great force, creating the tsunami," Park said. "It's like a pebble dropping into a pond, except the energy creating the shockwave is much larger."
"I knew about the subduction zone, but I am unsure of how they plan to alert everyone," said Ben Weintraub, a senior in computer science. "My friend at U Dub [University of Washington] told me about a text message emergency alert system that community members sign up for; I think that would be a good start."
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