The Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science & Society, founded by seismologist
@DrLucyJones
, fosters the understanding & application of scientific information.
When you want to make a pattern out of a group of
#earthquakes
, remember that earthquakes happen all the time, and we need statistics to tell us if our pattern is just coincidence. Just because we want a pattern doesn’t make the pattern real.
On Sunday, 9/20 at 2:30pm PDT, join
@DrLucyJones
for"Getting Through It" LIVE to talk about the 4.5
#earthquakeLA
that rocked SoCal late Friday night. It will be on Zoom exclusively for our sponsors. To find out more, & sponsor for a little as $5, go to
“There will be 7.8s in our future. Absolutely. We have the faults, we’ve seen it in the past, it will happen again,” said seismologist Lucy Jones, a research associate at Caltech...
Southern California shares distinct similarities to the type of fault that moved and buildings that fell throughout much of Southern Turkey along the border of Syria.
In this brand new, in depth personal interview seismologist
@DrLucyJones
answers questions about how she got her start in seismology, how
#earthquakes
can help us think about
#climatechange
and how people can help make their communities more resilient.
In this week’s episode of the
#GettingThroughIt
podcast,
@DrLucyJones
explains what liquefaction is, when it occurs, and how to know if you are at risk.
Listen now:
"Social scientists found that communities with a high level of social capital, where people are connected to one another, recover more quickly and more completely after disasters, says
@DrLucyJones
." From the
@latimes
Post-fire debris flows are lesser known, but are just as dangerous as other more commonly known disasters. In this episode,
@DrLucyJones
defines what debris flows are and talks about her experience studying their impacts in Southern California.
According to Dr. Lucy Jones, only 1% of the buildings in Los Angeles would collapse following a tremblor similar to what struck southern Turkey and northern Syria — but far more would be rendered uninhabitable.
▶️ Watch the full clip here:
"During an
#earthquake
, the mortar binding bricks together essentially dissolves, causing the walls to collapse and then the roof, said seismologist
@DrLucyJones
."
Read the full article from
@latimes
:
I'm looking forward to discussing the intersection of science and music with neuroscientist/opera singer
@indrevis
and the amazing musicians of the Salastina Society
@Salastina
in their Musical Happy Hour Tuesday July 7 at 6 pm. Join us!
Earthquakes don’t happen at epicenters – they happen over a fault surface and the bigger the surface, the bigger the
#earthquake
. From the magnitude, you can roughly guess the size of the fault that produced the earthquake, as shown in this table.
The Seismo Lab at Caltech is now active on Twitter! Follow us to learn about earthquake science, geology research and discovery, and the behind-the-scenes of the Seismo Lab. Learn more about what we do on our website:
This week marks the 1 year anniversary of the “Getting Through It” podcast where
@DrLucyJones
shares her insights & perspective on our chaotic world. Since its premiere the podcast has released an episode every week & garnered over 76,000 downloads.
What makes a weak fault? Make sure to catch the latest episode of
#GettingThroughIt
with Dr. Lucy Jones and John Bwarie and understand more about the legendary
#SanAndreas
fault:
“For everything that the
#Ridgecrest
#earthquakes
teach us about the Earth, my hope is that their most lasting impact will be as a reminder to all Californians that when you live on a plate boundary, the ‘Big One’ isn’t a matter of if, but when.”
#SanAndreas
is a complicated fault. It has the potential to have the biggest earthquakes in
#SoCal
, yet there has only been one earthquake on it. In her latest ep, Dr. Jones explains what makes a weak fault & why this legendary fault fits in that category.
“In a typical week, there is approximately a 1 in 10,000 chance of a M7+ earthquake on the southernmost San Andreas Fault.”
Right now, that probability is somewhat higher, but it still very low, around 1%
You can’t live in SoCal worrying which day will have the big
#earthquake
. You wear your seat belt every day, not knowing when the next accident will be. You need to make your house safe, get your water supply and be ready for an earthquake on any day.
Just in time for
@ShakeOut
this Thursday, listen to this week's episode of
#GettingThroughIt
where hosts
@DrLucyJones
&
@JohnBwarie
share how it came to be, its roots in social science, and how everyone should be participating on 10/15 at 10:15am!
In this podcast episode, Dr. Jones assesses risk as emotions, risk as analysis, and risk as politics— and explains how we need all three to take action!
“On this date in 1906, the Big One hit northern California: An
#earthquake
ruptured the San Andreas fault from south of San Jose all the way to Cape Mendocino. But a Big One isn't defined by the initial event, but what happens afterward.” -
@DrLucyJones
Tonight,
@DrLucyJones
started a partnership with
@riversidecagov
to build a resilient public utility system with a presentation to a joint meeting of City Council and Utilities Board.
This is a vigorous aftershock sequence and it looks like we may be getting numbers on the higher end of the forecast. This is still ok! We’ve seen aftershocks sequences like this before.
Within the next 1 Week (until 2019-07-11 18:30:00 (UTC)
- The chance of an earthquake of magnitude 3 or higher is > 99 %, and it is most likely that as few as 50 or as many as 700 such earthquakes may occur in the case that the sequence is re-invigorated by a larger aftershock.
In this season of goodwill and cheer, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters, followers, partners, and sponsors who have helped underwrite the work of the Center for the past years. We wish everyone a great holiday season and a wonderful new year!
They think back on what they modeled in the
#ARkStorm
scenario and what it takes to go from where the damages are now to the worst phase as modeled in the scenario. Then, they talk through how to confront this extreme weather as an ongoing feature of the weather in California.
Few weeks ago, Afghanistan was struck by a deadly earthquake and a subsequent aftershock added to the toll of over a thousand people killed. Why was the devastation so intense in this case?
Read more on Dr. Jones’s explanation on Scientific American:
The
@dljcss
was founded in 2016 by
@DrLucyJones
after more than three decades of public service as a seismologist with the
@USGS
. Our mission is to activate the use of science in the creation of more
#resilient
communities.
The
@DLJCSS
focuses on activities that further actual risk reduction. Working across the US, our aim is to understand & communicate where the greatest vulnerabilities lie & what actions can be taken to reduce the
#risks
.
The
@DLJCSS
focuses on activities that further risk reduction. Working across the US, our aim is to understand & communicate where vulnerabilities lie and what actions can be taken to reduce the risks that are the most impactful and cost-effective.
“New research shows that the
#Ridgecrest
earthquakes ruptured at least two dozen faults. It's the latest evidence of how small faults can join together to produce a large
#earthquake
, and how those quakes can cover a wider area than expected.”
"There is no particular relationship between the weather and what's happening underground," said Dr. Lucy Jones.
Read the full article on CBS Los Angeles:
We have been hosting our
#GettingThroughIt
#Podcast
for almost a year now; and as we approach that milestone, tell us what has been your favorite topic we've covered so far and what would you like to hear more about from
@DrLucyJones
?
Science is critical, but it’s only 1 piece of the puzzle. Scientists need to work collaboratively w policy makers & officials; sharing knowledge & expertise has to go both ways to be effective. Coming soon:
#AGU18
interview w
@DrLucyJones
&
@DrWendyRocks
abt science activation.
In the latest Getting Through It episode, Dr. Jones explains how the “
#RingofFire
” has no geologic significance and naming the complexity of the region with one simple term is a dangerous approach to manage the
#geologicalrisk
.
#Listen
now:
Seismologists are using fiber optic cables (as well as seismometers) to monitor and record the aftershocks from the 2019 Ridgecrest
#earthquake
sequence
Earthquakes, the release of gases and deformation of the earths surface can alert scientists that a volcanic eruption may occur. Prepared citizens, and a coordinated community, emergency & govt response can keep an eruption from becoming a catastrophe.
You can’t live in SoCal worrying which day will have the big
#earthquake
. You wear your seat belt every day, not knowing when the next accident will be. You need to make your house is safe, get your water supply and be ready for the earthquake on any day.
“Someday, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a decade, probably in the lifetimes of many people reading this, some point on the [San Andreas] fault will lose its frictional grip and start to move....”
#earthquake
Our latest episode is live! "Why a Pandemic Spikes (and What You Can Do about It)." Get it here or wherever you get listen to podcasts:
#GettingThroughIt
(You can get early access to episodes & more by supporting the Center at: )
Music composed by
@DrLucyJones
, based on data about the changing global climate, will be performed by Jones and the Los Angeles Baroque at the Night of Ideas on Feb 1, 2019, at 6:45 pm at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum.
@LABaroque
Two perpendicular faults ruptured in the M 6.4
#earthquake
on July 4, both lighting up in aftershocks. But when the M 7.1 struck 34 hours later, seismicity along the cross fault abruptly stopped. Why?
#ridgecrest
The ShakeOut Scenario estimated an
#earthquake
like the one described would cause over 1,800 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200B in damage/losses, & severe, long-lasting disruption. The report is a dramatic call to action. Read it here
Let’s talk earthquake triggering. Every time a notable earthquake occurs, we get the same questions:
🔹How does this affect the Ring of Fire?
🔹How does this
#earthquake
affect California?
🔹Does this mean a big earthquake will happen soon here?
Tomorrow marks 30 years since a m 6.7 earthquake rocked
#Northridge
.
The quake, caused by a sudden rupture of a previously undocumented blind thrust fault, damaged the Santa Monica Freeway, started almost 500 fires, killed more than 60 people & destroyed 50,000 housing units...
“The new California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness Campus hospital will be the first building in North America to use a seismic wall technology that will help the building better ride out
#earthquakes
.”
“When the M7.1
#earthquake
ruptured the earth in the Mojave Desert, it packed the energy of 45 nuclear bombs of the type that fell on Hiroshima.
But a variety of factors lessened the potency and impact...”
Join
@DrLucyJones
on 4/11 at this special, international program commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Tohoko Triple Disaster where she is speaking. Register here:
“Our goal is to support composers and musicians in creating music that inspires action, music that has hope and a positive goal that will move us to act instead of grieving and giving up.”
ShakeAlerts are issued for a region when the expected ground shaking intensity is above a minimum threshold. For more information visit and follow
@USGS_ShakeAlert
#earthquake
🔹The most likely scenario is that this swarm will die off in a few days.
🔹The
@USGS
estimates that there is ~19% chance that this swarm will produce an earthquake between M5.5-6.9.
🔹 There is a very small chance (~1%) that an earthquake of M7+ could occur in the next 7 days.
Today, we gave a mid-year update to our project partner,
@SCAGnews
, on the 40 Cities we’re working with on seismic resilience policy and program development.
“The timing of them, as far as we can tell, is random. And there’s no way to say when it’s going to be happening. ... Compared to the long-term average, we’ve been quiet for a while.”
Read the full article here:
Every earthquake has ONE magnitude but causes different amounts of shaking in different places (called shaking intensity). See the shaking intensity from the earthquake near Lone Pine in this annotated ShakeMap by
@seismotologist
.
#earthquake
"The economic vulnerability is very large & the cost of moving towards a better building standard is small. Our estimate is it'll add ~1% to the cost of construction to build buildings that we can repair instead of having to tear down."
#earthquake
“Being prepared is more than having your kit stocked, it’s more than having a hard hat under your bed. We need to be preparing our buildings.”
#earthquake
#resilience
@ronlin
Help us and cast your vote for our panel proposal "Can Music Drive Climate Action?" for
@SXSW
2023!
This session is all about using the power of music to engage communities in resilience-building & climate action:
#ApplicantatSXSW
@SXSWEDU
@TempoAction
“We all want the one correct forecast, to pinpoint the time of the Big One. But instead of focusing on when a particular catastrophe will occur, we would be better off thinking about what will happen when it does — and preparing ourselves accordingly.”
“The fundamental problem is that the public doesn’t want me to predict every
#earthquake
. It wants me to predict which, of the millions that happen in the world every year, will be the few that will be large enough to do damage.”
It’s critical to prepare BEFORE you get the alert. Retrofitting your home, having an earthquake plan, an earthquake kit and knowing what to do when the shaking starts are steps you need to take in advance of
#earthquake
shaking.
#preparedness
A study found that younger people will be facing more disasters than the generations preceding them. To understand this study, Dr. Jones defines risk as the consequence of the disaster to human beings and our constructs.
If you want to make a pattern out of a group of earthquakes, remember that
#earthquakes
happen all the time, and we need statistics to tell us if our pattern is just coincidence. Just because we WANT to see a pattern doesn’t make the pattern real.
“The idea that little eqs make the Big One less likely doesn’t work. And the idea that it makes it certain to happen doesn’t work. Any
#earthquake
has a slight increase in the chance of having something worse coming next but mostly, it’s really small.”
“
@CNN
spoke to
@DrLucyJones
about what the region still needs to do to get ready for the Big One, what we can learn from other countries on
#earthquakes
, and the emergency supplies she personally keeps on hand.”
#Earthquakes
can happen almost anywhere, but they have to happen on a
#fault
. In this episode, Dr. Jones defines what a fault is, the difference between active and inactive faults, and how
#Paleoseismology
can reveal the history of a fault.
“When a fault slips during an
#earthquake
, there are changes in stress in the surrounding crust. These changes can either promote or inhibit the subsequent earthquake, depending on the orientation and type of fault on which the stress is imparted.”
"People, not kits. If you really want to be ready for the next big earthquake, forget the earthquake kit and go talk to your neighbors.”
Explore Dr. Lucy Jones' insights in her Op-Ed featured in the
@latimes
: .
“When asked whether she believes students are safer [from
#earthquakes
] in public schools than charter schools,
@DrLucyJones
simply replied, “Yes.”