Newsletter Archive

November 2017

AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans

The AGU Fall Meeting in New Orleans will soon be upon us. A big thanks to Linda Warren (Saint Louis University) and Dylan Mikesell (Boise State University) for the important part they have played as Fall Meeting coordinators for the Seismology section.

Please note several seismology section events at the meeting:

Joint Seismology/Tectonophysics Luncheon

Tuesday, 12 December, 12:30–1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Riverside, First Floor, Grand Ballroom, Suite B

The joint luncheon returns to the schedule this AGU meeting after a hiatus of many years. The 2017 awardees and newly elected Fellows from the Seismology and Tectonophysics sections will be honored. In addition, Dr. Gerardo Suarez of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México will update us on the recent Mexico earthquakes and the experiences with earthquake early warning there. Ticket prices are $20 for members and $10 for student members. There are still some tickets available as of this newsletter preparation time, but the number is limited, so please order them soon. If you have already registered but did not include the luncheon, you can go back into your registration and add it.

Beno Gutenberg Lecture

Tuesday, 12 December, 4:00–5:20 p.m. at the Convention Center, La Nouvelle AB Room

The 2017 Beno Gutenberg Lecture will be given by Dr. Shuichi Kodaira of the Japan Agency for Marine–Earth Science and Technology. The title of his presentation is “What We Have Learned About Subduction Zones from Marine Seismological Exploration.” Immediately prior to the lecture, we will present Dr. Lucia Gualtieri with the Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award.

Seismology/Geodesy Early Career Networking Event and Luncheon

Wednesday, 13 December, 12:20–1:40 p.m. at the Hilton Riverside, Third Floor, Fulton Room

Only a few spots are left! If you are an early-career seismologist, we invite you to participate in an Early Career Networking Event at Fall Meeting. Join your fellow early-career peers and learn from senior scientists from a range of fields and sectors. The senior scientists will provide a short introduction and then meet with attendees at the tables to answer questions about career and work/life balance and to help you to gain perspective. The event is sponsored by the Seismologyand Geodesy sections and the EarthScope science program, along with IRIS and UNAVCO. Register at [need this information from Chelsea Fuller].

Seismology Student Mixer

Thursday, 14 December, 6:00–9:00 p.m. at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant

Seismology section students: Want to catch up with friends in your field and maybe even make some new ones? Come join other Seismology students at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant (701 Tchoupitoulas St.) for some free drinks and food. The student mixer last year was a big hit—we hope to see everyone again this year!

RSVP on Facebook here.

Late-Breaking Seismology Sessions at the Fall Meeting on the Korean Nuclear Test and the Tehuantepec and Puebla Earthquakes in Mexico

We have been able to add late-breaking special sessions to the scientific program on these recent events. The times and rooms are not yet announced, so please check your program for the final details.

Late-Breaking Session on the North Korean 3 September 2017 Declared Nuclear Test

This session will present analyses of the mb 6.3, MS 5.0 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) declared underground nuclear test on 3 September 2017. This was the sixth and largest DPRK declared nuclear test at the Punggye-ri test site. An apparent aftershock and collapse with ML 4.0 occurred about 8.5 minutes later. (39 abstracts, two oral sessions)

Late-Breaking Session on the September 2017 Tehuantepec and Puebla Earthquakes in Mexico

The 8 and 19 September 2017 Tehuantepec and Puebla earthquakes are some of the largest and most damaging earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico. The Mw 8.1 earthquake (8 September) affected several million people and was widely felt across central and southern Mexico, while the M 7.1 event (19 September) produced strong ground motions in big cities in central Mexico, leading to numerous building collapses and large numbers of casualties. This session will cover many aspects of these events, including earthquake source modeling, early warning systems, geodetic and strong ground motion observations, tsunami and broadband ground motion simulations, site effects, and hazard and risk management. (40 abstracts, one oral session)

Congratulations to the AGU Medalists, Honorees, and Newly Elected Fellows from the Seismology Community Who Will Be Honored at the 2017 Fall Meeting

  • Don Forsyth: Maurice Ewing Medal
  • Tom Jordan: William Bowie Medal
  • Brian Kennett: Inge Lehmann Medal
  • Robert Wesson: Edward A. Flinn III Award
  • Lucia Gualtieri: Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award
  • David Mainprice: Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service
  • Shuichi Kodaira: Beno Gutenberg Lecturer

Newly Elected Fellows: Wang-Ping Chen, Arthur Frankel, George Helffrich, Steven Roecker, and Ares Rosakis

Call for Outstanding Student Paper Award Judges for the Fall Meeting

If you are attending Fall Meeting, please consider volunteering as a judge for Outstanding Student Paper Awards (OSPA). We have 184 Seismology students who have registered for this program, and we need three judges for each student. As of 13 November, we still have 412 judge slots available and waiting for you! (Thank you to all who have already volunteered.) This is a great opportunity for students to receive outside feedback on their presentation and to be recognized.

Judging does not take much time, especially if you are already planning to participate in specific sessions (you can judge student presentations in your sessions). You can register to be a judge and learn about the honor code at http://ospa.agu.org/ospa/judges/.

If you are interested in being a judge and need help navigating the system, please feel free to contact either of us through the AGU Seismology OSPA Gmail account.

Thank you, and we look forward to making this another successful event with all your help!

Eliza Richardson and Margaret Boettcher

OSPA Coordinators for the Seismology Section

Seismology Section Student Representative

Celia Eddy has done an outstanding job as the student representative for the Seismology section. Thank you, Celia! Because Celia is finishing up her Ph.D., we are now looking for a new Ph.D. student in Seismology to serve as our student representative starting in 2018. This position involves being a voice for student interests and concerns within the section, helping to organize student events, and meeting with the section officers at Fall Meeting. If you are a third- or fourth-year graduate student and would like to take on this job, please send Doug Wiens and Anne Sheehan a short email describing your interest in the position, as well as your research area and Ph.D. advisor.

Announcements

ESSOAr—A New Earth and Space Science Server for Preprints and Conference Presentations

AGU is developing a server for the international Earth and space science community to accelerate the open dissemination of Earth and space science preprints and rich conference presentations with an advisory board of other international Earth and space science societies. Sign up for updates at www.essoar.org.

AGU Approaches Its Centennial

In 2019, AGU will celebrate its centennial and will focus on worldwide events and programming that recognize the value and contributions of Earth and space science over the past century and how the science will continue to add value in everyday life in the future. As we approach this milestone, AGU wants to reflect on the past 100 years of achievement and discovery and look forward to the impacts to come. We’re excited to announce that the oral history group Story Corps will be at the Fall Meeting to help us record and capture the scientific and personal stories of our sciences. The nonprofit podcast focuses on stories about humanity, and they are coming to the meeting to help tell your stories! If you know of a personal story that should be shared, we want to hear about it. Nominate someone today by visiting centennial.agu.org/.

Donate to the AGU Seismology Section

If you are considering your year-end charitable giving, remember AGU. You can specify that your gift go to the Seismology section to ensure it is used to help your scientific community. This year we have usedsection funds to subsidize the joint luncheon with Tectonophysics, as well as the student and early-career activities and the Outstanding Student Paper Awards of $200 per winner.

2018 Honors Nominations

There are many great seismologists who deserve recognition, and preparation of the nominations takes time, so it is not too early to start planning to submit nominations.

The deadline for Union Fellows and other Union medal and award nominations is normally in mid-March, and the deadline for the Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award and the Paul G. Silver Award for Outstanding Scientific Service is expected to be in mid-April.

Best regards,

Doug Wiens, President

Anne Sheehan, President-Elect

Eliza Richardson, Secretary

Greg Beroza, Past President

Celia Eddy, Student Representative

Section Resources