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New model for Southern California’s crust

AUG 21, 2009
Physics Today

Science News : By analyzing motions recorded by hundreds of seismometers during dozens of quakes, researchers have compiled a new and improved geological model of Southern California’s crust. The resulting high-resolution model is much like a CT scan of Earth and will enable more accurate estimates of seismic hazards in the region.Seismic vibrations travel through some types of rock more quickly and with less damping than others. Such variations have to be taken into account when pinpointing the epicenter of a quake, says Carl Tape, a seismologist at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In Science , Tape and his colleagues describe the enhanced model of Southern California’s crust built with data gathered by the dense network of seismic instruments in the fault-ridden region.

Related Link Adjoint Tomography of the Southern California Crust

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