seismology

Scientific research has helped humankind avoid or mitigate many of nature’s best attempts to send us to a violent end, but what do researchers do when the pursuit of research could trigger the very disaster from which science is trying to protect us? That’s the question facing geologists in Naples, Italy that will begin sinking seven four-kilometer bore holes into the Campi Flegrei caldera, the site of a “supercolossal” volcanic eruption 39,000 years ago.

For seismologists, the dream of a perfect earthquake forecasting system may be a step closer. In a letter published last week in the journal Nature, scientists announced they've discovered a way to read changes in rocks that could be used to predict dangerous quakes as much as ten and a half hours in advance.

The death toll from the Sichuan earthquake is reportedly upwards of 55,000 at this point. Many survivors are living outside, in tents, afraid that aftershocks will topple their homes. But officials are also trying to care for the animal population, sending food to the animals at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, which is just about 20 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

The death tolls from the massive earthquake that shook China on Monday have reportedly climbed as high as 13,000 people. More than 18,000 people are still unaccounted for in Mianyang in Sichuan province. And soldiers and medics have just broken through to reach the city of Wenchuan - home to a population of 100,000 - which sits right at the epicenter of the quake.

Some residents of Reno, Nevada, are leaving their homes after two months of scattered earthquakes. An earthquake that registered 4.7 on the Richter Scale hit Friday night - the strongest in a string of shakes that started way back at the end of February. But that wasn't all: More than 150 aftershocks rumbled through the region over the weekend.