[CEUS-earthquake-hazards] Notes from the New Madrid Chapter of EERI, April 2008

Thu Apr 10 13:42:48 MST 2008

Courtesy of Greg Hempen (URS)

New Madrid Chapter, EERI Notes

A Few Seats Are Still Available! à Earthquake Insight Field Trip – April
17-18, 2008        There will be another two-day Earthquake Insight Field
Trip, on Thursday and Friday, April 17-18, 2008.  This event will start and
end in Memphis and is specifically planned for key leaders in business
operations, finance, equity development, portfolio management, facilities,
infrastructure, emergency planning, and related fields.  This event includes
travel to sites throughout the heart of the New Madrid region that show
field evidence of past earthquakes, engineering solutions to earthquake
risks, and regional industry exposures to earthquake hazards.  Cost is $395
per participant.

            For more information about the April 2008 Earthquake Insight
Field Trip, contact Phyllis Steckel at  <mailto:psteckel at charter.net>
psteckel at charter.net or call 636-239-4013.  

April 29, 2008 – Panel Presentation

St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project 

          There will be a dinner meeting at Mama Campisi’s on the Hill on
Tu, 29 APR 08.  The panel will introduce the professional community to the
St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project (SLAEHM Proj).  There will
be many benefits from this multiyear project to the professional community.
The community can be involved with this important project.  

            The New Madrid Chapter hopes to have sponsoring organizations
involved, like ASCE.  An announcement will be forthcoming.  Two professional
development hours will be offered by the program.  Contact Phyllis Steckel
or Greg Hempen ( <mailto:greg_hempen at urscorp.com> greg_hempen at urscorp.com or
314.743.4136) for information.  

The New Madrid Earthquake Scenario

Earthquake Scenarios

            The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has been a
leader in creating earthquake scenarios.  EERI has produced three
well-publicized scenarios: Scenario for a Magnitude 7 Earthquake on the
Hayward Fault [CA], the Seattle Fault [WA] Scenario, and Quake ’06 (related
to the continuing risk of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of
1906).   The Southern San Andreas Fault [CA] Earthquake (SoSAFE) Scenario,
is being developed for the Los Angeles region to be completed in 2008.  

            The New Madrid Chapter of EERI has begun development of the New
Madrid Earthquake Scenario.  Like Quake ’06, the New Madrid Earthquake
Scenario is scheduled at an anniversary for completion in February 2012, the
Bicentennial of the Great New Madrid Series of Earthquakes.   The New Madrid
Earthquake Scenario will follow EERI’s Guidelines for Developing an
Earthquake Scenario (March 2006).  

EERI’s New Madrid Earthquake Scenario

            This Scenario effort is named for the New Madrid seismic zone,
the most severe threat of earthquakes in the region.  Other important
seismic zones’ events may also be considered.  “A well crafted scenario
provides a powerful tool for members of private industry, government
officials, and the general public to begin to draft mitigation policies and
programs” (Guidelines for Developing an Earthquake Scenario, 2006).  The
Guidelines will be used as an integral scope for creating the Scenario.  

            The New Madrid Earthquake Scenario (NMES) is being overseen by a
Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee has developed guidance for the
scenario and held two outreach workshops for participants.  Another workshop
is being developed for May 2008 to reach the broad base of possible
participants (reflecting EERI’s broad focus from seismology to sociology)
and decide on the working groups.  The working groups will recommend
scenario products, aid in deciding the “Scenario event,” and produce their
sector’s portion of the Scenario’s report.  Contact Greg Hempen,
<mailto:greg_hempen at urscorp.com> greg_hempen at urscorp.com or 314.743.4136.

            Vision.  The NMES will provide a comprehensive impact assessment
of scientifically credible earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Region.
The Scenario will include risk-reduction recommendations for individual,
public and corporate interests from future, Central United States
earthquakes.  

Seismic Symposium for the 2008 New Orleans Annual Meeting 

Seismic Hazards in the Central U.S.: Is New Madrid all there is?

            Eugene “Buddy” Schweig (USGS) and Greg Hempen (URS Corporation)
are developing a Symposium for the 2008 AEG Annual Meeting.  The Symposium
title is “Seismic Hazards in the Central U.S.: Is New Madrid all there is?”
AEG will be seeking some solicited papers and are requesting volunteered
abstracts.  

            The state of practice for evaluating seismic hazards may be in
flux concerning sources other that the New Madrid Seismic Zone.  Certainly
the most significant threat is from the New Madrid Zone.  Many practitioners
evaluate other zones about the New Madrid as background seismicity.  A
decade ago many may have used specific seismic source areas with “floating”
events.  

            The Seismic Hazards in the Central U.S. Symposium offers to
discuss whether general background seismicity remains the best model outside
of the New Madrid Seismic Zone.  Has the science developed adequately to
revise the practice or does background seismicity address the issue most
properly?  Many feel that the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone should be
recognized.  Other zones also have been recommended in the past.  

            Abstracts are requested concerning the causative geologic
structure and the seismicity of other possible seismic zones about the
better known New Madrid Seismic Zone.  If other zones have a causative
structure and allied earthquakes (historic seismicity or microseismicity or
paleoseismicity), what geographic boundaries, recurrence rates and maximum
event size would be associated with the suggested seismic zone?  Conversely,
abstracts could be submitted specifying why background seismicity continues
to be appropriate.  

            Follow the procedure noted
(www.aegweb.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=3836) for submitting an abstract.
Be sure to note that the abstract is intended for the Seismic Hazards in the
Central U.S. Symposium.  

            Please consider submitting an abstract for the Seismic Hazards
in the Central U.S. Symposium.  If you feel strongly about this issue but
choose not to submit an abstract, please attend the Symposium to voice your
concerns and interests.  Hope to see you in New Orleans!  

From: ceus-earthquake-hazards-bounces at geohazards.usgs.gov
[mailto:ceus-earthquake-hazards-bounces at geohazards.usgs.gov] On Behalf Of
Phyllis Steckel
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:48 PM
To: CEUS ListServe
Subject: [CEUS-earthquake-hazards] St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping
Project

Joint Society Meeting for Panel Program on

St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project 

            On Tuesday evening, April 29, there will be a Panel Program on
the St. Louis Area Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project, which will be hosted
by the project’s Technical Working Group.  

The program will be presented at a joint meeting of several professional
societies, including the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of
Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG), the New Madrid Chapter of the
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), the St. Louis Chapter of
the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Geology & Society
Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), and the Structural
Engineers Association of Kansas & Missouri (SEAKM).  All others who are
interested are also welcome.

Speakers include geoscientists who are working on various aspects of the
project, including surface-geology mapping, geophysical data collection,
bedrock-depth mapping, seismic hazards analysis, historical map collection,
the correlation of bedrock depths and site ground-shaking amplification, and
other aspects of the project.  The USGS Fact Sheet for the project is
located at http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3073/ .

The panel will include Bob Bauer, Illinois State Geological Survey
(Champaign); Oliver Boyd PhD, US Geological Survey (Memphis); Chris Cramer
PhD, Center for Earthquake Research & Information (Memphis); Dave Overhoff,
DNR Missouri Geological Survey (Rolla); Dave Rogers PhD, Missouri University
of Science & Technology (Rolla); and Rob Williams, US Geological Survey
(Golden, Colo.).

            The program will be held at Mama Campisi’s (
<http://www.mamacampisis.com/> www.mamacampisis.com) at 2132 Edwards in St.
Louis, Mo.  Mama Campisi’s is located in The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis.
The doors open at 5:30 pm, the buffet begins at 6:15 pm, and the
presentations start at 7:00 pm.  The panel will conclude the formal part of
the program by 8:30 pm, although informal discussion may continue later.

            Cost for the full buffet dinner is $26.00, which includes salad,
a selection of pasta, bread, dessert, and coffee or tea; tax; and gratuity.
Pay at the door; cash or checks made payable to “St. Louis Chapter – EERI.”

            To reserve your space, please RSVP not later than Friday, April
25, 2008, to Jennifer Delancy, PE, at jdelancey at qteinc.com. 

Phyllis J. Steckel, RG
Earthquake Insight
PO Box 2002
Washington, MO 63090
636-239-4013
psteckel at charter.net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://geohazards.usgs.gov/pipermail/ceus-earthquake-hazards/attachments/20080410/1b52b4f5/attachment-0001.html 