Southwestern’s geology lecture series continues with Dr. John Vidale (University of Washington; Pacific Northwest Seismic Network) on Friday, January 27, 2017 at 7:00 pm presenting “A Tale of Three Pacific Northwest Temblors: One Big, One Deep and One Direct Hit”. Dr. Vidale comes to Coos Bay as an Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology/Seismological Society of America distinguished lecturer to give the 12th Annual Cascadia Anniversary Lecture. Sudden mayhem. Tremendous impact. Unpredictable disruption. Is it any wonder earthquakes reserve a dark corner in our nightmares? The Pacific Northwest is vulnerable to several varieties of shakes: giant coastal quakes, isolated, miles-deep pops, and rips that could tear Seattle’s downtown apart. The University of Washington’s M9 Project, led by John Vidale, is making the repercussions of each type of quake clearer—and both less and more frightening. He doesn’t want to scare people; rather Vidale wants people to be as prepared as possible for when disaster strikes. He not only studies the kinds of earthquakes we can expect in our region, but applies that knowledge so that emergency managers, city planners, engineers, and others can be more resilient in the face of extreme shaking. Vidale will share the latest research and offer insights on implementing early warning technologies in the Pacific Northwest, so we can gain a few seconds or even minutes before suffering the strongest shaking. Dr. John Vidale is a Professor at the University of Washington, Director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, and the Washington State Seismologist. He completed his undergraduate studies at Yale University and earned his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology. Before finally coming to Seattle and the University of Washington in 2006, Vidale worked at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the US Geological Survey, and taught for a decade at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While at UCLA, he was Director of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. His honors include the American Geophysical Union’s Macelwane Medal (1994) and being named American Geophysical Union’s Gutenberg lecturer in 2009. The College of the Environment at the University of Washington named Vidale the 2011 Researcher of the Year. Vidale’s research focuses on earthquakes, volcanoes, Earth structure, and the hazards of strong shaking. Professor Vidale is currently working on monitoring the earthquakes and volcanoes in Oregon and Washington, studying strange slow earthquakes and landsliding in earthquakes. All geology talks are free and are held in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on Southwestern’s Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. For those not able to attend in person, all lectures are Livestreamed and archived, with access from the College’s website at www.socc.edu. Additional talks scheduled in the series this year include: Dr. Scott Burns (Portland State) “Terror of the Wine Country of Southern Oregon – Relationship Between Soils, Geology, Climate and Wine” on Friday, March 10; Dr. Mark Tveskov (Southern Oregon University) discussing “The Archaeology of the Rogue River War” on Saturday, April 15; concluding with Dr. Carolyn Porco (UC Berkley) with “Cassini to Saturn: The Journey and the Legacy” on Saturday, May 20. Continuing sponsors of the lecture series include the Southwestern Foundation, DB Western and the College. This lecture is sponsored by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and Seismological Society of America’s Distinguished Lectures Series. For over a decade, the IRIS/SSA lecture series has enabled world-renowned scientists to travel and speak to public audiences about cutting-edge earthquake research. For additional information please contact Ron Metzger at 541-888-7216.
