SSA Annual MEETing 2024

*29 April–3 May 2024 | Anchorage, Alaska

Special Interest Group Sessions at SSA Annual Meeting

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Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

SSA 2024 will offer five special interest group meetings:

The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT)

Tuesday, 30 April, 4:30 – 5:15 PM, Kahtnu 2

This SIG introduces the Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center(CRESCENT) to SSA membership. The center has three “pillars” which are (i) science, (ii) geoscience education and inclusion, and (iii) partnerships and applications. We will have short presentations by the leads of each pillar and discuss the programs and activities within them and how SSA members can get involved. There will be ample time for questions and open discussion on the center’s present and future goals.

Conveners: Diego Melgar; Valerie Sahakian; Jill Elizabeth; Amanda Thomas; Pieter Share; Andrew Meigs; Lydia Staisch; Harold Tobin; Tim Melbourne

Center of Earth Geohazards

Wednesday, 1 May, 1:00 – 1:45 PM, Kahtnu 2

The Central and Eastern US (CEUS) has seen a dramatic increase in earthquake rates over the last 15 years. Part of the rate increase is due to induced seismicity, mostly in Texas and Oklahoma, but some M4.5+ events are tied to natural tectonic seismogenic zones. Additionally, the recently published USGS 2023 conterminous U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (Figure 26 in https://doi.org/10.1785/0120230120) reports an overall CEUS increase in the 2% chance of exceedance in 50yr. ground motions. In this SIG we welcome scientists and engineers that have an interest in working on understanding the nucleation processes of earthquakes in CEUS, the corresponding hazard and risk, and/or related geohazards (e.g. liquefaction, landslides). We are seeking to gather Central and Eastern US scientists interested in natural and anthropogenic hazard mitigation to discuss ways we can more effectively collaborate regionally and across multi-sector. We are working to jumpstart a Collaboratory CEUS hazards center and want to hold a SIG to help build the collaboration prior to seeking NSF funding for further planning.

Conveners: Alexandros Savvaidis; Heather DeShon; Zhong Lu; Beatrice Magnani; Ellen Rathje; Jake Walter; Thomas Goebel; Mitch Withers; Junle Jiang; Jeremy Maurer; Mohamed Khaled; Christodoulos Kyriakopoulos; Seyyed Hosseini; Ahmed Elbanna; Felix Waldhauser

On the Quantification and Treatment of Site Response Modeling Errors

Thursday, 2 May, 7:00 – 7:45 AM, Kahtnu 1

One-dimensional site response analysis (1D SRA) remains the world’s state-of-practice approach for assessing site-specific site response. However, 1D SRAs can lead to mispredictions, partially due to the simplification of the intrinsically 3D wave-propagation phenomenon into a 1D modeling approach, therefore referred to as “modeling error.” In this SIG, we will discuss the existing models for the 1D site response modeling error, their underlying assumptions and limitations, and their use in non-ergodic seismic hazard assessment. Questions and input from the audience will be encouraged and welcomed.

Conveners: Renmin Pretell; Norman A. Abrahamson; Albert R. Kottke; Jonathan P. Stewart; Adrian Rodriguez-Marek

SZ4D: Status, Progress, Upcoming Activities

Friday, 3 May, Noon – 12:45 PM, Kahtnu 1

SZ4D (Subduction Zones in Four Dimensions) is a rapidly developing initiative for a long-term, interdisciplinary, community-driven research program to define the limits and possibilities of forecasting geohazards. SZ4D brings together a diverse community of US-based and international scientists from many disciplines and backgrounds to study earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and surface processes. The group is working together to create the multifaceted infrastructure and other resources needed to enable new discoveries and advances in understanding subduction zones. The SZ4D community is pursuing multiple funding and development paths. The publicly available Implementation Plan, built and revised upon community input, lays out key science priorities, focused field and laboratory infrastructure, modeling and computational capability, and building equity and capacity efforts. A primary goal is to establish complementary scientific activities and monitoring infrastructure in Chile, Cascadia, and Alaska. We are seeking to increase the involvement of stakeholders in Alaska that are engaged in subduction zone geohazards research or are potentially impacted by these geohazards. Representatives from the SZ4D organizational structure will present the current status of the initiative and ways for the community to actively engage, including an open volunteer call each spring. This SIG – open to all – will provide an open forum for questions and feedback.

Conveners: Geoff Abers; Mike Brudzinski; Anaïs Férot; Helen Janiszewski; Diana Roman; Demian Saffer; Donna Shillington

What’s Working in Earthquake Public Education? A SIG to Exchange Ideas for Interactive Learning

Wednesday, 1 May, 1:00 – 1:45 PM, Kahtnu 1

This SIG brings together SSA community members interested in working with public audiences of all ages to communicate earthquake science, technology, engineering, and safety. It is well known that earthquake science and technologies can be complicated to communicate, and challenging to inspire public interest and action. Participants in this SIG will connect with others who are interested in playing with creative ways of engaging members of the public. For example, in recent decades through the Education Resources Working Group (ERWG) coordinated by USGS, scientists, technical providers, educators, and researchers have been applying evidence-based approaches to public education with engaging and effective results. The diverse approaches have included videos about “Drop, Cover, and Hold On,” hands-on activities like “pasta quake” and the “BOSS model,” and participatory community conversations (in English and Spanish) about how to respond for safety during an earthquake. During this SIG, participants will share a success and a challenge they encountered trying to communicate earthquake science or technology information to members of the public. Then, SIG participants will engage in discussions guided by their interests and questions. As appropriate, the facilitators are prepared to connect participants with resources to help them creatively address challenges. For example, participants can share known repositories of hands-on earthquake science activities, or share existing training opportunities to learn how to develop bespoke, participatory events. SIG participants will have time to develop concrete next steps for continuing the conversation. If interested, participants can discuss collaborating on public earthquake education evaluations to share at the 2025 SSA conference; and participants can join a mailing list for monthly webinars related to interactive public earthquake education.

Conveners: Raul Preciado Mendez; Marcie Benne; Robert de Groot; Carla Herrán; Jenny Crayne


All SIGs will be listed in the program and open to all attendees at the meeting.

If you have any questions, please write abstracts@seismosoc.org.

Seismologists attending the SSA's Annual Meeting 2023

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