Follow the ongoing L’Aquila appeal

The seismological community is anxious with the ongoing court proceedings against fellow Italian seismologist with regards to the 6th April 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. The news of seismologists guilty of manslaughter was major news for the entire world (e.g., BBC) and condemnation came in fast (e.g., The Guardian, EOS, AGU). Internal discussions between scientists are still very active during major international conferences (e.g., EGU 2014) with many arguing that better outreach and education programs are needed to help the general public understand better seismic risk: “Earthquake experts must communicate public risk more effectively to avoid a repetition of the Italian media fiasco that a year ago culminated in jail terms for the academics involved” – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk. A paper was also published in Natural Hazards: Communicating earthquake risk to the public: the trial of the “L’Aquila Seven”.

A dedicated blog has been set up to present the material and opinions concerning the trial of the seven scientists and officials who were indicted for manslaughter after taking part in the so-called “Great Risk Commission” meeting at L’Aquila, 31 March 2009. You can follow the ongoing appeal of the l’Aquila trial on this blog: http://eagris2014.com, also available in Italian http://terremotiegrandirischi.com.

The sentence of the appeal is expected in the coming days.

EGU2015: Call-for-Papers

EGU is very pleased to announce the start of the Abstract submission for the EGU General Assembly 2015 (EGU2015), 12 Apr 2015 – 17 Apr 2015, Vienna, Austria.

The sessions are now online: http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/sessionprogramme

Submitting an abstract is intuitive: For each session there is a link Abstract Submission followed by logging in the system. Abstracts may be submitted as plain text, LaTeX, or MicroSoft Word content. Detailed information on how to submit an abstract can be found at: http://egu2015.eu//abstract_management/how_to_submit_an_abstract.html

The deadline for the receipt of Abstracts is 07 Jan 2015.
If you would like to apply for support, please submit no later than 28 Nov 2014.

Call for IASPEI medal nomination

The International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interio (IASPEI) is calling for nominations for the IASPEI medal. The award of a IASPEI medal has been decided during the 2011 General Assembly in Melbourne.

Robin Adams

The first IASPEI Medal recipient was Robin Adams.

The IASPEI medal is awarded for merits in seismology: for sustaining IASPEI goals and activities and for scientific merits in the field of seismology and physics of the earth’s interior. Nominations of candidates are due this year until December 31, 2014. See more detilas here: http://www.iaspei.org/medal_winners.html

The predicted great shake

A well predicted, well planned earthquake (drill) is about to take place this week. A fictitious, very strong earthquake is about to hit your locality. On Thursday 16th October at 10:16 local time, millions — yes over 20.4 million people — are participating in a global earthquake drill. The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill is an annual opportunity for people in homes, schools, and organizations to practice what to do during earthquakes, such as to secure your space in order to prevent damage and injuries, and to improve preparedness by updating emergency plans and supplies. People and organisations in many countries are taking on the initiative, are you?! 

Some might say that they live in a country where earthquakes do not occur, but what if they are in an earthquake-prone country during vacation?

Two simple, life-saving concepts to be learnt during the drill:

• During shaking: Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
  Drop to the ground, take Cover under a table or desk, and Hold On to it.

• After the shaking: Text First. Talk Second.
  Practice how to communicate with family, friends, and co-workers. Texting first before making phone calls is highly recommended.

Everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves in an earthquake. Even if earthquakes are rare where you live, they may happen where you or your family travel.

If you have missed this year’s 16th October drill make sure you register and participate in the one next year, or alternatively just choose any other day.