Students Use BC Library Seismograph to Monitor Earthquakes and Storms, and Test Prototype of Seismographs in Public Places

Alan Kafka
Weston Observatory
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Boston College

Weston Observatory and the Boston College Lynch School of Education recently installed a seismograph in the BC O’Neill Library (first floor study area). This seismograph display is a prototype of our new version of seismographs operating in public places.

Figure 1: Seismograph display in the Boston College O’Neill Library.

Our first recorded earthquake at this site occurred beneath the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia . Because the epicentral area is sparsely populated and the earthquake was 100 miles deep, this earthquake is not likely to have caused serious damage or casualties.

Figure 2: Earthquake recorded by the BC O’Neill Library seismograph.

On January 23-25, we recorded a snowstorm in the Boston area, as well as a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that occurred in Alaska.

Figure 3: Snowstorm and Alaska earthquake recorded by the BC O’Neill Library seismograph.