The Cascadia subduction zone pose a potential seismic hazard. The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver British Columbia to just South of Sacramento, California. When this subduction zone releases its energy (any day now) it will shut down the USA crippling all financial markets, the internet, and all trade from Washington, Oregon, West Coastal California. A devastating Tsunami will effect most of the coastal boundaries of all Pacific beach fronts.
Dr. Chris Goldfinger is a Professor at Oregon State University, specializing in Marine Geology and Geophysics, and Paleoseismology. He is also a global leading expert on subduction zones. With the aid of his colleagues, he has been conducting research into the history of the Cascadia Subduction Zone for more than two decades.
When will the next major Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake strike? Scientists can’t know for sure, but there are some scientific clues which provide glimpses to the answer.
The subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath North America changes markedly along the length of the subduction zone, notably in the angle of subduction, distribution of earthquakes, volcanism, geologic and seismic structure of the upper plate, and regional horizontal stress. To investigate these characteristics, we conducted detailed density modeling experiments of the crust and mantle along two transects across the Cascadia subduction zone. One crosses Vancouver Island and the Canadian margin, and the other crosses the margin of central Oregon. Both density models were constructed independently to a depth of approximately 50 km. We gathered all possible geologic, geophysical, and borehole data to constrain the density calculations. The final densities for the Oregon and Vancouver lithosphere models were obtained from gravity inversions.
Lt. Col. Braun of the Washington National Guard
below is the short clip
Presentations to the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee from a variety of Emergency Management Experts concerning the early warnings and preparedness of Cascadia Rising. Included here are presentations by Dr. John Vidale, Lt Colonel Clay Braun, Jim Buck (Clallam County) and Robert Ezelle. Thank you to TVW for permission to rebroadcast on PAPA TV.
The “Really Big One” is coming, Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake
A simple explanation by, David Mauriello – Geologist
June 2, 2014
The Challenges of Seismic Mitigation in Oregon: Where Science and Policy Meet
Posted by kcompton
