The University received $130,000 in federal stimulus grants to upgrade earthquake monitoring systems.
The funds were part of a $5 million provision to upgrade national seismic systems in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February.
Much of the money distributed in the Northwest will go to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, which controls about 200 monitoring instruments in Washington and Oregon that receive seismic wave signals. These instruments, the nearest of which are located in
Laurelwood Golf Course in Eugene, are 10 to 30 years old. Much of the money will support projects at University of Washington, where the PNSN is headquartered.
The Northwest is a region known for seismic activity, which makes the upgrades necessary, University research assistant Dennis Fletcher said.
“We live in an area of volcanic activity with occasional earthquakes,” Fletcher said. “These upgrades will detect them better.”
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Stimulus upgrades national seismic monitoring systems
Daily Emerald
October 10, 2009
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