[iris-bulk] USGS to Award $5 Million in Earthquake Research Grants

[IRIS]

RESTON, Va. - Five-million dollars in grants and cooperative  
agreements are being awarded in 2009 for earthquake research to 84  
recipients including universities, state geological surveys and  
private firms, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced today. In  
addition, applications are being accepted for up to $7 million in  
grants and cooperative agreements for earthquake research in 2010.

"These grants underscore once again the importance to our nation of  
the earth science work accomplished by the USGS," Secretary of the  
Interior Ken Salazar said. "Earthquakes are one of the most costly  
natural hazards faced by the nation, posing a risk to 75 million  
Americans in 39 states."

USGS supports research on earthquake hazards in at-risk regions  
nationwide, including effects from earthquake shaking and the physical  
conditions and processes that cause earthquakes. The research is  
helping to better understand how earthquake hazards change with time  
and to reduce losses through effective earthquake forecasts based on  
the best possible scientific information.

"These research grants help the government gain access to talented
academic, state, and private-sector researchers whose investigations  
are critical to helping prevent earthquake hazards from becoming  
disasters," said David Applegate, USGS Senior Science Advisor for  
Earthquake & Geologic Hazards.

To apply for USGS grants and cooperative agreements for earthquake  
research in 2010, go online at GRANTS.GOV under the funding  
opportunity number 10HQPA0001. Applications are due May 13, 2009.


Examples of recipients include:

In northern California, studies of strong ground motion by Donna  
Eberhart-Phillips of the University of California Davis, and Clifford  
Thurber and David Schaff of the University of Wisconsin at Madison,  
will lead to better predictions of how the Sacramento-San Joaquin  
Delta will respond to nearby earthquakes. This research is important  
because the water supply for 22 million Californians runs through the  
Delta and could be cut off by a moderate-sized earthquake in the  
vicinity.

In southern California, the likelihood of the collapse of tall, steel- 
framed buildings will be studied by Swaminathan Krishnan of the  
California Institute of Seismology, using computer programs that  
calculate the strong shaking from earthquakes.

In the central United States, Randel Cox of the Center for Earthquake  
Research and Information (CERI) at University of Memphis, and John  
Baldwin and Robert Givler of William Lettis and Associates, will study  
seismic hazards from poorly understood faults located near the famed  
New Madrid Seismic Zone that produced three large earthquakes in 1811  
and 1812. Chris Cramer, also of CERI, will analyze the accuracy of  
ground motion calculations, contributing to an urban hazard mapping  
project in St. Louis.

At Brown University in Providence, RI, Terry Tullis and David Goldsby  
are sliding simulated faults at high speed in the laboratory to  
measure how fault friction changes during earthquakes. The results  
will give insight into how damaging seismic waves are produced.

Lee Liberty of Boise State University will study the underground  
structure of the Mount Rose fault, which runs beneath the Reno/Carson  
City metropolitan area and is considered one of the most hazardous  
faults in Nevada.

For a complete list of funded projects and reports, visit the  
Earthquake Hazards Program, External Research Support Web site.

The USGS is the applied earth science component of the four-agency  
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), a  
congressionally established partnership to implement research and  
reduce losses from earthquake disasters.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information,  
visit www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS
feed.

**** www.usgs.gov ****

Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of  
publication.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.iris.washington.edu/pipermail/bulkmail/attachments/20090501/c22c27e1/attachment.htm>