Arizona State University researchers are focusing on earthquake activity and seismic data, despite Arizona not being located on a tectonic plate boundary. The university highlighted this work in an April 10 announcement, noting that earthquakes have occurred in the state, including the strongest recorded event in 1887 with a magnitude of 7.5 near the southeastern Arizona-Mexico border.
The importance of studying earthquakes is emphasized by both local hazards and the proximity of major fault lines like California’s San Andreas Fault. As infrastructure expands in Arizona, understanding potential risks becomes more critical for public safety and planning.
Ramon Arrowsmith, interim director and professor at ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, said, “They do happen, and we need to be able to explain them. There’s more and more infrastructure everywhere, and so therefore, earthquakes that used to not matter, matter more now.” He added that local expertise is necessary to assess hazards related to facilities such as nuclear power plants: “There’s nuclear power plants and dams, now also semiconductor plants. We need to have expertise locally to understand what some of these hazards are and have an informed understanding locally.”
Arrowsmith co-founded the OpenTopography project with Assistant Research Professor Chelsea Scott. This initiative offers high-resolution topography data for research purposes. Arrowsmith has also studied seismic risks facing important sites like Palo Verde Generating Station west of Phoenix. “One of the biggest hazards to Palo Verde is the earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault — even though they’re farther away — because the sources are bigger and the recurrence rate of those earthquakes is more frequent,” he said.
ASU’s efforts extend globally through projects such as ADEPT led by Professor Ed Garnero. This database collects international seismogram logs for use by scientists worldwide. Garnero said: “Our group initiated a project to collect every freely available seismogram on the planet… The whole other side of seismology is understanding earthquakes and earthquake processes. Those are societally really important.” He added that increasing access to global data will help improve scientific knowledge about how seismic waves travel through Earth.
According to a press release, ASU collaborates with tech startup Argos Vision on ‘smart’ traffic cameras in Phoenix designed to improve safety through passive data collection.
Additionally, Arizona State University was named number one in innovation for eight consecutive years by U.S News & World Report based on nominations from higher education leaders.
Garnero described ASU as a hub for geophysics research: “We’re a top program for interiors research because of the critical mass of faculty who are doing high-impact science.”
