A massive rupture on the Seattle fault, which runs right under the Seattle metro area, could threaten millions and cause billions of dollars of damage. But it’s not just the biggest quakes scientists are concerned about. 🧪 eos.org/articles/on-...
A black and white photograph showing earthquake damage to the cupola of the Legislative Building in Olympia, with wooden braces and rope from the repairs.
A black and white photo showing earthquake damage to the Old Capitol Building in Olympia, with workmen, scaffolding, and a crane visible.
A black and white photograph showing a man working on a truck, a car partially crushed by fallen bricks in front of a large brick smokestack, and a damaged wood-frame building.
A black and white photograph of two boys looking at earthquake damage, including fallen brick and masonry, in front of the New Governor Hotel on Capitol Way in Olympia.
77 years ago—on April 13, 1949—a deep M6.7 earthquake shook up western Washington. Photographs from the Washington State Archives show some of the damage to Olympia. Similar earthquakes struck again in 1965 & 2001, and we are likely to see another in the next few decades: pnsn.org/education/pn...
A high school science classroom, with a few rows of students sitting in desks facing the front. At the front, a member of the CCASE team points towards a TV showing seismic activity at Lumen Field during a Seahawks game. Two other team members stand nearby watching.
Six people stand at the side of a forested road smiling and holding garden tools, next to a tsunami evacuation route sign that points towards a trail going into the forest. One man in the foreground stands in a running pose, pretending to run up the trail.
A close up shot of a few students' hands while they work on building structures out of plastic toy building materials. The structures sit on top of a wooden board that is designed to imitate an earthquake when manually shook.
Four people stand around a large map laid out on a school desk in a high school classroom. It is a topographical map of Neah Bay, with tsunami evacuation routes, evacuation time estimates, and tsunami inundation zones outlined.
Happy #Fieldwork Friday! Over UW's spring break, the Cascadia Culture and geoScience Exchange team visited Neah Bay High School to teach a week-long course on geohazards & preparedness. Read below to see how this program highlights the cross section between STEM & Makah culture!
The new Paros Geohazards Center at UW aims to better understand and mitigate environmental and geologic hazards. Its focus will be on developing new and emerging technologies that can help save lives in our communities.
https://bit.ly/4kKu8xs
@uwnews.uw.edu @uwess.bsky.social @pnsn1.bsky.social
A new #UWEnvironment study shows that the entirety of the Cascadia Subduction Zone may not be as tightly locked as researchers thought. This could change our understanding of how a big #earthquake might hit the #PNW.
https://bit.ly/4biTqPU
@uwnews.uw.edu @uwess.bsky.social @pnsn1.bsky.social
New study published in Science led by UW researchers including Marine Denolle and David Montgomery!
Eric Steig in a yellow parka holding an ice core from 1776 in a cold lab.
UW glaciologist Eric Steig was interviewed on the February 15 CBS Sunday Morning show. In the segment, "These United States: George Washington and climate change", Steig and CBS correspondent David Schechter looked at an ice core dating back to 1776, at the start of the American Revolution.
ESS, including the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, is one of the Center's core units. Very exciting!
Eight projects have received support in the first round of Collaborative Research in Earth System Science and Technology (CRESST) funding, totaling nearly $10 million in new funding for research.
https://bit.ly/4a4MTGY
@uwnews.uw.edu @uwess.bsky.social
Promotional banner for the Environmental Career Fair at the University of Washington's College of the Environment, featuring diverse individuals engaged in environmental activities. Event details: February 12th, from 12-3 PM at HUB North Ballroom.
The UW Environmental Career Fair is happening on campus February 12, and we hope to see you there! The event is open to all students, alumni and anyone in our community interested in environmental careers. See a list of employers:
https://bit.ly/45UYoQ7
@uwess.bsky.social @uwsafs.bsky.social
Today marks 326 years since the last #earthquake and #tsunami on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Our Hazards and Outreach Team experts take a moment to remind you about the hazard, but *most importantly* share what you can do to prepare for the next ones.
youtu.be/tTC6FRcr0Gg?...
Let's go Seahawks!! Check out this awesome graphic from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network recording exactly how excited the crowd got throughout yesterday's game.
A map of Lumen Field in Seattle, showing the seismic stations HWK1 at the ground level, HWK2, HWK3, HWK4, and HWK 5 at each corner of the stadium, and HWK6 up in the Hawk's Nest area.
Six PNSN staff members smile and pose on a deck in front of an empty stadium with the Seattle skyline in the background.
Curious about how the fans are going to shake the stadium at the Seahawks vs 49ers game this Saturday? Check out our blog on pnsn.org on how the seismometers PNSN installed in Lumen Field will monitor & report data live during the game! pnsn.org/blog/2026-se...
@KUOW.org's Libby Denkmann chats with PNSN Director and UW Professor, Harold Tobin, about the science behind the Seahawks seismic monitoring.
This graphic shows the Shaheed SpeedQuake seismogram and a comparison to the legendary BeastQuake.
www.kuow.org/stories/did-...
UW Magazine featured the installation of a new @pnsn1.bsky.social seismic station last August at Burley Mountain. It joined more than 700 other stations spanning WA and OR to monitor shaking from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions for the #ShakeAlert early warning system. https://bit.ly/4pidxlh
Looking for something to watch this weekend? Check out the new documentary film “The Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice,” which features @uwess.bsky.social Professor Eric Steig and others. Here's the backstory on Steig's involvement:
https://bit.ly/4pru9ru
@uwnews.uw.edu
Saturn’s biggest moon might not have a global ocean — but the search for life isn’t over. New research by @uwess.bsky.social NASA and others published in @nature.com
https://bit.ly/4p03GA8
@@uwnews.uw.edu
@agu.org honored five @uofwa.bsky.social faculty and researchers from the @uwess.bsky.social and atmospheric and climate science departments this week at the annual meeting in New Orleans.
White PNSN Suburban parked in front of Stehekin Lodge with "Welcome to Stehekin" sign in background.
3 people standing on deck with American flag overhead and Lake Chelan in background.
PNSN employee wearing grey sweatshirt standing on boat with lake and mountains in background.
PNSN staff working on seismic station with green pine trees in background.
For #FieldworkFriday, we want to extend our thoughts to those in Stehekin and throughout Washington who have been impacted by recent flooding. During our installation of DREAM this summer we met so many friendly, welcoming & helpful people in that unique and resilient community.
Portraits of five AGU Honors Awardees with diverse expressions and attire, arranged around a central purple banner that says 'Congrats to our AGU Honors Awardees'.
We are thrilled to celebrate five #UWEnvironment researchers who received awards from @agu.org this year! Clockwise from top left: Michelle Muth, Joshua Krissansen-Totton, Fang-Zhen Teng, Christopher Kenseth and Dale Durran.
https://bit.ly/4j7Ilna
@uwess.bsky.social @uwnews.uw.edu #AGU25
Two black-and-white photos of volcanologist David A. Johnston. Left: Johnston smiles beside a survey instrument mounted on a tripod near his USGS vehicle. Right: Johnston sits on a rock outcrop, examining a surface where “1928” is carved. Above is “University of Washington Earth and Space Sciences.” Below is text describing the David A. Johnston Memorial Fellowship Endowment.
Screenshot of a seismic monitoring interface showing earthquake epicenters plotted around Mount St. Helens, with yellow and black symbols against a satellite view of the crater. Text above reads “University of Washington Earth and Space Sciences,” with descriptive text about the Friends of Earthquakes Fund below.
At @uwess.bsky.social, the David A. Johnston Memorial Fellowship Endowment supports grad students in geology and geophysics, honoring the late USGS volcanologist and alum.
Friends of Earthquakes backs seismic research and monitoring networks like @pnsn1.bsky.social—crucial back in 1980 and today.
Researchers are testing a way to monitor marine mammals on a large scale, using an existing global network of previously dormant telecommunications cables:
https://bit.ly/4oh16p6
Panic is temporary...existential dread is forever
Some false reports are circulating that Mt. Rainier is suddenly showing seismic tremor activity — this is not true. The signal being referenced is actually radio interference, most likely due to rime ice buildup on the antenna of one of our seismic stations.
ESS alumna and Indiana University Bloomington Assistant Prof. Dr. Julia Kelson was awarded the Geological Society of America's prestigious Donath Medal (Young Scientist Award) for pioneering Earth science research. Kelson got her PhD from ESS in 2019, advised by Prof. Kate Huntington.
A photo of Troy Bolton putting a "T" necklace on Gabriella Montez. Gabriella asks ""T as in Troy?" and Troy answers in pure disgust "No Gabriella. "T" as in tsunamis have hot Washington before and they will hit Washington again, which is why we celebrate Tsunami Awareness Day and you should go to dnr.wa.gov to prepare."
Still waiting for someone to get me some tsunami awareness jewelry 👀
I guess I will just keep scrolling dnr.wa.gov/tsunamis while I wait
💡UW Bothell researchers are repurposing fiber-optic cables to monitor orcas in Puget Sound. Led by Shima Abadi, with ESS co-PIs Drs. Brad Lipovsky and Marine Denolle, this work could transform global cable networks into tools for marine conservation. 🐋
www.uwb.edu/news/2025/10...
A person stands next to the skeletal remains of a coral boulder.
Over 600 years ago, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeastern Caribbean. Flooding scattered coral boulder across the island. The corals died but their skeletons remain. Scientists are learning that these skeletons hold clues about tsunami history.
www.washington.edu/news/2025/10...
a historic tall ship in the ocean
If you're in #Seattle on Friday and want to get on board a historic tall ship, come visit us at Pier 66! We'll be aboard the Statsraad Lehmkuhl during One Ocean Week Seattle. Come see the boat, learn about ocean science, and say hi to us from #UWEnvironment!
Register: https://bit.ly/4o3TKpS
It's time! Where ever you are DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON. Take part with people all over the world in the Great ShakeOut and practice your earthquake safety!
