Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, or PNSN, operates seismograph stations and locates earthquakes in Washington and Oregon. The network is funded by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Energy, and the State of Washington. This organization collects and studies ground motions from about 250 seismometers in Oregon and Washington so they can determine volcanic and tectonic activity, and give advice and information. The PNSN also works to mitigate earthquake hazard.
Damaging earthquakes are well known in the Pacific Northwest, including several larger than magnitude 7. In 1965, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook the Seattle, Washington, area causing substantial damage and seven deaths. This event spurred the installation of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) in 1969 to monitor regional earthquake activity. It started with 5 seismographs, and has been run in succession by Rob Crosson, Steve Malone, and then John Vidale.
Earthquakes are recorded frequently on Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, and Mount Hood. After successfully using seismic activity to predict volcanic eruptions at Mount St. Helens, monitoring was expanded to other Cascade volcanos. The PNSN now monitors seismicity at all of the Cascade volcanos in Washington and Oregon in conjunction with the Cascade Volcano Observatory of the USGS.
The Network operates from the Earth and Space Sciences Department at the University of Washington in Seattle, and its data achiving is aided by the Data Management Center of IRIS Consortium in Seattle. The name was shortened from Seismographic to Seismic in 2006.
