Tip sheet for International Seismology Research Conference

Excavating for clues to past earthquakes, tracking extreme ocean storms, glimpsing past Soviet nuclear testing, and more discussed as seismologists gather in Santa Fe, New Mexico

SANTA FE – The Seismological Society of America (SSA) will convene its international annual meeting April 16 - 18 in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa and Hilton Hotel. More than 475 of the world’s leading seismologists are expected to attend and present their latest research. Registration for reporters will be located in the Eldorado Hotel (Concourse Level). The meeting is hosted by Los Alamos National Laboratory in cooperation with other Rio Grande institutions including New Mexico Tech, Sandia National Laboratory & University of Texas at El Paso.

Highlights of presentations follow, with indications of full news releases when available. Please note that this information is embargoed until the time and date of the overall session.

In order to contact scientists who may be at the SSA meeting, please contact Nan Broadbent at 408-431-9885 or .

The complete program and full news releases can be found on EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org) or requested by calling 408-431-9885 or writing .

Embargo times vary by presentation and are noted on each item (see below). Full program is attached to this news release.

HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESENTATIONS

What Lies Below the Rio Grande Rift?
Extensional Seismotectonics of the Rio Grande Rift and Its Margins
Embargoed for Thursday, April 16, 10:30 AM Eastern; Location: Hilton—Mesa A&B

The Rio Grande Rift, running from Colorado into Mexico, represents a dramatic thinning of the Earth’s crust, pulled apart from east to west beginning 35 million years ago. Rifting is the force behind New Mexico’s distinctive mountains and valleys along the Rio Grande, its ancient volcanic cones and the earthquake “swarms” in the central part of the state. But what was the cause of Rio Grande rifting, and is the land beneath New Mexican feet still on the move" Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico State University, the University of Colorado and other institutions will present an updated view of the Rift’s history and future. For instance, researchers believe that an ancient bit of the Earth’s crust called the Farallon Plate is buried deep below the region, and may be responsible in part for starting the Rift. There is some evidence that melting of the Farallon Plate could be responsible for seismic anomalies imaged by seismologists hundreds of kilometers below the region. Other researchers are targeting their observations on a huge body of magma underneath the Socorro area of New Mexico, probably responsible for the concentration of earthquakes in the state’s central region. New studies in the area suggest that the earthquake swarms can’t be explained by east-west rifting motions alone. And although the Rio Grande Rift has been monitored extensively by seismologists for more than 30 years, a new project using global positioning system (GPS) technology should help researchers answer the question: is the Rift still pulling apart"