Program Name
Nevada
Educational Seismic Network
Administering Agency
Nevada
Earthquake Safety Council and Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool
Contact Person (Name/Title)
Jim
O’Donnell
(Nevada
Earthquake Safety Council)
and
Wayne Carlson
(Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool)
Address
661
Del Prado Drive, Boulder City, NV 89005
(NESC)
1761 E. College Parkway, Ste 113, Carson City, NV 89706 (NPAIP)
Telephone Number
702/293-5664
(O’Donnell) &
775/883-7863 (Carlson)
Fax Number
702/895-3936
(O’Donnell) &
775/883-7398 (Carlson)
Two members of
the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council, Jim O'Donnell, retired seismologist
and adjunct faculty member in the Geoscience Department at the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and Wayne Carlson, Nevada Public Agency Insurance
Pool, working on behalf of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council and with
the help of others, have created an educational seismic network with
innovative equipment and low costs. The program started in 1999 and
continues to grow today.
In 1999 the
Nevada Earthquake Safety Council provided funds (from FEMA and the Nevada
Division of Emergency Management) for Jim O'Donnell and Clay Crow to upgrade
UNLV's campus seismograph, which was a single-component instrument with
analog recording, to three long-period seismometers using digital data that
enable epicenter location and magnitude determination.
In 2000, the
Nevada Earthquake Safety Council funded Jim and Clay to develop and build
six seismograph systems for installation in Las Vegas high schools. The
seismographs are capable of recording local and regional earthquakes with
accurate timing and software to locate epicenters and determine magnitudes.
They are being used in "hands-on-science" experiments, and they
help to promote broader earthquake education and awareness for students and
the local community.
In 2000, the
Nevada Public Insurance Agency Pool, with the help of Wayne Carlson,
contributed additional funds for Jim O'Donnell and Ken Smith, seismologist
with the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno,
to develop and build inexpensive seismographs for use in rural Nevada
schools. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding UNLV's
geophysicist, Cathy Snelson, also a volunteer member of the Nevada
Earthquake Safety Council, to deploy urban seismographs in three Las Vegas
high schools.
The seismographs
at the three UNLV sites, nine Las Vegas high schools, and 14 rural sites are
being connected by the Internet to form the Nevada Educational Seismic
Network. The seismographs
motivate students to develop interests in science, mathematics, and
engineering, and they provide opportunities for hands-on experiments that
are consistent with the Nevada Education Standards and the National Science
Education Standards.
