A strong earthquake rattled Japan today and caused some intense shaking in the Fukushima region. The quake had a magnitude of 7.3 and occurred at a depth of ~30 km. A tsunami warning was issued immediately, but until now (11:30 CET) it looks like no waves were created. more

So many things are said to cause earthquakes, things have become a little complex during the last years. For many people it might be hard to remember all of them and you will probably ask yourself “What can I do to avoid finding myself having caused a seismic event by accident?” Here’s help. I prepared a list with no claim to completeness of things that might cause earthquakes. Some are already well-known, some were suprising to me. Recently, chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s against equal taxation for gay and straight couples. I guess this can only be interpretetd as an attempt to minimize seismic hazard in Germany, everything else would be ridiculous…

What’s your favorite? What’s missing? more

Again, several job offers were spread during the last week, and here they are:

more

Matthew’s WoGE #364 took us far out to South Georgia and on the Neumayer glacier – a phantastic example of rapid glacier retreat due to changing sea water temperatures. As you might immediately see from my image, I want to take you to a more comfortable area, but with some nice geology, too. Here’s the quiz:  more

Several mails with job offers reached me during the last days, so here’s the collection.

more

The deadline for the EGU 2013 meeting is approaching, so if you want to submit an abstract or if you plan to apply for a grant, now is the time. I would like to draw your attention to the following sessions again, which are the closest to earthquake geology, I think. Deadlines are November 30 for Support Applications and January 9 for receipt of Abstracts. more

After the great reports of Raúl and Pedro from the fieldtrip, I just want to say thank you to the organizers again. I also want to share a few photos. See you all in Aachen, 2013! more

The following two reports are from the fieldtrip to lake Patzcuaro by our friends Pedro Huerta and Raúl Pérez López. This excursion marked the end of the Morelia2012 workshop on Active Tectonics, Paleoseismology and Archaeoseismology. more

Buenos dias! This is an update from the last day of presentations, tomorrow there will be a field excursion to the Patzcuaro area (1858 eq event). Unfortunately Christoph and I cannot join the field trip, because we booked already our flights for Friday. But we will keep you informed. Are you wondering what the title photo is?

more

Good morning y ¡buenos días! from Mexico. The second day with scientific sessions is about to start, and after a fuerte breakfast with beans, tortillas, fruits and Mexican coffee we will move to the Centro Cultural Universitario to listen to the talks. The first morning session will focus on Seismic Hazard: Applications, Engineering and Critical Facilities. The second session is dedicated to Archaeoseismology. In the afternoon, an excursion to the historic city center of Morelia will deal with anti-seismic structures in buildings. more