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1906 earthquake
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The 1906 earthquake revolutionized seismology in California.
The post-earthquake investigation involved most members of
what was then the Department of Geology at the University
of California. Professor Andrew Lawson, then head of the
Department, chaired the State Earthquake Investigation
Commission. The Lawson report, published by the
Carnegie Institution in 1908, is an exhaustive compilation
of detailed reports from more than twenty contributing
scientists on the earthquake's damage, the movement on
the San Andreas fault, the seismograph records of the
earthquake from around the world, and the underlying
geology in northern California. The report is still the standard to which
earthquake reports are compared today.
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Professor Andrew Lawson
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The 1906 earthquake also gave rise to the creation of the
Seismological Society of America.
Professor George
Louderback
of the University of California served as the first secretary.
The Seismological Society of America continues to serve as a
professional society for seismologists around the world.
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SSA Medal
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Although recorded on six of the original ten stations in
Holden's California System, the 1906 earthquake also highlighted
the need for additional seismic stations with modern equipment.
Professor Fusakichi Omori of Japan visited California following
the earthquake and he provided a two-component, horizontal
pendulum tromometer which was installed at the Student's Observatory.
The first record from these instruments is dated June 15, 1906.
In 1910, the seismographs donated by Professor Omori were replaced with
two Bosch-Omori 100 kg horizontal and an 80 kg Weichert vertical seismographs
(these instruments operated until 1961).
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Professor Fusakichi Omori
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In 1907, William Randolph Hearst made a generous gift in order to
improve the quality of seismic instrumentation at Lick Observatory.
The Hearst gift was used to purchase a 200 kg horizontal and 80 kg vertical
Weichert seismographs, installed in 1911. The instruments on display
here are the horizontal Weichert seismographs from Lick Observatory. These
instruments were relocated to McCone Hall for display by Director Bruce Bolt
in 1978.
Copyright 1995-2005, The Regents of the University of California.
Last modified: Wed Sep 17 09:20:44 PDT 2008
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