The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory conducts essential research on earthquakes and solid earth processes while collecting and delivering high quality geophysical data.

We provide robust earthquake and hazard information including real-time alerts to the public, in collaboration with our partners.

We enable the broad consumption of earthquake information by everyone while educating and training students at all levels and from all backgrounds.

Automatic event detection around October 2022 Mw5 San Jose earthquake.

SeaFOAM: A Year‐Long DAS Deployment in Monterey Bay, California

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is being explored in a variety of environments as a promising technology for the recording of seismic signals in...

Photo of smartphone with earthquake alert

California earthquake puts early warning system to the test

As sensors picked up the first signs of a strong earthquake jolting the Northern California coast, an alert was blasted to 3 million smartphone users telling them to “drop, cover, hold on.” It was hailed as the biggest test yet of the warning system since its public launch.

Map of delivery times delivered by ShakeAlert

From ShakeAlert to smartphones: Earthquake Early Warning now and beyond

Getting notifications to people in the event of an earthquake is a key component of earthquake early warning systems. Apps like MyShake and companies like Google are leading the way.

Dr. Harriet C.P. Lau wins Packard Foundation Fellowship

Dr. Harriet C.P. Lau wins Packard Foundation Fellowship

Dr. Harriet C.P. Lau received a 2022 Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering. Lau and her research group will use this generous award to better understand how mantle and crustal deformation influences Earth's climate system over vast timescales.

Dr. Strauss Interview

Shake Alert: Earthquake preparedness w/ Dr. Jennifer Strauss

Dr. Jennifer Strauss discusses earthquake preparedness and how the new Shake Alert system can give emergency response just enough notice to begin preparing to respond.

SF rubble

How San Francisco was devastated by the 1906 earthquake

On April 18, 1906, an earthquake and the fires that followed leveled San Francisco. But from the rubble came advancements in earthquake science and preparedness.

Postdoc Mosaic

Meet the BSL Postdocs!

What unites them is a common goal to innovate and push boundaries. The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory is honored to welcome these burgeoning scientists on their research journeys.

Asymmetric Inner Core

Is Earth's Core Lopsided? Strange Goings-on in Our Planet's Interior

For reasons unknown, Earth’s solid-iron inner core is growing faster on one side than the other, and it has been ever since it started to freeze out from molten iron more than half a billion years ago, according to a new study by seismologists at the University of California, Berkeley. The faster growth under Indonesia’s...