The San Andreas Fault, at the boundary of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, is the largest and most famous of California’s seismic faults, though others abound throughout the state. Speculation over when and where the next big earthquake will hit is not only fodder for Hollywood, but also serious business for researchers, engineers, and policymakers.
Scientists at the Southern California Earthquake Center are looking into the questions of the next quake’s when and where—and what the resulting ground motion will be. Led by Tom Jordan at the University of Southern California, the SCEC is a collaboration comprising more than 600 researchers from 60 institutions worldwide. Among the SCEC’s projects is TeraShake, which uses the computing and data-handling resources of the San Diego Supercomputer Center to simulate ruptures along the southern San Andreas Fault and other regional seismic events. From an underground perspective facing south (into the page), this...
