Colin Amos

Title Authored on Link to edit Content
Earthquake research center preps for ‘The Big One’

Major earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest are fairly uncommon, yet a significant threat looms: “The Big One” is an anticipated earthquake of magnitude 8 or higher.

And it could happen any day.

This projected earthquake — which would occur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone…

2023-09-25
Earthquake research center to prep PNW for impending disaster

Major earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest are fairly uncommon, yet a significant threat looms: “The Big One” is an anticipated earthquake of magnitude 8 or higher.  

And it could happen any day.  

This projected earthquake — which would occur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone…

2023-09-15
Finding Fault(s): Geologists Keep Finding More Nearby Earthquake Makers

Shallow, active earthquake faults are being discovered all over Oregon and Washington state. Collectively, these may present a higher risk than the better known offshore Cascadia subduction zone.

There's a line on a map for an active earthquake fault running through the forested…

2017-11-21
Should Southern California Be Shaken by the Recent Quake Warning?

Last week, a swarm of 200 small earthquakes rumbled under the Salton Sea, a saline lake in Southern California. Although only three of the quakes measured above 4.0 on the Richter scale, seismologists worry that these temblors may portend a more dramatic earthquake…

2016-10-04
North California quake: 160 people injured

A study, led by geologist Colin Amos from Western Washington University and published earlier this year in a journal, Nature, showed a possible link between earthquakes and the drought in the state, and found that a lack of water in the San Joaquin Valley is decreasing the weight on the San…

2014-08-25
63 trillion gallons of groundwater lost in drought, study finds

The U.S. Drought Monitor has declared much of California to be in a state of "exceptional drought."

According to the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev., 2013 was California's driest in 119 years of records, and Los Angeles and other cities around the state…

2014-08-25
If California's Drought Wasn't Scary Enough, Now It May Trigger Earthquakes

California’s drought has reached epic proportions. Nearly 60 percent of the state is in exceptional drought—the most severe category—and farmers are depleting groundwater reserves at record rates as wildfires break out north and south.

Now there’s something else to worry about:…

2014-08-04
California Expected to Set Water Restrictions

In an attempt to help curb the impact of a three-year drought, California is likely to soon issue a first-time mandatory water restriction.

The California State Water Resources Control Board is expected to pass the emergency measure Tuesday, as reservoirs across…

2014-07-16
Amos to discuss research on earthquakes, groundwater use May 16 on campus 2014-05-15
Pulling Water Out of the Ground May Lead to Quakes on the San Andreas Fault

Earthquakes happen every day as the world’s tectonic plates slip, slide, crash and spread. Most are small or happen far away from people. And though scientists have named the faults where most of this action happens, people rarely pay attention unless a major earthquake occurs. One fault,…

2014-05-15
Subscribe to Colin Amos