4A • March 31, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Seismometer gives early
warning of ground motion
W
ho do you call when you need
to upgrade a seismometer?
That’s easy: the Pacifi c
Northwest Seismic Network,
a partner of the U.S. Geological Survey, the
University of Washington and the Universi-
ty of Oregon among others.
Mourning the
loss of good
friend Evelyn
Redkey
SCENE & HEARD
CLAIRE LOVELL
Editor’s note: Claire Lovell died March 15.
This column is reprinted from the May 8, 2003,
Seaside Signal.
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
The Seaside seismometer is one of many
along the coast of Oregon and Washington
to provide the ShakeAlert early warning
system. Hidden in an equipment room in
the back of the Seaside Museum and His-
torical Society, the seismometer may have
a crucial role in history of its own in the
not-so-distant future.
“A seismometer is an instrument that
detects ground motion in the form of accel-
eration of the ground itself,” the University
of Oregon’s fi eld technician and ShakeAlert
Project Manager Leland O’Driscoll said.
Is it a predictor?
“Not at all,” O’Driscoll said. “Prediction
is not currently feasible by science, so it is
strictly an observational tool.”
Can seismologists draw deductions from
the measurements?
“Yes, that’s the point,” he said. “When
we see energy arise that looks like an earth-
quake, fi rst we confi rm that it is. Then we
look at nearby sensors to have cross-ver-
ifi cation. Once we have that, we measure
the size and location of the earthquake’s
epicenter.”
Early warning
The ShakeAlert program began in 2006
and fi rst sent alerts to test users in 2012.
When ShakeAlert detects a quake, a
map pops up on a user’s screen to show
the location of the epicenter and of waves
moving toward the user. Also shown is the
time remaining until waves reach the user’s
location and an estimate of the intensity of
shaking.
“We can provide an advance warning
that earthquake will be arriving at a remote
location during an event,” O’Driscoll said.
“What this will facilitate is a warning to
a user that they can have tens of seconds
or minutes before ground motion actually
starts.”
If it happened here, we wouldn’t have
much time. But if it happened in the north-
ern California region, O’Driscoll said, we’d
have roughly 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to react.
This early warning — although hardly
enough time to make a run for it — could
be life-saving if broadcast to hospitals,
building operations teams and other critical
personnel.
“The concept of 10 seconds of advance
ground motion is daunting when thinking
what can I do,’” O’Driscoll said. “But
when you think of multiple minutes, you
have more options. Hospitals can say ‘stop
LEFT, Members of
the Pacifi c Northwest
Seismic Network seek to
provide an early warning
system through the data
streaming through this
seismometer located in
the Seaside Museum.
ABOVE, Leland O’Driscoll
of the Pacifi c Northwest
Seismic Network.
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
surgery.’ An elevator can open its doors
before ground motion.”
Upgrade
O’Driscoll and his team arrived in Sea-
side earlier this month equipped with tools,
wires and equipment to upgrade the original
seismometer at the museum, installed in
2004. All were affi liated with the Pacifi c
Northwest Seismic Network, with head-
quarters at the University of Washington
and operations support at the University of
Oregon in Eugene.
In a rear room behind the museum
library, geophysicist Lynn Simmons,
research engineer Marc Biundo and fi eld
technician Brendan Pratt upgraded the
strong motion accelerometer, a sensor that
measures acceleration like a speedometer
measures speed, including motion so subtle
only precise, specialized can record it. This
information is fed by the seismometer to a
live data feed.
Outside, standing on a ladder near the
back of the museum building, fi eld tech-
nician Sara Meyer worked with outreach
coordinator Lindsey Walsh to upgrade the
unit’s global positioning satellite.
Data is fi ltered by sensors that compare
results of other seismometers to determine
if shaking is due to an earthquake or some
other factor, like a jackhammer or truck.
If sensors respond all along the coast,
“We know we have an earthquake,”
O’Driscoll said.
Network growth
The network started at University of
Washington in the 1970s. After the Mount
St. Helens eruption in 1980, the network
“dramatically expanded,” O’Driscoll said.
Now there’s a seismometer every 20 miles
from southern Oregon to the northern
Washington border. In Cannon Beach, a
seismometer is stored in an IT room at the
fi rehouse.
Locations are “very tricky,” Biundo
said. “Where’s the power? Where’s the sig-
nal? How do you get the electrical energy
to power it?”
In case of a power outage, a four-day
battery accompanies the installation.
For decades now the network has tracked
seismicity, including tectonic earthquakes
generated by faults and Cascadia Subduction
Zone quakes where the fault zone is off-
shore.
Seismometers charted the 1993 Salem
“Spring Break Quake” and the 6.8 magnitude
Nisqually Quake of 2001 in the southern
Puget Sound region.
The Seaside site was chosen by the
University of Washington. The original
communications director knew Seaside’s city
planner at the time, O’Driscoll said. “It was
chosen because there’s internet access on
site, there’s a quiet room on the side of the
building, and there’s a need to have a sensor
in Seaside.”
Costs to complete the earthquake early
warning system are estimated at $36 million,
O’Driscoll said, and an additional $16 mil-
lion for ongoing operations.
If sensors are to be installed on the ocean
bottom or offshore, “we’re looking at the or-
der of $200 million to $300 million,” he said.
“I’d like the public to know we’re
building out a system that will build out the
resiliency to lead to earthquake preparedness
in the state,” O’Driscoll said. “As soon as we
learn what to do with this advance warning
for a quake, we can take effective actions to
reduce the loss of life and reduce the loss of
property and damage.”
While we live in a hazardous region, the
programs offer steps to living in a safer and
more resilient region.
Meanwhile, the team is looking to expand
the network.
“We go as fast as we can,” O’Driscoll
said. “There’s a series of stages. Finding
good viable locations, permits, going through
the avenues, all the prep — we can put in a
dozen new sensors a year. We have a goal of
15 to 20 sensors this year to reach our fi nal
goal of density.”
What books have changed your life?
I
f you grew up as a reader, chances are
that different books appealed to you at
different times of your life. In thinking
back through my life time of reading, there
were some pivotal books that either changed
my thinking, opened up new worlds, or just
in general made me happier because I read
them. What are some pivotal books you
may think of in your life?
The Bible is the fi rst book that comes to
my mind since I was read to from it ever
since I was very little. I got my fi rst library
card when I was eight years old at the As-
toria Public Library and growing up I read
through pretty much the entire children’s
room section of the Astoria Library. Some
of my favorite books when I was really little
were the Mercer Mayer wordless books.
There is one called “hiccup” involving hic-
cups and a hippo that is particularly funny,
the illustration sell this story, with only one
word repeated in the whole book and you
can probably guess from the title what that
is. I also loved a book called “Chameleon
was a Spy” by Diane Redfi eld Massie.
Obviously chameleons with their ability to
blend in make for naturally talented spies
and when it comes to the world’s best pickle
recipe, this Chameleon is on the job. Miss
Rumphius by Barbara Cooney was my
favorite simply for its illustrations. I wanted
to live inside the covers of this book! When
I got a little older, Little House in the Big
Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder was one
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
David F. Pero
R.J. Marx
BETWEEN
THE COVERS
ESTHER MOBERG
of my favorite books. My favorite in the
entire series was that of Farmer Boy. The
descriptions of farm life seemed idyllic and
perfect and I was happy to read them, very
far removed from real life dirt and dust and
smelly pigs! I also enjoyed the Miss Pick-
erell series which I think is out of print now.
Miss Pickerell was a wacky lady who some-
how seemed to have a knack for solving
the weirdest and wildest situations. By this
time I had also stumbled on to all the books
written by L. Frank Baum who wrote the
Wizard of Oz, and Howard Pyle, each full
of magic in their own way. Howard Pyle
books are no longer popular but I would
describe them as original heroic or fairy tale
stories. Knights and fairies galloped through
these stories. My sister and I defi nitely went
through a period growing up where we
devoured fairy tales. We would each take
home one of the Andrew Lang fairy books,
each named for a different color, read it,
then trade. I can remember laying upside
down in an easy chair reading through doz-
ens of fairy tales.
As I grew older, mysteries became my
favorite reading. The Three Investigators,
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Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, and
many other mysteries series I devoured. I
moved into the teen section of the library
and discovered Cynthia Voigt’s “Jackaroo”
and Rosemary Sutcliff’s “The Mark of the
Horse Lord.” For some reason at that point
nobody was writing mysteries for teenagers
so I started reading all of Agatha Christie’s
mysteries, Ellery Queen, and Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle.
Some of the books that changed me
for life included “Anne of Green Gables”
by L.M. Montgomery, “The Count of
Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas, “Les
Miserables” by Victor Hugo, and “The
Princess Bride” by William Goldman. If I
were stranded on a desert island, I would
probably wish I had at least these books
with me! Anne of Green Gables taught me
it was okay to have imagination although
sometimes too much imagination can lead
to disaster. The Count of Monte Cristo
showed me that revenge can eat away your
soul and sometimes forgiveness is best. Les
Miserables showed me that man can tri-
umph over his life, no matter the hardships,
and the Princess Bride just made me fall in
love with fairy tales and storytelling all over
again. My list of books I love could go on
forever but these books impacted me per-
haps in some of the best and deepest ways
and these are books that I enjoy reading
over again and they still speak to me or lose
me in their stories.
STAFF WRITER
Brenna Visser
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
H
appy May Day! I should have hung a
woven basket on your front door knob
with a few posies in it.
You knew I wouldn’t like those trees plant-
ed in the middle of the sidewalk, didn’t you?
How many other items do we need to run into
while we’re trying to take a walk — besides
people, that is?
We went to visit John at the hospital on
Tuesday and Lynda directed us to the best
restaurant close to Portland — something
about sweet tomatoes. It was mostly salad with
dozens of elements to toss together and many
kinds of dressing. There was also a pasta corner
with soups, chili and chowder. And fi nally des-
serts, which I skipped. It was great. There was
just one drawback. They were quick to pick up
your dishes and utensils while you still needed
them. It was a pleasant atmosphere too and the
employees were attentive and courteous. I can
surely recommend it.
Some handy workmen at the Episcopal vicar-
age cleaned out the old fence and ivy at the back
entrance, opened up the whole space and made it
look so much better. With two more pickets for
the remaining fence, it will be practically perfect.
A house on the prom has a fence which I
thought was a new enamel paint job. On closer
examination, it turned out to be plastic! It looks
good now, but how long will it last?
I guess it was the Elks’ Convention under-
way when those people were in and out at the
convention center. There was no information on
the crappy sign but its rarely readable anyway
and the chamber reader board had a line or two.
I hope they have good weather.
During my walk I noted that blackberry
runners are beginning to take over on the plant-
ed section at the south west end of the First
Avenue Pearl Harbor Bridge.
Hey, we can’t have that!
In two separate places, I found robins’
eggshells, although I don’t have many birds
around my home, some of them are nesting.
Compared to hummingbirds, robins lay a pretty
good sized egg.
On the Real Arbor Day, April 25, several
members of the Sou’Wester Garden Club gath-
ered near the tennis court in Gearhart to plant
their copper beech tree on the east side. These
are long-lived deciduous trees and Doris Sno-
dgrass donated this particular specimen which
she won at a previous garden raffl e. It was
getting too big for its pot. Shirley See, pres-
ident of the club, explained a little about the
origin of Arbor Day. It was a day for the public
planting of trees in Nebraska and through J.
Sterling Morton, president of the State Board
of Agriculture, the idea was established in 1885
as a legal holiday in Nebraska. The idea spread
rapidly throughout the U.S. and almost every
state and territory now celebrates the idea of
such a day or legal or school holiday.
In Gearhart, a plaque at the site commemo-
rated the event and will be placed in cement.
My dear friend Evelyn Redkey died Sunday
morning, April 27, after a protracted illness with
many setbacks. Ravaged by symptoms which
did not seem to respond to treatment, here last
weeks for everyone were diffi cult to watch and
for her to endure. The many prayers sent up for
her were pulling against the obvious fact that it
was time for her to go. She’d had several sur-
geries — none minor — and approached each
one with courage and determination.
Evelyn and I were going the same direction
from 6th grade when her family arrived in
Seaside from Canada. We did our homework
together and her dad Duncan Stewart became
a surrogate father for me, although her mother
Mary was also very dear and had a profound
infl uence on my life. June Petersen, Evelyn and
I were all born the same year, had the fi rst name
Evelyn and played a little game as to who was
oldest and Evelyn had that privilege. We wish
we could have celebrated another birthday again
in June but will remember her when it comes.
I’ll miss my regular “tea times” with Evelyn
although no one should be sad that her misery
is over or that her daughters can return to their
own lives with their children and grandchil-
dren. They’ve been so faithful. Evelyn was a
wonderful lady and brought much joy to the
world. Our sincere sympathies to all loved
ones and friends who mourn her loss. She’ll be
missed for a long time.
Claire Lovell passed away March 15, 2017.
She was a native of Seaside and was a columnist
with the Seaside Signal for 27 years.
Seaside Signal
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