HR: 1340h
AN: ED43A-0838    [Abstracts]
TI: Discovery Along the San Andreas Fault: Relocating Photographs From the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties
AU: Grove, K
EM: kgrove@sfsu.edu
AF: San Francisco State University, Dept. of Geosciences, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Prentice, C
EM: cprentice@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025 United States
AU: * Polly, J
EM: jonathon_polly@pacbell.net
AF: San Francisco State University, Dept. of Geosciences, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Yuen, C
ED43A-0838 AF: Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Rd., San Francisco, CA 94134
AU: Wu, K
ED43A-0838 AF: Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Rd., San Francisco, CA 94134
AU: Zhong, S
ED43A-0838 AF: Balboa Academic High School, 1000 Cayuga St., San Francisco, CA 94112 United States
AU: Lopez, J
ED43A-0838 AF: Burton Academic High School, 400 Mansell Rd., San Francisco, CA 94134
AB: April of 2006 will mark the 100-year anniversary of the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This earthquake was important not only because of its human tragedy (thousands of dead or homeless people), but also because of its scientific significance. The 8.3 magnitude earthquake ruptured 430 km of the northern San Andreas fault (SAF) and lasted nearly one minute. Investigations after the earthquake led to discoveries that were the beginning of modern earthquake theories and measuring instruments. This was also one of the first large-scale natural disasters to be photographed. Our research group, which is part of the National Science Foundation funded SF-ROCKS program, acquired photographs that were taken shortly after the earthquake in downtown San Francisco and along the SAF in San Mateo County. The SAF photos are part of a Geographical Information System (GIS) database being published on a U.S. Geological Survey web site. The goal of our project was to improve estimates of photograph locations and to compare the landscape features that were visible after the earthquake with the landscape that we see today. We used the GIS database to find initial photo locations, and we then used a high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure the geographic coordinates of the locations once we matched our view to what we saw in a photo. Where possible, we used a digital camera to retake photos from the same position, to show the difference in the landscape 100 years later. The 1906 photos show fault zone features such as ground rupture, sag ponds, shutter ridges, and offset fences. Changes to the landscape since 1906 have included erosion and grading of the land, building of houses and other structures, and more tree cover compared to previous grassland vegetation. Our project is part of 1906 Earthquake Centennial activities; it is contributing to the photo archive that helps scientists and engineers who study earthquakes and their effects. It will also help the general public to better understand the environment where they live, and will remind them to be prepared for the next earthquake that will certainly come to the San Francisco Bay Area.
UR: http://sf-rocks.sfsu.edu/
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0855 Diversity
DE: 7250 Transform faults
DE: 8111 Continental tectonics: strike-slip and transform
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005