Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Participatory Earthquate Science

In order to create more engaged and open science it is important to create ways for non-scientists to participate in that science. Here is an example for Earthquake Science.

Last week we had an earthquake in Illinois. Although relatively minor and causing little damage, this event has been the talk of many conversations over the past week.

The U. S. Geological Survey has a very interesting way for people to report the impact of earthquakes as a way to collect scientific data about the impact of earthquakes. They also provide background information about how community intensity maps are developed and how this contributes to our understanding of earthquakes. The public can understand more about earthquakes and contribute to advancing earthquake science.

You can also find maps, notes about the history of earthquakes in the area and the basic information about why earthquakes occur in your region.

This is a good example of using a newsworthy event to teach people about science and to engage the public in helping to provide data that will expand our scientific data.

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