Advanced Studies Institute Underway in Dominican Republic

An Advanced Studies Institute for post-docs and graduate students is taking place July 15-25, 2013, in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. During the two-week session, participants who already have mastered the fundamentals of seismology will begin collaborating in frontier seismological research. The objectives of this institute are to:

• Develop an understanding of the principles of earthquake hazard analysis, particularly site characterization techniques, and
• Facilitate future research collaborations

The first few days of the program, New Frontiers in Geophysical Research: Bringing New Tools and Techniques to Bear on Earthquake Hazard Analysis and Mitigation, included overviews on the fundamentals of earthquake hazard analysis and lectures on the theory behind methods of site characterization. Participants then learned how to acquire data for site characterization using instrumentation provided for their use and practicing on the grounds of the hotel property. This was followed by actual field work within the city of Santo Domingo. Upon completion of the field activities, the participants will perform computer-based analyses of the data they collected and present their results to the entire group.

The Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes Program is funded jointly by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

Participants become acquainted with seismic equipment before beginning field activities.

Participants generate vibrations that are recorded by the seismic sensors.

Instruments are deployed at various locations around Santo Domingo to collect data.

Red symbols indicate areas around Santo Domingo where participants conducted field activities to collect data.

PASI Instructors, left to right, Top Row: Jay Pulliam (Baylor University), Eugenio Polanco (Univ. Autonoma de Santo Domingo). Bottom Row: John Louie (University of Nevada, Reno), Victor Huérfano (PRSN, Puerto Rico Seismic Network)