SLU Earthquake Center

Students and faculty in Saint Louis University’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science have made significant contributions to the field of earthquake seismology and to earthquake hazards, especially in the Midwest.

SLU’s Earthquake Center promotes this research on a regular basis utilizing cutting-edge technology, faculty-student collaboration and partnerships with major geological organizations.

How It Works

A network of seismometers is operated and maintained by the Earthquake Center, which is part of a regional network to monitor seismicity of the New Madrid seismic zone and a global network to monitor seismicity around the world. The center is also host to many graduate students and some undergraduate students.

For more information, contact Robert Herrmann, Ph.D. For further information on the Earthquake Center's history and current real-time seismograms: www.eas.slu.edu/eqc/

Seismic Network

The Saint Louis University seismic network is supported through a cooperative agreement with the United States Geological Survey to provide a stream of calibrated digital seismic data as a component of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS).

The seismic network uses two types of sensors: acceleration and broadband. The difference is that the first is a low sensitivity instrument designed to capture very large earthquake motions on scale, while the second provides on-scale recordings of small local and large distance earthquakes.

The SLU component of the ANSS monitors a broad region of the central United States where significant earthquakes have occurred in the past 200 years. In addition, accelerometers operate in local urban areas to record motions of engineering significance.