CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SCIENTISTS
ASSESS EARLY DATA FROM RECENT PARKFIELD QUAKE
SACRAMENTO – Data collected by the California Department of Conservation during the September 28 magnitude 6.0 Parkfield earthquake has yielded some surprising results that ultimately may help scientists and engineers improve public safety.
Acting State Geologist Michael Reichle, head of DOC's California Geological Survey, said: "We're getting some very interesting data, a change in the typical patterns we see in earthquakes. A lot of people in the scientific community are going to be excited about this information."
Only a small portion of the data collected from 44 CGS and 10 United States Geological Survey stations scattered around the Monterey County village – instruments that have been waiting since 1982 for the San Andreas fault to rumble -- has been analyzed.
"So far, the data shows that there's more complexity in the near-fault area than we ever could have guessed," said Anthony Shakal, Supervising Geologist for CGS' Strong Motion Instrumentation Program. "This means that with careful analysis, we can improve our understanding of ground shaking near the fault, which in turn could lead to changes in the building codes and engineering design practices."

• CGS Parkfield Report