Seismology

Why do Earth’s hidden stress fields matter for our future? Let’s explore the latest insights from the World Stress Map database

Asmae Ourkiya July 17, 2026

World Stress Map 2025. Source: Patterns of contemporary horizontal stress orientation in the Earth's crust derived from the World Stress Map Database 2025

Beneath the serene landscapes we inhabit, the Earth’s crust is a battleground of constant, immense, and invisible tectonic forces. While humanity typically only notices this deep-seated stress when it violently releases in the form of an earthquake and volcanoes, these forces have always been shaping the structural bedrock of our planet. Understanding this hidden architecture is one of the most vi ...[Read More]

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Reflections from seismologist Simona Gabrielli

Simona Gabrielli February 11, 2026

Simona Gabrielli, the author, on the georadar campaign she worked on on Mount St Helens.

Hello you, and happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! My name is Simona Gabrielli, and I am a researcher at the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy), where I study seismic attenuation (in other words: how earthquakes lose energy while passing through rocks), to understand the presence of fractures and fluids. My specialization in recent years has been in tec ...[Read More]

Making earthquakes understandable: How “Near Me” search behavior can guide better risk communication

Bob Bateman November 14, 2025

When a tremor strikes, people instinctively turn to their phones — and to Google. Source: Bob Bateman

When a tremor shakes the ground, the first thing many people do isn’t check a scientific database: they reach for their phone. Within seconds, searches like “earthquake near me” surge across Google. This simple phrase captures something profound: a universal need not to understand seismic mechanics, but to know “Am I safe?” Over the past few years, this “near me” framing has quietly reshaped how t ...[Read More]

The 1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake: A singular Himalayan earthquake on its 75th Anniversary

CP Rajendran August 15, 2025

Alluvial fans, transition from the Himalayas to the Tibetan Plateau by Jana Eichel Source: Imaggeo

August 15, 1950, marked India’s fourth year of Independence. The young nation’s mood was optimistic. People all over India were celebrating the country’s newfound freedom. Known as the land of the rising Sun, the jubilant people of the northeastern part of the country were about to conclude the celebrations and retire for the day. In the northeast corner, surrounded by the Himalayan mountains, the ...[Read More]