UM seismograph offers local view of Haitian Earthquake
At 5:44pm on January 12, the University of Maine’s new seismometer began to pick up shaking from a distant earthquake event. For the next hour the incoming signal saturated the display as seismic waves passed by the station. Our seismograph had detected the magnitude 7.0 Haitian earthquake which is responsible for tremendous loss of human life and structural damage, and is now the focus of international relief efforts. UM’s seismometer is maintained by the department of Earth Sciences and is part of the New England Seismic Network. The current seismograph is displayed on a monitor in the first floor lobby of the Bryand Global Sciences Center and is visible by selecting the ORNO station at the Weston Observatory website.
