The earth isn’t the only thing shaking after an earthquake. According to a recently published study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, the USGS real-time earthquake web pages also quake with activity following a seismic event. Look at these numbers: 3.6 billion total data requests, including 29 million page views by 7.1 million users, 606 million automated data feeds and 45 million catalog downloads. And that’s just in one month.
Because immediate information on earthquakes is prized by people who live in seismically active areas—and is needed by emergency responders and civic officials to make decisions on public safety—the USGS is committed to delivering that information and to continuously improving its systems to meet these exponentially increasing demands.
A small crew of USGS scientists and information technology specialists in Golden, Colorado, is responsible for design, testing, development, operations and monitoring of these mission-critical systems. “The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program is at the forefront of delivering timely and accurate earthquake information from the regional seismic networks participating in the Advanced National Seismic System and the National Earthquake Information Center to critical users and the general public,” said Dr. Gavin Hayes, USGS Senior Science Advisor for Earthquakes and Geologic Hazards. “Over the […]