logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2023
12m 18s

Why Can't We Predict Earthquakes?

NPR
About this episode
In the wake of the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, many scientists have been saying this area was "overdue" for a major quake. But no one knew just when: No scientist has "ever predicted a major earthquake," the U.S. Geological Survey says. Even the most promising earthquake models can only offer seconds of warning. In this episode, host Emily Kwong talks to geologist Wendy Bohon and NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel about why earthquake prediction can be so difficult, and the science that fuels these models.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Oct 16
The terrifying physics of prehistoric sea monsters
While dinosaurs roamed the earth, giant monsters roamed the sea. Mosasaurs were like the deadly T-rexes of the ocean: They grew up to the size of a bus and chased down their smaller prey. A recent study in the journal Current Biology details just how exactly they might have done ... Show More
9m 20s
Oct 15
What's at stake if we can't regrow our forests
In 2022, parachutist Luigi Cani dropped 100 million seeds over the Amazon rainforest while skydiving. He did it to raise awareness about deforestation and help regrow the forest. But there has been little scientific follow up to see whether it worked. So, today, we talk to restor ... Show More
13m 35s
Oct 14
What Flock cameras really see – and how
Police departments across the U.S. are installing Flock cameras, saying the surveillance devices help deter theft and solve crimes, like helping find stolen property and missing people. But as the technology and its use by federal agencies expands, a handful of people have taken ... Show More
15m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
When will the next earthquake hit?
In 2011, CrowdScience listener Amanda survived the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.It arrived unannounced - as all earthquakes do - leaving her with no time to prepare a response. So Amanda wants to know whether science will ever be able to give us advance war ... Show More
27m 27s
Feb 2023
ChatGPT And The Future Of AI, Turkey Earthquakes. February 10, 2023, Part 1
<p>How Scientists Predict Where Earthquakes Will Strike Next</p> <p>The pair of earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria this week left the region grappling with death and destruction. Despite the region being seismically active, this particular area hadn’t seen an earthquake of thi ... Show More
46m 11s
Feb 2023
Turkey-Syria earthquake
In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garag ... Show More
53m 32s
Apr 2022
Seismology
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the study of earthquakes. A massive earthquake in 1755 devastated Lisbon, and this disaster helped inspire a new science of seismology which intensified after San Francisco in 1906 and advanced even further with the need to monitor nuclear tests ar ... Show More
49m 35s
Feb 2023
Turkey-Syria earthquake
In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garag ... Show More
32m 15s
Oct 2019
Digging Up Disaster
How did an ancient Roman harbor end up in ruins? Scientists realized the culprit was a long-forgotten natural disaster that left tell-tale geological clues -- and possibly an eyewitness account in an ancient religious text. But solving this mystery led to a bigger question: what ... Show More
26m 34s
Oct 2023
Devastating earthquakes hit Afghanistan
Lying atop a network of fault lines, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes. However, the Herat area has not seen an event for almost 1000 years. As such, it was the least likely area to experience the series of devastating earthqu ... Show More
26m 28s
Dec 2020
Earthquake Detection with Crowd-sourced Data
<p>Have you ever wanted to hear what an earthquake sounds like? Today on the show we have Omkar Ranadive, Computer Science Masters student at NorthWestern University, who collaborates with Suzan van der Lee, an Earth and Planetary Sciences professor at Northwestern University, on ... Show More
29m 27s
Feb 2023
Turkey's earthquake and China's balloon
As Turkey battles against the clock to find survivors of the recent Earthquake there, we look at what triggered the magnitude 7.8 quake. Also, how modern day codebreakers have unlocked secret correspondence penned by Mary Queen of Scots from exile in the 1500s, and the overlooked ... Show More
28m 42s