Portland State University Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Oregon Scientists Develop A More Accurate Way To Date Past Earthquakes

By NWPB News May 27, 2020

USGS scientists examine a surface rupture created during the M7.1 Searles Valley earthquake in 2019.

The work by researchers at Portland State University and the University of Oregon, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, offers a solution to a common problem that arises when using radiocarbon dating to determine the past activity of faults.Read More

Research Suggests Climate Change Is Reducing Snowfall In The Northwest

By NWPB News September 11, 2019

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

New research says climate change is decreasing the amount of snow in the Pacific Northwest. And that has implications for water resources in the region.Read More

Northwest’s Ancient Earthquakes May Help Predict Future Risk

By Tom Banse September 5, 2018

Washington's Sadie Creek Fault is a strand of the Lake Creek-Boundary Creek Fault zone. CREDIT: DAN COE/WASHINGTON DNR

One way to predict the risk of earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest is to look at how often they occurred in the past – and, for several groups of geologists, delving into the fault lines themselves. The evidence lies in trenches the scientists cut across fault lines in northwest Oregon and on the north Olympic Peninsula.Read More