Recent News

Western States Seismic Policy Council Names 2009 Awards in Excellence Winners

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The Utah Geological Survey was selected for a 2009 WSSPC Award in Excellence in Research for their Wasatch and Sevier Faults Paleoseismic Research. The Awards will be given at the joint WSSPC-Earthquake Engineering Research Institute annual conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah at a banquet Friday February 13, 2009. The WSSPC Awards in Excellence program was started in 1996 to recognize achievement in different areas of earthquake mitigation, preparedness and response.

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Comprehensive Handbook on Earthquakes in Utah is Now Available

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roots_earthquake_page_01Living in Utah means living with earthquakes. Do you know where earthquakes are likely to occur in Utah and what kind of damage they can cause? If a large earthquake occurred right now, what would you do? Do you have a disaster plan and supplies? Have you taken simple steps, such as strapping down your water heater, to reduce your earthquake risk at home?

These questions and others are now addressed in a new publication released by the Utah Seismic Safety Commission (USSC) called Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country – Your Handbook for Earthquakes in Utah. The “Roots” handbook is a comprehensive resource that provides a variety of information on earthquakes in Utah in an easy-to-read format.

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New Estimates of Utah’s Potential Oil Shale Resource Released

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According to a new study just released by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), Utah’s potential economic oil-shale resource equals approximately 77 billion barrels of shale oil. While the estimate is considerably smaller than numbers frequently quoted, it is still deserving of attention. “A domestic resource of this size is very significant; a conventional field with just 1 billion barrels is considered a ‘giant’,” says Michael Vanden Berg, UGS Project Geologist.

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