Shake, Rattle and Roll
SMU sets up 22 more seismographs in Irving after recent earthquake surge
With the recent spate of earthquakes rocking North Texas, SMU’s seismology team is installing 22 more seismographs in Irving to study the movements and understand what might be causing them.
The university said in a statement that 15 monitors are being deployed today, with two more coming from the United States Geological Survey by Thursday. Another five, provided by Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, will be put out Friday, January 10.
SMU scientists said these devices will help them learn about the quakes that have been popping up around the site of the old Texas Stadium — including 11 in the past two days — but that it’s too early to say why they might be happening.
“It’s premature to speculate on the cause of this current series of seismic events,” said Brian Stump, SMU’s Albritton Chair of Geological Sciences, in a statement. “We’re just getting started. We want to support the local community in understanding these earthquakes, and the team appreciates the cooperation of the City of Irving, the United States Geological Survey and IRIS in helping us get the best information possible.”
Earthquakes have been hitting North Texas since November of last year. A 3.3. magnitude quake that hit on November 22, 2014, was the largest the Dallas-Fort Worth area had seen since 2009. One of the earthquakes on January 6 of this year measured in at 3.6.
