Three announcements from the SCEC Community
Date: 03/07/2023
Dear SCEC Community,
Please see below for the following three announcements:
- Announcement: BSSA/SRL Call for Papers on Seismic Hazard Modeling
- Natural Hazards Analyst Job: catastrophe modeling with the re/insurance industry
- Insights and lessons from the devastating 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence
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On behalf of Becky Ham, SSA
Announcement: BSSA/SRL Call for Papers on Seismic Hazard Modeling
The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) and Seismological Research Letters (SRL) are soliciting papers for a Special Issue and Focus Section, respectively, on seismic hazard modeling.
Seismic hazard models sit at the intersection of fundamental earthquake science and applied science and incorporate aspects of both. The results of the models underpin governmental and financial decisions worldwide. In 2022, the New Zealand National Seismic Hazard Model — Te Tauira Matapae Pūmate Rū i Aotearoa was released, incorporating substantial advances in methodology and data in all aspects of the model. This was the most significant revision of the Aotearoa New Zealand model in 20 years and provides a timely opportunity to present and review the results of this and similar seismic hazard models worldwide.
The BSSA Special Issue and SRL Focus Section invite papers on any topic related to the Aotearoa New Zealand NSHM, similar national or regional seismic hazard models elsewhere, and methodological developments that improve hazard model reliability and application. We encourage submissions addressing all aspects of hazard modeling including rupture forecast modeling using seismological, geodetic, paleoseismological, or other datasets; ground motion modeling incorporating empirical models or simulations, non-ergodic models and site and basin effects; hazard calculations and uncertainty modeling, including epistemic uncertainty, efforts to quantify uncertainty in contributing datasets or fundamental modelling assumptions, and sensitivity analysis (including factors affecting risk); hazard communication that facilitates the uptake and understanding of hazard information; and review, decision-making and governance processes of large complex seismic hazard modeling projects. Submissions addressing conceptual advances or methodological changes are especially encouraged.
This call for publications is for both BSSA and SRL. Prospective contributors are advised to review the scope and submission deadlines of each journal before submission, and to contact a guest editor or the Editors in Chief of BSSA (Martin Mai, bssaeditor@seismosoc.org) and SRL (Allison Bent, srleditor@seismosoc.org) for guidance if necessary. The two journals will manage submissions separately through their standard peer-review processes.
Guest Editors for the BSSA Special Issue:
Olga-Joan Ktenidou (olga.ktenidou@noa.gr), National Observatory of Athens, Greece
Jarg Pettinga (jarg.pettinga@canterbury.ac.nz), University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Karin Sesetyan (karin@boun.edu.tr), Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey
Mathilde Bøttger Sørensen (mathilde.sorensen@uib.no), University of Bergen, Norway
Guest Editors for the SRL Focus Section:
Kelvin Berryman (kelvin@brc.nz), Berryman Research & Consulting Ltd., New Zealand
Hadi Ghasemi (hadi.ghasemi@ga.gov.au), Geoscience Australia, Australia
Warner Marzocchi (warner.marzocchi@unina.it), University of Naples, Italy
Camilla Penney (camilla.penney@canterbury.ac.nz), University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Deadline for submission of manuscripts: 5 July 2023.
Papers accepted for publication in either journal will be published online shortly after acceptance, then collected and published in print issues in early 2024.
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On behalf of Taronne Tabucci, Guy Carpenter
Natural Hazards Analyst position with Guy Carpenter: catastrophe modeling with the re/insurance industry
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist, is looking to hire a natural hazards analyst with some seismology or seismic hazard background. We would be excited to talk with anyone with a background or interest in seismic hazard, as we need internal support to prepare for the USGS NSHM update this year, with an eye on developing someone into a peril advisor, who interacts directly with our clients. We are looking to hire quickly to start in Q2. Locations for the position would be with another North America Peril Advisory team mate (locations with * are preferred) in *New York, NY; *Philadelphia, PA; *Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN (Edina); and, San Francisco, CA.
Background on Guy Carpenter:
Since 1992 Hurricane Andrew’s disastrous impact on the re/insurance industry, catastrophe models have emerged as a critical tool to quantify risk and predict losses for extreme events that cannot be done by traditional actuarial sciences. These models mimic natural and manmade hazards by using the most sophisticated engineering, science, math, and technology. The most commonly utilized model is FEMA’s Hazus Program, a nationally standardized risk modeling methodology. Catastrophe models used by the re/insurance industry are proprietary software programs can be summarized into four main components: (1) stochastic event set representing the future with estimates of frequency (e.g., How many M7.0 earthquakes will the San Andreas Fault produce?); (2) hazard component to estimate intensity for a given event at a given location (e.g., How much ground shaking/acceleration will I experience in San Francisco for a M7.0 San Andreas earthquake?); (3) vulnerability component interprets hazard intensity into a level of damage for each location (e.g., What is the level of damage to a 20-story reinforced concrete frame building?); (4) financial loss modeling to translate damage severity into dollar loss (e.g., Will the cost to repair the damage exceed my insurance deductible or policy limit?).
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC is a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist. Guy Carpenter delivers a powerful combination of broking expertise, trusted strategic advisory services and industry-leading analytics to help clients. Guy Carpenter is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people.
Since 2021, we have been working hybrid with 2 days at home/virtual and 3 days in the office. Depending on the region/office, the 3 days in person is defined strictly but others, not really. For example, San Francisco is now mandating Tues-Thurs as in-person days. Other bonus is that from late May-Sept (Labor Day), the company works half-day Fridays (i.e., 36-hour weeks in summer but paid for 40).
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On behalf of Christie Rowe, McGill University
Insights and lessons from the devastating 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence
Scope
We are all absolutely heartbroken at the sheer devastation and loss of life following the Mw7.8 and Mw7.5 earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria in February 2023. As scientists who study the physical mechanisms and impacts of earthquakes, we know all too well about their power, yet the horrendous scenes coming out of Türkiye and Syria have still hit us hard. There will be numerous scientific analyses from the dense observational datasets that captured these earthquakes and their consequences. We hope that these analyses will provide new insights into one of the largest continental earthquakes and feed directly into improved disaster risk reduction worldwide. To facilitate the dissemination of these vital scientific insights, community-run Diamond Open-Access journal Seismica is announcing a special journal issue on this important earthquake sequence, with papers free-to-publish and free-to-read. We invite submissions on the following topics, but this list is not exhaustive:
- Observations and modelling of the earthquake ruptures and post-seismic deformation (e.g., afterslip, aftershocks)
- Geophysical, geological (e.g., tectonic, paleoseismological) and engineering context leading up to the earthquakes
- Analysis of secondary effects and hazards (e.g., surface rupture, landslides)
- Engineering seismology and earthquake engineering insights on the strong ground shaking and building damage.
- Quantifying, implementing, and communicating seismic hazard models.
- Communicating the science: what went well, what went wrong, what can we do better in the future?
We particularly invite work from those working in Türkiye and Syria.
Editorial Team
Guest Editors
Aybige Akıncı (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy)
M. Didem Cambaz (Kandilli Observatory & Earthquake Research Institute, Türkiye)
Edwin Nissen (University of Victoria, Canada)
Elif Oral (California Institute of Technology, U.S.)
A. Arda Özacar (Middle East Technical University, Türkiye)
Ali Pınar (Boğaziçi University, Türkiye)
Danielle Sumy (EarthScope Consortium, U.S.)
Production Editor
Stephen Hicks (University College London, U.K.)
Consulting Editor
Ezgi Karasözen (University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S.)
Submission
All submissions will be accepted for this special issue until February 2024. Fast Reports can be submitted until 1 September 2023. In the case of the special issue, the number of figures for Fast Reports may not be limited to three for the special issue, but manuscripts are still expected to be short and concise.
Confirmed Arabic- and Turkish-speaking scientist-volunteers will provide translations of abstracts and plain language summaries into local languages.
To submit to this Special Issue, please select “Special Issue: 2023 Türkiye/Syria earthquakes” in the dropdown “Section” box on the submission page. For your submission to be considered a Fast Report, please note this in the “Comments to the Editor” free-text box.
Questions? Please contact Stephen Hicks at stephen.hicks@ucl.ac.uk.
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