|
|
|
8 April 2001 “Seismic Activity in Washington” Website Development Process This document is intended to explain how each of the following issues were addressed in the creation of a website to serve as an online portal to government information concerning seismicity in the state of Washington: website topic and intended audience, search and research processes, decisions concerning format, choices made regarding inclusion and exclusion of online sources, evaluation of print and other sources for inclusion or exclusion, and the sources consulted during the development of the aforementioned website. When approached with the task of creating a website as a portal to available government information on any topic, an initial topic of geophysical hazards was chosen. However, within the first thirty seconds of searching the Internet it became apparent that in order to stay true to the topic the website would have to be a primer for Internet searchers, presenting only the most vague and elementary of websites; there is simply too much government information available on the topic of geophysical hazards. After all, the topics of landslides, avalanches, mudflows, ground displacement, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic activity barely scratch the surface of available subsections. Due to a personal interest in seismology, the idea of a site devoted to seismic hazards in the United States was chosen next, only to be thrown by the wayside upon visiting the United States Geological Survey website. There really is no point in reinventing the wheel, and a personal goal in approaching this project was to create a unique online reference that would fill an information gap. Coincidence or perhaps happenstance presented the last in a line of possible topics. The 2001 Seattle (scientifically known as Nisqually) Earthquake reminded many people in the United States, and specifically in the Northwest, that the state of Washington is a very seismically interesting location. What followed next was the beginning of research that literally continues to this day. In order to create a website that concerns itself only with the state of Washington it became necessary to become acquainted with specific scientific characteristics of the region. Although fairly well versed in seismology, Washington, due to its relative tranquility over the past two hundred years, often takes a backseat to California when discussed in relevant literature, therefore leaving large gaps in the researcher’s personal knowledge of the region and its seismic capabilities. Research started at the United States Geological Survey website, which offers a wealth of information about geophysical hazards worldwide. After reading the pages concerning the state of Washington and becoming acquainted with the faults, tectonic plates, and most significant earthquakes, it became possible to begin more extensive research. Most of the research was done through www.google.com and through the internal search engine at the United States Geological Survey website. Almost all of the information contained within the finished product was found using one or both of these search engines. One of the largest challenges in this research was finding search terms or phrases that would result in presenting relevant information. First of all, the subject of seismology does not translate accurately into the public domain. Significant earthquakes may be known to the general public under one name, but if one is looking for scientific or governmental information about the seismic event, one needs to know what name the scientists have given the earthquake. To the public, many earthquakes are known by the name of the town that sustains the most damage. To the scientific community, the event is often named after the location of the epicenter. Therefore, in order to find accurate information, background research into fairly dense scientific treatises was necessary in order to even begin research using the search engines. Secondly, the magnitudes of earthquakes are often measured by several different remote locations throughout the region, state, or nation in which they occur. Because of the existence of multiple measuring stations, rarely is there a consensus across the board as to the exact magnitude of an earthquake (an earthquake with an epicenter in Seattle measured in Seattle will have a different magnitude reading than the station in Missoula will calculate for the same Seattle earthquake). Thus searching for the 1946 Seattle earthquake which measured 5.7 on the Richter Scale was almost impossible because the only information available on the Internet is from the Canadian scientific community which measured the earthquake in Vancouver, ranking it as a 7.3 magnitude quake. Thirdly, using the words “earthquake” or “seismic” became the kiss of death in searching both www.google.com and the USGS website. Even including information such as the specific date of the earthquake, the name of the epicenter, or the calculated magnitude figures, typing “earthquake” would result in masses of irrelevant information about Californian, Japanese, or Icelandic events. The search queries that yielded the best results were those which contained nothing more than the year of the event and the geographical name given to the event by the scientific community. Anything else would invariably pull information from California earthquakes or present tourist information about Washington. Fourthly, a decision was made early in the research process to only use www.google.com and the USGS search engines. Although THOMAS, www.firstgov.gov, and other government sites were inspected, none of them were able to yield information pertaining to the topic of the website. Many would present government reports of insurance information or mining operations near active fault lines, but finding good sources of information with a purely scientific slant was simply not possible using these sites. The format of the website was designed for maximum ease of usage. No graphics except for theme banners were added to cut the loading time of the page. The intention of this website, as stated earlier, was to create a reference tool to fill an online information gap. In order to achieve this goal, massive amounts of information about the Washington region had to be organized in an easily understood manner, and graphics would have taken away from the information presented. The website was divided up into the following sections: “Terms and Definitions,” “Seismic History,” “Faults and Plates,” “Contacts,” “Measuring Earthquakes,” and the “Homepage.” The “Terms and Definitions” page as well as the “Contacts” page present information alphabetically. The “Faults and Plates” and the “Measuring Earthquakes” pages present information according to importance (as agreed upon informally by the scientific community). The “Seismic History” page presents earthquakes chronologically with the sources listed under each event listed in order of relevance; the sites with the most information or the most valuable and rich information are listed first. Decisions concerning what online locations to list and which to exclude were fairly simple to make. The intention of this site was to present scientifically relevant and accurate information. Therefore, only websites coming from governmental agencies or academic institutions were included. The few exceptions stem from either a complete lack of governmental or academic sites on that given topic or the discovery of non-profit organizations that have a clear history of a good working relationship with respected government agencies or academic teams/institutions. No print sources are included in this website. The intention of the site is to be an online portal to online material. The excessive length of the “Contacts” page stems from the desire to list all the agencies from which information was provided. Virtually every article or website listed on the website has a corresponding agency on the “Contacts” page to facilitate ease of use for the visitor. Other sources were consulted in the creation of the website that are not included in the website itself. To help identify earthquakes in the Washington region that are important to include on a website, contact was made between the creator of the site and the seismologists, geologists, and paleoseismologists from the United States Geological Survey working at the University of Washington Department of Geophysics. Although many of them were either out in the field or too busy to respond to e-mail, one seismologist was kind enough to answer questions concerning earthquakes which might not have been important in terms of magnitude but had been important in terms of scientific progress or increasing the understanding of the nature of geological hazards. Without this seismologist’s input, identifying the earthquakes to be included in this page, their official names and dates, as well as identifying leads for primary research would have been much more difficult and time consuming. Although the goal of providing an online reference tool for information pertaining to seismic activity in the state of Washington has been completed, work on the website continues to this day. Of primary focus now is the inclusion of links to more photographic and illustrated information in order to help users better visualize topics and threats. Hopefully through periodic contact with members of the United States Geological Survey and the scientists at the University of Washington Department of Geophysics, as well as through continual maintenance, subtraction, and addition of links, this website can continue to fulfill the task of being a valuable online resource. |