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Background
In response to the devastation caused by earthquakes, both the United States and Japan have established vigorous national
research programs in seismology, geology, and geodesy. The Earthquake Prediction Technology Panel combines basic and
applied research to improve our understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes and to facilitate the transmission of
research results to those who implement hazard reduction measures.
Types of Exchanges
The principal means of exchanging technical information has been the biannual panel meetings. These meetings serve as
intensive workshops and draw researchers from government and university laboratories in the United States and Japan.
Presentations have covered a range of findings, including research on recent earthquakes; crustal deformation monitoring;
precursory phenomena; modeling techniques; laboratory and theoretical studies; and automated processing of both seismic and
crustal deformation data.
Accomplishments
Over the past 15 years, revolutionary changes have occurred in technology used to study earthquakes. These advances include
more accurate sensors for measuring the source of an earthquake; the application of automated data analysis to the routine
study of seismicity; and the improvement of methods that detect crustal deformation, principally those that use space based
geodesy. The Earthquake Prediction Technology Panel has stimulated research on all of these topics and advanced their
adoption by providing an ongoing forum for exchange of ideas and results prior to formal publication.
Benefits
Earthquake monitoring and emergency response operations in the United States and Japan have improved due to advances in
real time analysis of earthquake data and the use of Global Positioning Satellites for real time measurement of crustal strain
accumulation (ultimately the cause of earthquakes).
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