Analysis of small, repeating earthquakes in an Antarctic ice sheet may not only lead to an understanding of glacial movement, but may also shed light on stick slip earthquakes like those on the San Andreas fault or in Haiti, according to Penn State geoscientists. "No one has ever seen anything with such regularity," said Lucas K. Zoet, recent Penn State Ph. D. recipient, now a postdoctoral fellow at Iowa State University. "An earthquake every 25 minutes for a year."

Shockwaves from the Aug. 23 earthquake surprised most Penn Staters and left many uncertain about what to do in the event of an earthquake, an event that most Pennsylvania residents have not experienced. While the earthquake, which originated in Virginia, was unexpected in this part of the country, the same tips for safety apply wherever you may be, according to Maurine Claver, director of Penn State's office of Environmental Health and Safety.

Penn State Public Broadcasting will air a live television call-in program on WPSU-TV that will address the future of nuclear energy. It's planned for 8 p.m. Thursday, March 24. "Nuclear Energy: Lessons from Japan" will focus on the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and a panel of Penn State experts will address public concerns about the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and discuss the implications for energy policy.

For more than a day after the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Chile on Feb. 27, Penn State student Phillip Jarpa and his wife, Veronica Barros, both from Chile, worked tirelessly to get in touch with their family there. Because of the earthquake's destruction, telephones and e-mail weren't working. In response, Jarpa, a student in the master of business administration (MBA) program in Penn State's Smeal College of Business, and his wife started "Smeal for Chile," an organization focused on raising money for the Chilean relief effort.

Kevin Furlong discusses the need to create a "thinking response" to natural disasters.

No other Hollywood movie has waves like these.

John Hammer flicks on his video: it's blurry, black-and-white, basically low-budget. A thick black line rushes in at an angle, splits, bends, scatters, and leaves a wake of wavy circles. It's a look at the earth underneath Los Angeles, as a far-off earthquake undulates its way through.

Living near an active volcano can be beneficial as well as dangerous. The soil is fertile, and a lot of volcanic products can be used in everyday life. Sulphur, for example, can be used as an ingredient in matches, or in medicine, while the finer volcanic deposits, such as the gravels and sands found in rivers, can be used in building materials. In addition, the thermal energy from some volcanoes can be used to generate electric power.

But if you live too close to a volcano—and it erupts—it can be lethal.