Volume 7, Number 3, Spring 2001/Annual Report Fiscal 2000
Cover: Pacific waves crashing on the coast
Photograph by Susan Green

Tsunamis in the Sierras
Seismic Activity and Environmental Conditions Under Investigation at Lake Tahoe
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By Mario C. Aguilera
Using a recently developed acoustic imager, Scripps geophysicists study fault lines beneath Lake Tahoe’s waters. As part of a multi-institutional research group, these scientists are investigating the possibility of seismic activity occurring along or under the lake that could create a tsunami (tidal wave). A tsunami danger, in addition to an earthquake risk, could have devastating impact on the more than 17,000 visitors and residents living in the Lake Tahoe area.

Fathoming Seafloor Movements from Space
Scripps Researchers Achieve Earth Science Milestone
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By Chuck Colgan
Scripps geophysicist Fred Spiess and colleagues use both Global Positioning Satellite(GPS) technology and seafloor transponders to observe the convergence of the Pacifc Ocean seafloor with the North American continent. They are measuring a segment of the seafloor called the Juan de Fuca Plate, which extends north from southern Oregon to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The researchers are installing a series of acoustic networks along the plate that communicate accurate seafloor measurement to GPS. The collision of seafloor and continent has the potential for earthquakes on a grand scale.

The Call to War
Scripps Institution of Oceanography 1936 to 1948
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By Joe Hlebica
This feature is the fourth in a continuing series celebrating the100-year history of Scripps, covering Scripps contributions to World War II. Most of the faculty members and graduate students enlisted in the military or participated in subsurface warfare research in laboratories at Point Loma, near Scripps. Researchers who remained at Scripps trained U.S. Navy and Army personnel in swell and surf forecasting. Despite the decrease in faculty and students, the institution was alive with activity.