Middle School Level
1
Dr. Inés Cifuentes – Seismologist
Imagine that you and your friends are outside on a summer day playing
soccer. It is so hot that the air is thick and still. After the game you realize
that there is a slight breeze and the leaves on the trees around the field are
beginning to rustle. The air becomes a little cooler. Suddenly, there is a clap
of thunder and big fat raindrops start falling. As you are running for cover,
you shout to your friends, “This storm came out of nowhere!!” …Or did it?
If you think back, you can see tell tale signs that a rainstorm was coming:
the breeze picked up, the temperature went down, and the quality of the air
changed. These signs are all ways to predict a change in weather. Noticing
what causes a change in weather is similar to how a scientist conducts an
experiment because both are based on the powers of observation, prediction,
and analyzing patterns seen over time. Nowadays we know a lot about predicting the weather and we can
watch the weather forecast on television every night. But nobody knows when an earthquake will strike.
On May 22, 1960 (http://www.geo.arizona.edu/K-12/azpepp/education/history/chile/chile.html) the largest
ever recorded earthquake struck off the coast of Chile. It was 9.5 on the Richter scale
(http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/general/handouts/richter.html). Most earthquakes last for a few seconds, but this
one lasted for almost five minutes and even caused tidal waves(tsunamis) in Hawaii, which is almost
7,000 miles away! My family and I were living in Chile at the time. Though we lived far away from where
most of the damage was, I remember the experience vividly.
An interesting thing about the Chilean earthquake of 1960 was that a strange rumbling had been observed
on an earthquake recording machine at the California Institute of Technology (http://www.caltech.edu/) in
Pasadena fifteen minutes before the earthquake struck. As a graduate student in seismology at Columbia
University (http://eesc.columbia.edu/) in New York City, I wanted to study if there was a cause and effect
relationship between these two events. The first step of any science experiment is to think of a hypothesis,
which is a statement that a scientist wants to investigate. My hypothesis was that the rumbling recorded in
California was connected to the earthquake in Chile. The next step in an experiment is to do research and
make observations. From their observations, scientists are able to notice a pattern, which is when the same
things bring about the same result. It is when these patterns appear again and again, that a scientist can
prove their hypothesis true. After years of observing records of the Chilean earthquake from all around the
world, I was able to find similar patterns in the records and show that the occurrence in Pasadena was
related to the earthquake in Chile. I hope that my work will contribute to the research being done on how
to predict earthquakes.
Like a science experiment, my life has also had patterns of cause and effect that have led me to where I
am today. For example, growing up in Latin America gave me a love for my Latin heritage. This helped
cultivate my desire to live and work there so that I could give back to the community. My early interest in
science, particularly astronomy, developed into my work in seismology because I felt that by studying
earthquakes I might be able to help people in Latin America. The results of experiments are not always
what you predict, and instead of living in Latin America, I now live in Washington D.C. instead.
However, my work with the Carnegie Academy for Science Education (http://carnegieinstitution.org/)
still reflects my love of science and community. My program teaches science and mathematics to
elementary school students and teachers in the D.C. public schools. Working with kids and teachers
reminds me everyday that science is exciting and fun!
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