Scraping crowd-sourced shake reports to produce a cumulative shake map for Oklahoma earthquakes

Last year, Oklahoma had more earthquakes than ever before. In 2015, the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) counted 5,691 earthquakes[1] centered in the state. That’s 270 more quakes than what Oklahoma experienced in 2014.

Along with more reports of earthquakes, came more reports of earthquake damage[2]. In one of the worst earthquake swarms in 2015, a chimney was torn from a house in Edmond[3], and an exterior wall of bricks came tumbling down from an apartment complex in northeast Oklahoma City[4]. Much has been learned since Oklahoma's earthquake surge began in 2009. 

Scientists now link these earthquakes to the injection of waste water into deep disposal wells[5]. Water exists naturally in the earth along with oil and gas deposits, and when the oil and gas is drawn from the earth, the water comes with it. This water is separated from the oil and gas, and is disposed of in deep wells. Because these quakes are caused by human activities, they are known as “induced earthquakes.”[6]

Many questions remain, however. Namely, what are the long-term effects of having so many small earthquakes so frequently? And how is it possible to compare the impact of these quakes across Oklahoma? The United States Geological Survey produces damage estimates automatically after significant earthquakes, but it does not produce damage estimates for swarms of smaller earthquakes, which may last for months or years.

Climbing a virtual mountain, Cesium, and other big life moments

Much has happened since my last update, but I'll keep it simple. Last August, my lovely wife finished her awesome dissertation on the roots and development of toxic discourse in science fiction. With her PhD and job offer in hand, we left the University of Illinois for Oklahoma City (Urbana we will always love you).

Initially, I kept working remotely for the National Science Foundation grant, EnLiST, continuing the analysis of our teaching and learning network data and helping UIUC faculty plan for future grants. Eventually I did hit the job market, and became the instructional technologist for the Center for Learning and Teaching at Oklahoma City Community College.

What does that mean? Basically, it means making sure the college stays up-to-date with technological change. Some days this means helping faculty with changes in our learning management system (LMS). Other days, it means building 3D models, visualizations, and applications for learning (such as this digital mountain).

Here's a holiday gift guide to help you get started in drones

While drones have some great potential both as a tool and an educational hobby, it can be rather intimidating to get started.

There's just so many platforms and widgets to choose from, and it seems every day someone is launching a new type of drone. As I pointed out in a recent post on the sensor journalism Google group, I actually think the market might be bottoming out for creating drone hardware, so hopefully the selection process will be easier in the future.

Complicating the matter is that drones can crash or fly off if they lose a GPS lock, risks that are substantially higher when you're just starting off. Having a $1,000 drone fly off with a $300 camera is not a fun or rewarding introduction to drones and remotely piloted aircraft systems.

So, I've made a holiday gift guide for Make Magazine to show people options for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced drone operator.

If you've never flown a remote controlled aircraft before, I highly recommend something like the Walkera Ladybird. Myself, I've had a fair bit of luck with Quanum Nova, which has an attractive feature set and price for intermediate operators who don't need to loft heavy cameras or go beyond visual line of sight.

Whatever drone you end up choosing for yourself or a special someone, remember to drone responsibly. That means, among other things, picking up an AMA membership and the complimentary insurance that comes with it.