Support Us

PNSN staff and students smile after installing a seismic station to record the shaking caused by fans during the baseball playoffs.

Data collected by the PNSN is used by Pacific Northwest emergency managers before and after seismic and volcanic events, by researchers around the world conducting studies at the local, regional, and global scales, and by engineers to understand how structures are affected by the amplitude of the ground motions. The collection of these data, identifying and analyzing earthquakes, and ensuring the permanent cataloging of the waveform and earthquake data are all parts of the funded mission of the PNSN.

PNSN staff also work to keep our communities informed about the latest ground-shaking events and ground-breaking research via media interviews, social media and blog posts, as well as via public speaking engagements in the region and student and adult tours at the Seismology Lab. We also contribute time and expertise to numerous efforts in our region to reduce our vulnerability to earthquake and volcanic hazards, and our grant funding does not directly support these efforts.

Additionally, another way for the PNSN to serve the public as well as educate future scientists is by hiring undergraduates to assist PNSN operations. This engagement fosters undergrads' professional development by hiring students at our University of Washington and University of Oregon offices. As well as participating in field deployments, our amazing student workers also gain skills like IT networking and science communication. We have many more applicants than available funds.

Undergraduate student McKenzie Carlson leads a tour of the PNSN Seismology Lab for a group of Seattle school kids.

Your contribution to the Friends of Earthquakes fund will enable us to continue and expand these services to the region. Your tax deductible donation is a direct way you can help reduce losses from the next Pacific Northwest earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption to affect our Cascadia Region.

If you are interested in contributing to support the PNSN, please make an online donation to PNSN Friends of Earthquakes Fund or contact PNSN Director Harold Tobin (htobin@uw.edu), for further information.

Donations for the broader effort of Earth Sciences Research and Education at the UW would be sent here: Friends of ESS Fund.