The U.S. Department of Interior has awarded UALR a $454,449 grant to establish the Arkansas Seismic Observatory to monitor earthquake activity in the central United States.

Dr. Haydar Al-Shukri, chair of UALR’s Department of Applied Science in the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Dr. Hanan Mahdi, research assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of Technology, sought the grant to install and operate six broadband state-of-the-art seismic stations to enhance the capability of earthquake monitoring in the central U.S. in general and in Arkansas in particular.

“A six-component strong ground motion station will also be installed within the seismically active part of the New Madrid fault system in the northeast part of Arkansas,” Al-Shukri said. The sensors will give scientists a better handle on seismic activity on the New Madrid Fault, a major seismic zone and the source of earthquakes within the tectonic plate in the southern and midwestern U.S.

“In addition to monitoring the seismicity in the region, the stations will be integrated into the Advanced National Seismic System that is operated by the U.S. States Geological Survey,” he said.

The New Madrid fault system was responsible for the 1811–1812 New Madrid Earthquakes and may have the potential to produce large earthquakes in the future. Since 1812, frequent smaller earthquakes were recorded for the area.

Earthquakes that occur there potentially threaten parts of seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

Al-Shruki said the observatory will help communities in hazard mitigation and early warning, provide public education and community outreach, and collect high-quality data to help the scientific community to better understand seismic activity and its risk in the region.

“With the observatory, we can provide real-time information on seismic activity to allow for rapid response by responsible government agencies such as the U.S. States Geological Survey, the Arkansas Geological Survey, and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management,” Al-Shruki said.