New Underground Map of the Los Angeles Region Tracks Seismic Shaking

Caltech News reports that researchers have deployed two hundred seventy‑three temporary seismic sensors across Los Angeles County to create the first three‑dimensional map of the basin beneath the city. The map reveals that soft sediments reach as deep as ten kilometres beneath downtown, while surrounding valleys sit on much shallower layers, a difference that can dramatically amplify shaking during a major quake. Led by graduate student Valeria Villa and emeritus geophysicist Robert Clayton, the study, published in the journal JGR Solid Earth on August fourth, shows how these underground variations will dictate which blocks are damaged or spared. The team now aims to map the sediment‑to‑bedrock interface to refine simulations of ground motion for future earthquakes.

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