New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) has preserved a photograph collection featuring historic seismographic equipment, stations, and drawings used by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) in the early-to-mid twentieth century. The photographs were transferred to ASL from the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., after ASL became esTablished as a federal facility for seismological research and instrument testing in 1961. The photographs were used in publications dating as far back to the 1920s to document USC&GS activities or used internally to document instrument installation, operation, and components. The historic collection is made up of hundreds of photographs that were originally printed in the 1930s and 1940s. Our hope is that the archival of these records, as well as brief descriptions about their significance, will help preserve some of the knowledge about seismological advances in the United States.

References:

1. Feder B. J. 2000. Arthur C. Ruge, inventor of the strain gauge, dies at 94, The New York Times , 8 April, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/08/business/arthur-c-ruge-inventor-of-vital-stress-gauge-dies-at-94.html
2. Heck N. H. 1927. C—Seismological work of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic survey, Eos Trans. AGU 8, 77–79, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/TR008i001p00077.
3. Linehan D. 1950. Observatory history: 1928–1950, available at https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/mcas/sites/weston-observatory/about/history/observatory-history--1928-1950.html
4. Miller H. E. 1936 Arthur J Weed, Amer. Asc. Advan. Sci. 83, 404.
5. Peters J. H. 1939. Low magnification attachment for a Milne–Shaw Seismograph, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 29, 341–343.
6. Ruge A. C., and McComb H. E. 1943. Tests of earthquake accelerometers on a shaking table, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 33, 2–12
7. Smithsonian National Museum of American History (1963). Weed inverted pendulum seismograph, available at http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1414062