James Jackson on understanding earthquakes and building resilience

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since 1900, our best estimates suggest that earthquakes have caused around 2.3 million deaths worldwide; we saw the devastating effects of one just recently, in Turkey and Syria. And as scientists have been at pains to point out over the years, there is no reliable short-term warning system. But thanks to the work of people like James Jackson, an Emeritus Professor of Active Tectonics at the University of Cambridge, we are finding new ways of understanding and withstanding seismic activity. James tells Jim Al-Khalili about his career travelling the world in search of quake sites and fault lines – trialling new technology and techniques in a quest to understand the processes that shake and shape our planet’s surface; and working out how this information can help vulnerable cities become more resilient to quakes in future... Produced by Lucy Taylor.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.4	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:35.7	Hello, earthquakes and their potentially huge repercussions have been at the forefront
0:40.8	of our minds recently.
0:42.5	Just last month, a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Turkey near
0:47.2	the border with Syria.
0:48.8	The devastation in both countries was horrendous, with cities raised to rubble in more than
0:53.3	50,000 fatalities.
0:56.1	Since 1900, our best estimates suggest that earthquakes have caused around 2.3 million
1:01.7	deaths.
1:02.7	But thanks to the work of people like my guest today, we are making progress, finding
1:07.1	new ways of understanding and withstanding seismic activity.
1:11.3	James Jackson is an emeritus professor of active tectonics at the University of Cambridge.
1:16.2	As a student in the 70s, his discovery of geophysics led to a fascination with earthquakes
	...

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