About this Research Topic

Background

Citizen seismology refers to research collaborations between seismologists and non-scientist volunteers. The growing field of citizen seismology links the need of scientists—expanding opportunities for scientific data collection—and the need of citizens—accessing scientific information that matters to community members. Thanks to an ever-increasing connectedness (the internet and development of social media) and low-cost sensor technologies with a push for open data, there is a timely need to document 'the power of citizen seismology:' What has been done, why has it made difference, and how?

Until the development of seismic networks from the 1960's, eyewitness observations were key to characterizing earthquake parameters. In recent years, the availability of cheap sensors has paved the way to structure communities of amateurs seismologists—similarly to what has been long established in meteorology—and merge citizen and school seismology initiatives, while providing near real-time monitoring and scientifically useful data. Smartphones have also become powerful crowd-sourcing tools, while offering capacity for timely geo-targeted information.

• How does public involvement contribute to raising awareness of, and preparing for, seismic impact? And how does it affect public communication?
• What scientific advances have been made thanks to data integration and interoperability between projects/across countries?
• What are the ethical challenges encountered along the way?
• How to make a difference and influence the actions of governmental agencies?

We look forward to receiving submissions covering the different aspects of this burgeoning field, from mature experiments to more challenging ones. We encourage authors from diverse backgrounds (education, science, data management, etc.) to share their insights.

The cover image for this Research Topic was adapted from Steed, R. et al. (2019) ‘Crowdsourcing triggers rapid, reliable earthquake locations,’ Science Advances.

Keywords: citizen science, seismology, science communication, seismic hazard, open data

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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