On March 14, the Reno Ice Raiders were dominating on the ice rink, scoring yet another goal against San Diego Hockey Club. Fans slapped the plastic dividers and cheered as the home team went up 6-1. Director of the Â鶹ӳ» Seismological Laboratory (NSL) Christie Rowe excitedly scribbled down who scored and the time left in the period, then calculated a magnitude. The NSL was at the Reno Ice rink for an outreach event in partnership with the Washoe County Leadership Academy to raise awareness for earthquake preparedness, and the lab brought a seismometer to measure shaking and vibrations generated during the game. Â鶹ӳ» 30 members of the NSL showed up to support the Ice Raiders.
The seismic sensor the lab brought is a small acrylic box with electronics that measure movement. The seismometer showed all types of ground motion in the rink including each time someone was checked into the boards, the puck was slapped against the boards, or the crowd cheered when the Ice Raiders scored. The ground shaking generated by hockey fans is minute compared to the energy of earthquakes, so NSL Network Seismologist Kyren Bogolub developed a “hockey magnitude” scale to measure ground shaking of the hockey arena relative to the crowd activity before the game.
Some notable magnitudes during the game included all the Ice Raiders goals, a fight in the second period, and when Rowe and geology professor Jamie Kirkpatrick’s son Sam got to ride on the Zamboni during the second intermission. One Ice Raiders' goal generated a 5.7 (hockey magnitude) quake.
The game ended with a decisive Ice Raiders victory, with a final score of 7-1.
“We hope to have more events like this, where we can meet people where they’re at in the community,” Rowe said.
Rowe and the lab are hoping to collaborate with Washoe County to spread the word about earthquake preparedness at events like Aces baseball games and the Reno Rodeo.
