WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.419 Welcome, everyone. I am so excited to be able to moderate this panel. 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:06.132 I have worked personally with many of the panelists, 00:00:06.132 --> 00:00:10.310 and I’m really looking forward to their presentations. 00:00:10.310 --> 00:00:13.700 We’re going to start with Lorna. All the presenters asked that 00:00:13.700 --> 00:00:17.539 I just present their first name. And I have worked with Lorna. 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:21.130 I worked with her when I was the chief of operations for the USGS 00:00:21.130 --> 00:00:26.890 in Puerto Rico in January 2020. And I cannot – this webinar is not long 00:00:26.890 --> 00:00:29.660 enough for me to say enough things – nice enough about Lorna. 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:34.280 She is so fantastic to work with. Lorna has a Ph.D. in geology from 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.260 the University of Colorado-Boulder. And she’s currently the research 00:00:37.260 --> 00:00:39.930 assistant dean at the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies 00:00:39.930 --> 00:00:43.703 in Research at University of Puerto Rico. 00:00:43.703 --> 00:00:48.040 And Lorna has worked with the University of Puerto Rico since 2004 00:00:48.040 --> 00:00:51.280 as a professor of the Department of Physical Sciences, College of General 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.820 Studies, and currently develops interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary 00:00:54.820 --> 00:01:00.079 research in geology and the impacts of geological processes on society. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:05.640 Lorna has also published books on the 1918 earthquake in Puerto Rico, 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:12.237 among other fantastic publications regarding the seismicity of Puerto Rico. 00:01:12.243 --> 00:01:18.240 So, without further biographical information, I’m going to hand it over 00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:20.740 to my wonderful colleague Lorna. 00:01:20.740 --> 00:01:23.542 Thank you so much for being here today, Lorna. 00:01:26.404 --> 00:01:28.875 Lorna, you’re on mute. 00:01:30.972 --> 00:01:36.617 - Thank you. Thank you for the invitation. I’m going to share my screen now 00:01:36.619 --> 00:01:39.203 so you can see … 00:01:42.336 --> 00:01:47.250 … my presentation. Let me just use the full screen. 00:01:49.539 --> 00:01:53.860 [silence] 00:01:53.860 --> 00:01:57.790 So my name is Lorna Jaramillo-Nieves. I’m a professor from the Physical 00:01:57.790 --> 00:02:01.409 Science department at the College of General Studies. 00:02:01.409 --> 00:02:06.509 Today I present – I’ll be presenting the talk, Assisting the Puerto Rico 00:02:06.509 --> 00:02:10.061 Seismic Network as a Science Communicator During the 00:02:10.061 --> 00:02:17.226 January 7, 2020, South of Indios Earthquake in Puerto Rico. 00:02:17.226 --> 00:02:24.760 The role that I had as a communicator during this time is based on skills 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:31.318 that I evenly acquire through my teaching in the Department of Physical 00:02:31.318 --> 00:02:36.470 Science with focus on how science construct knowledge and the 00:02:36.470 --> 00:02:42.600 development of scientific theories. So this talk is an approach of talking 00:02:42.600 --> 00:02:50.284 about science using a more interdisciplinary approach. 00:02:50.284 --> 00:02:54.820 So, during this time, my main task as the science communicator was to 00:02:54.820 --> 00:03:02.260 support the general public decision- making process and also trying to 00:03:02.260 --> 00:03:07.450 know in advance which were people’s questions and concerns. 00:03:07.450 --> 00:03:13.262 In order to do this, I have to be on top of things in terms of news, 00:03:13.266 --> 00:03:19.618 topics that were discussed in the – in the social media, radio programs – 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:27.370 it took a lot of energy. But it is important to have this approach 00:03:27.370 --> 00:03:32.750 in order to do the role effectively. It’s important also to mention that 00:03:32.750 --> 00:03:38.900 this earthquake is the stronger earthquake that the current generations 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:46.390 in Puerto Rico have experienced. So the concern and the panic 00:03:46.390 --> 00:03:51.351 that was in the island was significant during this time. 00:03:51.366 --> 00:03:55.650 Now, there are several tips and suggestions that I can mention 00:03:55.650 --> 00:03:59.950 in order to do science communication during a period of emergency. 00:03:59.950 --> 00:04:06.130 It’s important to conceptualize a plan. Think what is the message in advance 00:04:06.130 --> 00:04:12.470 and organize how to present it. Priority, clarity, conciseness, 00:04:12.470 --> 00:04:16.970 and significance is also important. Remember there are frequently 00:04:16.970 --> 00:04:21.917 time constraints and questions about later events. 00:04:21.917 --> 00:04:28.110 Also simple language – use simple language and easy to understand. 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:34.210 It’s very frequent that scientists dismiss as a very complex subject, 00:04:34.210 --> 00:04:42.680 so people tend to tune out once they start to hear very complex terms. 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:47.710 And finally – and this is the main challenge as a science communicator – 00:04:47.710 --> 00:04:54.170 is to adapt a data-based message for the general public but maintaining 00:04:54.170 --> 00:04:59.280 the same depth intended for peers. This is really important. 00:04:59.280 --> 00:05:05.640 So, when I was working in this – or, helping in this role during the 00:05:05.640 --> 00:05:10.990 emergency, I realized that people had pretty much the same questions. 00:05:10.990 --> 00:05:15.680 Should I evacuate my home? Is this going to continue? 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.350 Why is this happening? Did scientists know about this? 00:05:19.350 --> 00:05:24.360 It’s important to answer all those questions, but also try to keep a balance 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:31.450 between answering the general public questions but also explaining 00:05:31.450 --> 00:05:36.890 the processes on a data-based approach, 00:05:36.890 --> 00:05:43.200 which is really important during the time in order to inform well. 00:05:43.200 --> 00:05:51.030 So another important aspect is to mention which were the approaches 00:05:51.030 --> 00:05:56.490 the I used that had a very positive response with people. 00:05:56.490 --> 00:06:04.050 Very important, and this is why I list it as the number one, a calm delivery. 00:06:04.050 --> 00:06:10.770 This is something that I didn’t realize I had until people started mentioning, 00:06:10.770 --> 00:06:14.635 you know, I want you to be in this interview. 00:06:14.674 --> 00:06:19.980 Or, we would like to, you know, have a video made of the information 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:25.150 about the sequence, and we want you to do it because your delivery 00:06:25.150 --> 00:06:28.774 is really calm, and I think that will help us. 00:06:28.776 --> 00:06:32.234 So I realized this is something extremely important. 00:06:32.234 --> 00:06:39.200 Also, as possible, have some sense of hope in the message. 00:06:39.200 --> 00:06:45.970 That is important too. And knowing what to expect and what to do. 00:06:45.970 --> 00:06:50.000 People want to know what is going to happen next. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:56.020 And they also would like to know what they should do when that other 00:06:56.020 --> 00:07:01.320 stage of the sequence happens. So people were very responsive 00:07:01.320 --> 00:07:07.540 to suggestions of describing the process of the seismic sequence and 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:13.639 what to do in each part of this process. And finally, understanding the state 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.340 of the science more than the details of the science. 00:07:17.340 --> 00:07:23.030 One of the main concerns of the general public is that science cannot predict 00:07:23.030 --> 00:07:30.530 earthquake, but we explain – when we explain how this is going to 00:07:30.530 --> 00:07:36.410 change through time as science learns more about these processes, 00:07:36.410 --> 00:07:42.290 people start to think about this. They start to be more open about 00:07:42.290 --> 00:07:48.766 discussing these topics and to listen about what is happening. 00:07:48.766 --> 00:07:56.500 Now, when you are in this kind of emergency situation, and this was really 00:07:56.500 --> 00:08:02.080 my first experience talking to the general public during an emergency, 00:08:02.080 --> 00:08:09.010 even when I had done this before, one of the things that I put as 00:08:09.010 --> 00:08:14.270 an objective is not to jump from one topic to the other, but just select 00:08:14.270 --> 00:08:19.370 topics that I think were important. And every time I have the opportunity 00:08:19.370 --> 00:08:26.290 to talk about each topic, I will either repeat information or I go deeper into 00:08:26.290 --> 00:08:32.556 the subject. So these are the five topics that I concentrated. 00:08:32.562 --> 00:08:39.770 And, to start, I was asked to give information about the daily seismic 00:08:39.770 --> 00:08:45.740 activity, and my approach was to use the same figures and catalogs 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:49.270 from the Puerto Rico Seismic Network and the USGS. 00:08:49.270 --> 00:08:54.950 Why? Because, if people were interested or wanted to know more 00:08:54.950 --> 00:09:00.950 about the subject, they will go to these two agency’s sites, 00:09:00.950 --> 00:09:08.070 and they will see the figures and the maps that I will use on my talk. 00:09:08.070 --> 00:09:14.140 It doesn’t make any sense to be using figures that people will only see once. 00:09:14.140 --> 00:09:20.550 If you can choose to use figures that are already in the internet, chances that 00:09:20.550 --> 00:09:27.460 people will go to the sites that you have made reference to and see the same 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:32.730 figure and just think about what you said in your explanation and your talk, 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:39.100 or in your contribution to the general public will be extremely useful. 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:48.089 So I always highlight each of those two resources as very reliable resources 00:09:48.089 --> 00:09:54.590 and describe the process of the seismic sequence just like that – as a process 00:09:54.590 --> 00:09:58.840 that have different stages and that it will evolve and change. 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:02.180 So this is a figure I commonly use in my talks. 00:10:02.180 --> 00:10:07.490 It is from the report of the USGS. Even when some people might think 00:10:07.490 --> 00:10:12.730 it is a little bit complex for the general public, it is extremely useful. 00:10:12.730 --> 00:10:17.010 It helped me to talk about the magnitude of the event, 00:10:17.010 --> 00:10:22.460 how the magnitude changes through time, and how to explain foreshock, 00:10:22.460 --> 00:10:24.167 the main shock, and aftershock. 00:10:24.182 --> 00:10:31.000 So, given the proper guidance, people were able to follow this figure. 00:10:31.002 --> 00:10:37.553 And I can build on other figures to compare and add other explanations 00:10:37.565 --> 00:10:40.963 that are also available over the internet. 00:10:40.963 --> 00:10:46.020 So, with the proper guidance, people from different literacy levels and 00:10:46.020 --> 00:10:52.310 backgrounds were able to navigate the figure without any problem. 00:10:52.310 --> 00:10:57.120 Now, one of the main questions that I realized people were asking 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:05.310 repeatedly was, what is a fault? And, as a geologist, this is a concept 00:11:05.310 --> 00:11:10.150 that, for me, now, is easy to grasp, but when I started – of course, 00:11:10.150 --> 00:11:13.748 when you are first exposed to the idea, it’s very complex. 00:11:13.750 --> 00:11:19.440 So, when talking about the local geologic setting, I concentrated 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:24.048 mainly explaining what is a fault. Magnitude of geologic features. 00:11:24.055 --> 00:11:29.640 What is deep time. The concept of tectonic plate margins. 00:11:29.640 --> 00:11:36.266 And the frequency of events and prediction. 00:11:36.266 --> 00:11:41.620 Now, one of the problems that we had, and we have seen this is very different 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:48.070 events where emergencies are caused by nautral events, is that information 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:52.750 that is incorrect – misconceptions – are spread very quickly, 00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:58.160 especially in social media. So, in this sequence, we had the 00:11:58.160 --> 00:12:02.290 situation in which people were explaining, 00:12:02.290 --> 00:12:07.830 or spreading the explanation, that the seismic sequence was 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:14.460 a result of fracking or drilling of the south coast of Puerto Rico. 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:21.110 This idea came from the interpretation of a USGS report, which was completely 00:12:21.110 --> 00:12:29.940 taken out of context. Actually, the report tell us that there is no possibility of oil 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:35.529 or hydrocarbon exploration in that area. In order to overcome this, 00:12:35.529 --> 00:12:39.800 several geologists – actually, 28 geologists from the island 00:12:39.800 --> 00:12:43.010 wrote a document explaining why that is incorrect. 00:12:43.010 --> 00:12:50.940 And it was shared with local shows, social media, radio stations 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:55.340 in order to contribute to correct this idea. 00:12:55.340 --> 00:13:02.709 Now, my – probably the largest and more profound project that I have 00:13:02.709 --> 00:13:10.100 related to science communication is the publication of the book, 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:13.969 The Earthquake in Puerto Rico, that tells the history of the 00:13:13.979 --> 00:13:19.640 1918 earthquake in the island. And I used this book and the history 00:13:19.640 --> 00:13:26.930 of it to compare that event to the 2020 seismic sequence. 00:13:26.930 --> 00:13:32.460 And it helped me to talk about how Puerto Rico is a seismically active 00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:36.620 region, how Puerto Rico had experienced earthquakes in the past, 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:42.350 and it will continue to experience earthquakes in the future, and talk about 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:49.570 how Puerto Rico has history of events of very high magnitudes. 00:13:49.570 --> 00:13:56.810 The other topic that I developed during this period was built on my 00:13:56.810 --> 00:14:02.380 previous work with communities. It was concentrated in safety 00:14:02.380 --> 00:14:08.320 and resilience. In this topic, I pretty much work on family and workplace 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:13.630 emergency plans, the importance of seismic awareness and drills, 00:14:13.630 --> 00:14:22.550 the emergency bag and a floor plan so people could know how to react 00:14:22.550 --> 00:14:27.950 during an event of emergency, and also the knowledge of places 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:35.417 that we visit frequently and which are the hazards in those areas. 00:14:37.010 --> 00:14:44.779 So the lessons learned in this period is that there’s – it’s really important 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:49.760 to communicate science in simple words but also maintaining that 00:14:49.760 --> 00:14:53.330 depth in the explanation that is intended for peers. 00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:58.875 This is complex, but it can be achieved through time. 00:14:58.875 --> 00:15:04.740 It’s really important to understand the origin of science misconceptions. 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:11.170 One example that every Puerto Rican in the field of geology have heard about 00:15:11.170 --> 00:15:17.310 in the island that is a misconception, people usually ask, is there a volcano 00:15:17.310 --> 00:15:21.860 underneath Puerto Rico? And the reason of that knowledge 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:27.450 that have been transmitted orally through generations is because there 00:15:27.450 --> 00:15:32.860 was a time during the 1918 earthquake that that idea was published in 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:36.720 one of the local newspapers. And people used the newspaper 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:41.110 as their source of information. So, you know, people know 00:15:41.110 --> 00:15:47.029 more than they think they know. It’s also important to recognize 00:15:47.029 --> 00:15:53.360 the local knowledge. Try to really understand why people 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.336 think the way they think in order to correct misconceptions. 00:15:57.336 --> 00:16:03.430 And the last thing I learned is the acknowledgement of how much 00:16:03.430 --> 00:16:07.529 energy is required to be a science communicator 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:10.350 during a period of emergency. 00:16:10.350 --> 00:16:15.890 So I will gladly answer any questions you might have. 00:16:15.890 --> 00:16:23.096 I will stop sharing my screen so I can give opportunity for questions. 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:24.625 - Thank you so much, Lorna.