Listen to the Voice of the Earth

“I wrote this book in the hope that readers will be able to save their own lives as well as those of the ones they love when an earthquake next strikes, so that the tragedy of March 11, 2011, would never be repeated.” ―Satoko Oki

What our chatty planet teaches us
Would you be surprised to hear that there are scientists who listen to the Earth? Yes, the Earth does talk in many different voices—the voice of the air, the voice of the sea, the voice of volcanoes, and the voice of the Earth. Seismologists listen to the voice of the Earth.　　

We use high performance seismometers that do not miss the slightest muttering by the Earth that human ears cannot hear. That way, we can learn about what causes earthquakes and even what it is like inside the planet.　　

Earthquakes occur because it is hot inside the planet—because the Earth is dynamic. We cannot escape earthquakes as long as we live on the Earth. But from listening to the planet, seismologists have discovered what causes earthquakes and how we can live with them to protect our lives.

OKI Satoko
Currently Associate Professor on the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, specializing in seismology, disaster information, and disaster prevention education, Satoko decided to become a seismologist when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck Japan in her first year of high school. After graduating from the Department of Earth Sciences, School of Science, Hokkaido University in 2001, she obtained her PhD from the School of Science at the University of Tokyo in 2006, and became a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanology, University of California, San Diego, through the postdoctoral fellowship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. From 2008 to 2012, she worked at the Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo as an assistant professor. Her other works include Cho-kyodai Jishin ni Semaru—Nihonretto de Nani ga Okiteiruka [Mega-Earthquakes: What is happening in the Japan islands?], which she co-authored with Professor Kazuki Koketsu after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

*information as of time of publication

Japan Library series
Science

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥3,000 + tax
ISBN 9784916055453
210 mm x 148 mm / 142 pp. / March 2015

eBook
ISBN 9784916055507 (ePub)
ISBN 9784916055545 (PDF)

CONTENTS
Preface to the English Edition
Introduction: What Happened on March 11, 2011?
1. What Causes Earthquakes?
2. Why Earthquakes Occur
3. What Causes Tsunamis?
4. The Many Effects of Great Earthquakes
5. How to Become the Earth’s Messenger
6. A Journey to the Center of the Earth
7. The Earth—A Chatty, Hot Planet
8. To Save Lives
Some Ideas for Your Earthquake Research
For Further Study
Afterword

地震に対する正しい知識を得ることで、自分や大切な人たちの命を守ってほしい。そんな願いをこめて、地震の正体を解明してきた地震学者が、東北地方太平洋沖地震や地球についてわかりやすく解説し、防災の大切さを説く。

大木聖子
慶應義塾大学環境情報学部(SFC)准教授。専門は地震学・災害情報・防災教育等。高校1年生の時に起きた阪神・淡路大震災を機に地震学を志す。2001年北海道大学理学部地球惑星科学科卒業、2006年東京大学大学院理学系研究科にて博士号を取得後、カリフォルニア大学サンディエゴ校スクリプス海洋学研究所にて日本学術振興会海外特別研究員。2008-2012年に東京大学地震研究所助教。主な著書に、震災後書き下ろした『超巨大地震に迫る―日本列島で何が起きているか』（纐纈一起教授との共著、NHK出版新書）がある。

＊著者略歴は書籍刊行時のものを表示しています。