The 'Holy Grail' for earthquake scientists has been accidentally destroyed

[petronius]

For nearly half a century, thousands trekked to Rose and Prospect streets to behold a slice of sidewalk that, by conventional standards, had no curb appeal.

Pulled apart so that it no longer aligned, the humble curb wasn’t much to look at. But for earthquake scientists, it was a kind of Holy Grail, perfectly illustrating the seismic forces at work underneath this Bay Area neighborhood.

Since at least the 1970s, scientists have painstakingly photographed the curb as the Hayward fault pushed it farther and farther out of alignment. It was a sharp reminder that someday, a magnitude 7 earthquake would strike directly beneath one of the most heavily populated areas in Northern California.

Then, one early June day, a city crew decided to fix the faulty curb — pun intended. By doing what cities are supposed to do – fixing streets – the city’s action stunned scientists, who said a wonderful curbside laboratory for studying earthquakes was destroyed.

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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-earthquake-curb-destroyed-20160705-snap-htmlstory.html

"Holy Grail" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's a funny/sad loss nonetheless. Still, as the article points out, the fault will have the last word...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. A bit of time, and it will be back! n/t

[longship]

2. No doubt.

I lived in CA for a decade. The quakes happened often. I found them amusing, and occasionally terrifying.

[montana_hazeleyes]

3. Since I live right on top of the San Andreas,

I can say it wasn't my fault.

[longship]

4. That's what I always said.

I know. Low hanging fruit.

[lob1]

5. Being scientific and all, isn't that a rubber in the pic?

[petronius]

8. I think it's a lid from one of those little take-out sauce containers

But I wouldn't be surprised if geologists got a little frisky in the presence of such a majestic landform! (Although a thrust fault would probably drive them even wilder... )

[jtuck004]

6. An earthquake of a different kind. n/t

[Brother Buzz]

7. UC Berkeley lost their on campus creep laboratory when they seismically upgraded their.....

football stadium. Used to be, every football enthusiast made at least one pilgrimage to the end zone of of the stadium to have a look see. The running joke was, "Hayward Fault? No, Contractor's fault".





The Hayward fault has been creeping forever, and will continue to creep until, well, it decides to jump.