Jerry P. Eaton

Jerry P. Eaton
Born	(1926-12-11)December 11, 1926 Central Valley (California)
Died	April 2, 2004(2004-04-02) (aged 77) Los Altos, California
Known for	Seismology, Volcanology
Academic background
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA, PhD)

Jerry P. Eaton (December 11, 1926 – April 2, 2004) was an American seismologist and volcanologist who served as director of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory from 1956–58, and as scientist-in-charge from 1960–61.^[1] He was born in 1926, on a farm in California's Central Valley near Fresno.^[2] He died of cancer in 2004, aged 77, at his home in Los Altos, California.^[3]

Education

Eaton has received two degrees from University of California, Berkeley; a 1949 B.A. in physics, and a 1953 Ph.D. in geophysics.^[4]

Career

Eaton began at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1953, after completing his Ph.D. During his time there, he was responsible for installing equipment to measure tremors from Kīlauea.^[5] The equipment he designed and installed were 5 to 10 times more sensitive than the seismographs already in use, and thus picked up more earthquakes for study.^[6] He is also credited with writing the first computer program to pinpoint locations of earthquakes.^[5]

After his term as scientist-in-charge, he left the Observatory for the Geological Survey Crustal Studies Branch and went on to develop an earthquake monitoring system for the Rocky Mountain-Great Plains region. He served as president of the Seismological Society of America from 1966–67.^[7]

In 1960, he published a paper in the journal Science titled "How Volcanoes Grow",^[8] which was later described in SFGATE as "a classic and the most authoritative paper on the subject".^[9]

References

1. Babb, Janet L.; Kauahikaua, James P.; Tilling, Robert I. (2011). "The story of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory—A remarkable first 100 years of tracking eruptions and earthquakes". U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 135. General Information Product: i-63. doi:10.3133/gip135.
2. Lee, W. H. K.; Ellsworth, W. L. (July 1, 2004). "Jerry P. Eaton (1926–2004)" (PDF). Seismological Research Letters. 75 (4): 472–474. Bibcode:2004SeiRL..75..472L. doi:10.1785/gssrl.75.4.472. ISSN 0895-0695.
3. "Jerry Eaton, pioneering earthquake scientist". San Jose Mercury News. April 7, 2004 – via Narkive.
4. Eaton, Jerry P. "Biographical Sketch for: Jerry P. Eaton" (PDF). In Lee, William H. K. (ed.). "1966 Parkfield (California) Earthquake Archive: in Memory of Dr. Jerry P. Eaton (1926–2004)".
5. "OF NOTE". The Washington Post. April 12, 2004. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
6. "Volcano Watch — Seismologist Jerry Eaton gives the Observatory a technology boost in the 1950s". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
7. Jackson, W. H.; Eaton, J. P. (1971). Satellite Relay Telemetry of Seismic Data in Earthquake Prediction and Control. International Workshop on Earth Resources Survey Systems. Vol. 2.
8. Eaton, J. P.; Murata, K. J. (1960). "How Volcanoes Grow". Science. 132 (3432): 925–938. Bibcode:1960Sci...132..925E. doi:10.1126/science.132.3432.925. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 1706650. PMID 17795159.
9. Perlman, David (April 7, 2004). "Jerry Eaton – 'one of the giants in geophysics'". SFGATE. Retrieved May 7, 2023.

External links

• Jerry P. Eaton publications on USGS ScienceBase-Catalog
• Kilauea (Geologic Diagram), 1971, by Eaton; & Robert G. Schmidt