Abstract

LINKIMER-ABARCA, Lepolt. Citizen science and communication tools at the National Seismological Network of Costa Rica. Comunicación [online]. 2020, vol.29, n.2, pp.5-21. ISSN 1659-3820.

Costa Rica’s location at the boundary of several tectonic plates makes earthquakes commonplace and part of daily life. The National Seismological Network (RSN) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) has ventured into citizen science by utilizing Information and Communication Technologies to notify and collect earthquake data. This article describes different mechanisms implemented by the RSN to rapidly disseminate information. These mechanisms were created as part of an Outreach Project at UCR, which include two tools for the rapid calculation of seismic intensity called “scenario of expected intensities” and “Did you feel it?”. These tools are based on mathematical regressions and the voluntary contribution of citizens, respectively.

We present results for the Armuelles earthquake in June 2019 (magnitude 6.4), which obtained high citizen participation. Intensity maps prepared in a few minutes by the two tools agree and show the areas where the earthquake caused damage. The dissemination of seismological topics by different means has a high reach, especially in social networks such as Facebook, where a publication can reach up to 275,000 users, demonstrating its ability to inform and educate massively. The RSN communication approach points to an environment of collaboration and social participation with the potential to positively impact the perception of seismic hazard in Costa Rica.

Keywords : earthquake; Citizenship education; information technology; social media; Costa Rica; seismic intensity.

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