CSHACE (CHARLESTON SEISMIC HAZARD ANALYSIS CONSORTIUM): A WEB-GIS ENABLED HAZARDS RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE

Charleston, South Carolina experienced the most damaging earthquake in the Eastern United States. The August 31, 1886 earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 6.9 to 7.3 and was felt over 2.5 million square miles. Earthquake events have been documented in South Carolina since 1698. Seventy percent of these are located in the Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone (MPSSZ), 30 kilometers northwest of downtown Charleston. 137 earthquakes were located in the MPSSZ from 1996 through 2003. The risk from a reoccurrence of an earthquake of magnitude 6 or higher within the region is greater now due to changes in land use and population growth. Major hazards due to ground shaking and liquefaction during an 1886 style event could lead to an estimated 14 billion dollars of damage and potentially 900 fatalities with 45,000 injuries. The Charleston Seismic Hazard Analysis Consortium (C-SHACe) has been formed to investigate the potential seismic hazard risks in the Charleston region. This group is composed of university researchers and participants from various government agencies including; the USGS, NOAA, and FEMA. The backbone of this disparate group of participants is a novel data sharing exchange driven by Web-GIS. The National Map is being used as a portal for the exchange of geographically reference data sets and provides links to databases that are relevant to seismic hazard analysis in the region. CSHACe is divided into four working groups: Primary Data Acquisition, Hazard and Data Analysis, Seismic Risk Assessment and Data Dissemination and Communication. GIS and Web-GIS is being used as the organizing support structure for the activities involved in maintaining and supporting the efforts of the participants. This paper discusses the organization of the CSHACe group, the architecture of the Web-GIS and the utility of Web-GIS for collaborative geohazards investigations.