Hugo Benioff

Hugo Benioff

Hugo Benioff (1899-1968) was a seismologist and a professor at the California Institute of Technology. He is best remembered for his work in charting the location of deep earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean.

After graduating from Pomona College in 1921, Benioff began his career with the idea of being an astronomer and worked for a time at Mount Wilson Observatory, but when he found that astronomers work at night and sleep in the daytime, he quickly switched to seismology. He joined the Seismological Laboratory in 1924 and received his PhD from Caltech in 1935.

Benioff is considered a genius in the design of earthquake instruments. One of his first instruments, created in 1932, was the Benioff seismometer, which senses the movement of the earth - these instruments are now used in every country in the world. Equally famous is the Benioff strain instrument, which records the stretching of the earth's surface. One of his most recent accomplishments was a refined version of the old Benioff seismometer which has given seismologists more knowledge about the cause of very deep earthquakes.

Benioff noticed that earthquake sources get deeper under the overriding tectonic plate proceeding away from the trench at a subduction zone. He realized that this inclined array of earthquake sources indicate the position of the portion of the plate that has already been subducted. Thus, that pattern of earthquakes is known as a Wadati-Benioff zone.

From the early 1930s, Benioff also worked on creating electric musical instruments; in particular a piano, violin and cello. He continued developing these instruments for the rest of his life, working for over two decades with pianist Rosalyn Tureck and also, towards the end of his life with the Baldwin Piano Company. It is thought that Benioff died before he perfected these musical instruments.

References

* Advances in Geophysics (1973) 5:1-52
* The history of early seismometers - From the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 183-227. February, 1969.
* Who was Who? (2005 Edition: ISBN 0-7136-7010-X)

External links

* [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/topics/people.php?peopleID=5 USGS Links]


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  • Hugo Benioff — (1899 1968), était un sismologue et un professeur de l Institut Californien de Technologie (California Institute of Technology). Il a réalisé l essentiel de ses travaux sur l étude de la localisation des séismes profonds de l océan Pacifique. Il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hugo Benioff — Victor Hugo Benioff (* 1899; † 1968) war ein US amerikanischer Geophysiker und Seismologe. Hugo Benioff graduierte 1921 am Pomona College. Zunächst schlug er die Laufbahn eines Astronomen ein und arbeitete eine Zeit am Mount Wilson Observatorium …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • plan de Benioff (du nom du sismologue américain Hugo Benioff [1899-1968]) — ● plan de Benioff (du nom du sismologue américain Hugo Benioff [1899 1968]) Plan incliné formant un angle voisin de 50° par rapport à l horizontale et le long duquel se disposent les foyers des séismes, considéré comme la zone d enfoncement de la …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Benioff — ist der Name von David Benioff (* 1970), US amerikanischer Autor und Drehbuchschreiber Hugo Benioff (1899–1968), US amerikanischer Geophysiker und Seismologe Sonstiges Benioff Zone Diese Seite ist …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Benioff-Zonen —   [nach dem amerikanischen Geophysiker Victor Hugo Benioff, * 1899, ✝ 1968], Bezeichnung für seismisch aktive Zonen im Erdinnern, an denen die ozeanische unter die kontinentale Erdkruste abtaucht (Subduktion). Die Benioff Zonen liegen im… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Benioff-Zone — Die Wadati Benioff Zone (mitunter auch Benioff Zone) wird durch die abtauchende Platte bei einer Subduktion gebildet. Sie ist gekennzeichnet durch immer tieferreichende Hypozentren. Die Entdeckung dieser Zone war ein weiteres Indiz für die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Benioff zone — /ben ee awf , of /, Geol., Oceanog. a planar seismic zone in oceanic crust along which subduction of lithospheric plates gives rise to frequent earthquakes: marked by oceanic trenches sloping downward at about 45° toward adjacent island arcs or… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Benioff zone — /ben ee awf , of /, Geol., Oceanog. a planar seismic zone in oceanic crust along which subduction of lithospheric plates gives rise to frequent earthquakes: marked by oceanic trenches sloping downward at about 45° toward adjacent island arcs or… …   Universalium

  • BENIOFF, HUGO — (1899–1968), U.S. seismologist. Born in Los Angeles, Benioff was assistant at the Mount Wilson observatory from 1917 to 1924. In 1923–24, he carried out seismological research at the Carnegie Institute in Washington. He then joined the staff of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Plan de Benioff — Plan de Wadati Benioff Le Plan de Wadati Benioff est la surface plus ou moins complexe formée par la distribution des hypocentres des séismes associés à une subduction. La zone de Wadati Benioff sous les Petites Îles de la Sonde 1. Latitude en… …   Wikipédia en Français

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