The 12th Training Course on Global Seismological Observation was held from January 12 to March 9, 2007. The participants studied about the CTBT regime and the role of seismology in International Monitoring System. They also learned skills to design a seismic network for monitoring nuclear tests and natural earthquakes and analytical techniques to discriminate nuclear tests from natural earthquakes. All of the participants successfully completed the training programs. We owe this success to the guest lecturers and those who gave us valuable advice at the sites that we visited. We are very grateful to them all.


Tatsuhiko HARA
Chief Research Scientist, IISEE

I, Dr. Kashima, was dispatched to Romania from February 25 to March 11 as an expert on strong motion observation. A JICA project on the Reduction of Seismic Risk for Buildings and Structures is under way in Romania. In the project, the strong motion network was established in Bucharest and the outskirts. I visited National Center for Seismic Risk Reduction (NCSRR), which is the counterpart institution of the project, to discuss the administration of the network. I could see several ex-participants of IISEE and renew my friendship with them.


Toshihide Kashima
Senior Research Engineer, IISEE

I (Marino Protti) am a convener of a INTER-MARGINS workshop that will be held, here in Costa Rica, in mid June 2007. The idea of this meeting is to get together the people who have been working on subduction processes (like the MARGINS initiatives SEIZE and SUBFACT) to share what we have learned in the last decade, specially along the Central America subduction zone. The workshop participants will also benefit from new scientific discoveries from similar subduction environments like Japan. Detailed information on this workshop can be seen at:
http://www.nsf-margins.org/CostaRica2007/index.html


Marino Protti
1983-1984 S-course participant, Costa Rica