TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Earthquakes are not common along the Gulf Coast of Florida, but Florida State University researchers have the technology in place deep below ground to help detect and study quakes.
Seismometer wellhead on FSU campus(FSU, Adobe Stock)
143 feet below ground, the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science has a seismograph lowered into a well that is capable of detecting an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 on the complete opposite side of the globe.
This important instrument was made possible by Dr. Bob Hutt, who donated it to FSU in 2020. Hutt says he was given the high‑tech seismometer as a retirement gift when he left the U.S. Geological Survey.
“I didn’t want it to just sit in my house… so I contacted FSU to see if they would be interested in hosting a seismograph station using that equipment,“ he said.
FSU researchers using technology deep below ground to detect earthquakes hundreds of miles away(Bob Hutt)
But recently, the piece of equipment that sits about 12 stories under our feet has been able to detect two of the largest quakes to hit the Gulf region in modern history.
On Monday, June 8, a 6.1 magnitude quake struck just off the northwestern coast of Cuba, sending ripples through the Earth’s Crust. Residents all across the Sunshine State reported feeling the quake from the Keys up to the Panhandle.
Despite being more than 520 miles away, the seismograph on FSU’s campus detected the rare shakes, causing the instrument to start drawing out the waves.
Below is an image WCTV captured from the instrument minutes after the shaking started. You can see the dark, long lines drawn in contrast to the normal subdued status quo.
Seismograph on FSU’s campus captures earthquake(NSF/FSU)
Then, more than a month later, a tragic 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck in Venezuela, causing widespread destruction and hundreds of deaths. As expected, the seismometer sprang into action, drawing out the waves of the quake more than 1,800 miles away.
FSU/NSF seismometer detects Venezuelan earthquake(FSU/NSF SAGE)
“…the FSU station is part of a network of seismographs, the Geological Survey Network within the US, and the global seismograph network scattered around the world,” Hutt said. “So since many, many seismograph stations can pick up the earthquake, you can basically use triangulation to locate the earthquake pretty accurately and determine some things about the fault mechanism. So scientists use the data to determine what kind of fault it was, exactly where it was. And that helps to forecast or not really predict, but forecast possible earthquake, other earthquakes in those same areas, looking at foreshocks, aftershocks, et cetera,” he continued.
When the seismometer was being installed into the Earth, crews dug down as deep as they could without boring too far into the limestone layer and the aquifer that runs below Tallahassee.
“So they stopped when they got just a few feet into that limestone. So the seismometer is actually sitting in water now,” Hutt said.
Even though the sensitive instrument is submerged in water today, Hutt says it was placed in a waterproof housing that is still sealed.
If you’d like to view the live data from the seismometer on FSU’s campus, CLICK HERE.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here to get started.
Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.