State Geologist and Malibu Coast Fault Zone Study

For the record, I have not accused Dr. James Davis, the state geologist of California, of acting in an unethical manner with respect to ongoing studies of the Malibu Coast Fault Zone, as alleged in your Nov. 1 article by Kenneth Reich. The article was intended to describe the issues I raised in a presentation made on Oct. 28 at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Cincinnati. Although Mr. Reich accurately reported certain aspects of my presentation, he misquoted me in statements indicating that I had questioned the integrity of the state geologist.

The reporter created the appearance of an interpersonal conflict between the state geologist and me that does not exist. I did not refer to Davis or anyone else, either by name or by strong inference, in the published abstract or in my oral presentation. I am as certain as I can be (without having a tape recording of the conversations) that I did not directly or indirectly impugn the professional ethics of Davis or any other individual in any of the three interviews that the reporter conducted with me via telephone. In fact, the reason that I composed a full script for the presentation, rather than talking from outline notes as I normally do, was so that an accurate text could be supplied to the press in the hope of avoiding the publication of inflammatory misquotes.

I believe that it is important for geoscientists to discuss the ethical dimensions of our work in attempting to identify, understand, mitigate and avoid geologic hazards. It is most useful to frame these discussion in the context of case studies. Such discussions need not be tied to the actions of individuals, even when specific case studies are considered. The Times article has not made a positive contribution toward ensuring that these discussions continue to occur at professional meetings.

My interest is in having the appropriate studies and designations made concerning the seismic activity of the Malibu Coast Fault Zone as expeditiously as possible, so that the public safety can be better protected. Nobody’s interests are served in enmeshing us in artificial conflicts that detract from our efforts to apply our science to protect the public from geologic hazards.

VINCENT S. CRONIN

Milwaukee, Wis.

Cronin is an assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee .