Seismic is Not a Noun

I’ve been seeing and hearing the word “seismic” being used as a noun quite a bit lately.

Bad Example:
Once we get the seismic, then we’ll be able to update our reservoir simulation model.

According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, seismic is an adjective that means: of or relating to an earth vibration caused by something else.

An adjective needs something to modify or describe, such as a noun.
Take the adjective “important,” for example. You wouldn’t say “Once we get the important, then we can do the statistics,” would you? Of course not. You would say: “Once we get the important data, then we can do the statistics.”
Likewise, the adjective “seismic” should have a noun after it because it needs something to modify.

Good Examples:
Once we get the seismic data, then we’ll be able to update our model.
We need to do a 3D seismic survey before we fully understand the fault network.
The seismic event offshore Japan registered a 9.0 on the Richter Scale.

Our thoughts and prayers go out for those along the Japanese coast who are suffering from such a severe earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear reactor meltdowns.