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Changes In Rocks Noted Before Earthquakes
Smivs writes with this snippet from an article at the BBC, well worth reading: "Scientists have made an
important advance in their efforts to predict earthquakes, the journal Nature says. A team of US researchers has detected stress-induced changes in rocks that occurred hours before two small tremors in California's San Andreas Fault. The observations used sensors lowered down holes drilled into the quake zone. The team says we are a long way from routine tremor forecasts but the latest findings hold out hope that such services might be possible one day."
Well, I'll say that cost of the system isn't the real question because THERE IS NO SYSTEM.
They haven't developed an early warning system. They've just seen some changes in the rock prior to earthquakes which lead them to believe that it might be possible to develop a system of some sort that would provide early warning.
As the summary of the article says:
"The team says we are a long way from routine tremor forecasts but the latest findings hold out hope that such services might be possible one day."
Life is short: void the warranty.
Think of the bigger picture man! Millions of dollars in damage could be saved from such a predictive system. A few obvious examples are:
Any major industrial process that handles dangerous materials - Hello refineries, Natural Gas Providers...
Museums and Private owners - art and sculptures could be saved
And the poor china-shop owners!
Fires that result from earthquakes can increase the damages from the quake significantly. By having early warning, measures could be taken to avoid these fires entirely.
Take it from a Californian, we'd really like to know beforehand!
Roughly half my comments are never submitted. You may be reading the better half...
No kidding. But when you look at the geologic record, you realize that there are faults EVERYWHERE. So using Hojima's logic, we can't build anywhere....
This guy's the limit!
In our sue-happy society, the company or oganization who piloted a system like this would be sued off the face of the planet if they missed one decent quake.
How amazed would you be to suddenly find that you just forgot what I wrote and you needed to reread my post.... again.
And here in New Orleans we'd love to have some better levees which could've saved us from billions of dollars worth of flood damage. Unfortunately for both of us, the powers that be aren't particularly interested in sacrificing now for the sake of later.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
Unfortunately for both of us, the powers that be aren't particularly interested in sacrificing now for the sake of later.
a.k.a. The voters -- especially those who are all about tax cuts.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Uhhhhhhhhh... How Exactly?
You can't avoid the fire. Buildings can't move. People Can. You can't vent the gas in all the pipe lines either, which would seem to be of primary concern. You would spend millions and millions of dollars trying to vent gas into the atmosphere, which has its own unavoidable complications. Fires happen when gas lines break, not their endpoints leaking. Shutting off the gas won't save you either, as the lines are still full.
Early warning will save lives but it will not prevent property damage effectively, especially damage resulting from fire. Maybe the china-shop owners and museums could take everything down onto the ground or outside, but the fires will happen regardless.
Major industrial processes would be in the same boat. I just don't see what measures they can effectively take to reduce damage other than construction technology. Construction technology has nothing to do with early warning; It is about being able to take the stresses involved in an earthquake.