Experts Seek Public’s Help in Detecting Earthquakes
Scientists are turning to the public to help document earthquakes and identify areas of potential damage. Â
The new initiative, called the Quake-Catcher Network, was launched earlier this year, and aims to harness the computing power of roughly 300 global participants worldwide, including 50 in California.  Experts would equip volunteers’ laptop computers and homes with special software and quake sensors. Almost anyone with a laptop or a little extra space in his or her garage or basement can participate.
The scientists hope that by enlisting public help, they can solve their problem of not having enough monitoring stations to track every instance of ground shaking. Â
"If they can provide scientific data that can prepare us for events in the future, then that’s extremely important," said Tom Jordan of the Southern California Earthquake Center, in an interview with the Associated Press.
The focal point of the program is in California, the state most prone to earthquakes within the continental United States. Experts say some 10,000 temblors happen in Southern California alone every year, although most are not felt.
Critical to the network are sensors called accelerometers that detect sudden motion and are typically built into many newer laptops. If, for example, the computer is dropped, the accelerometer can alert the hard drive and hopefully protect it from damage and prevent the loss of data.
Quake-Catcher participants also download software that connects their laptops to others in the network, and transmits information related to tremors and shaking to scientists over the Internet.
However, since any movement can trigger a laptop’s internal sensor, scientists scan incoming data only when the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the chief federal agency in charge of monitoring for quakes, determines that an actual earthquake has occurred.
"If there’s a bunch of laptops that trigger in one location, there’s probably an earthquake," said seismologist Elizabeth Cochran, one of the project leaders.
Before the Quake-Catcher project, people could only report local ground shaking by logging onto the USGS Web site and completing a questionnaire.
The project’s network is managed by Stanford University and UC Riverside, and augments data from roughly 800 permanent California monitoring stations that transmit readings to the USGS. The added sensors help increase the accuracy of other information about a quake, and assist emergency personnel in identifying potentially hard-hit areas.
The Quake-Catcher volunteer system is similar to the one already in place at the University of California’s Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, which taps shared PC power to analyze radio-telescope data for sounds of alien intelligence. Launched in 1999, SETI now includes more than 1 million volunteers.
The Quake-Catcher network was tested last July during a magnitude-5.4 quake centered east of Los Angeles. The temblor shook a large portion of Southern California, but caused little damage. Only a few laptops with the software sensed the quake, with just three sending in clean signals seven seconds after the quake.
The scientists acknowledged that the system needs improvement, but were nevertheless pleased that some of the laptops had detected the tremor.
Julian Lozos, a seismology graduate student at UC Riverside, was among the volunteers whose laptop sent back clean data. Lozos installed the program last winter, and has kept it running except when he sleeps. He said he has not noticed any degradation of his computer’s performance. Â
Initially, the project was limited only to Apple computer users, but it expanded this summer to include Lenovo Thinkpads. Software compatible with other PCs is currently being developed.  Â
Scientists uninvolved with the project said Quake Catcher could be helpful to detect low rumblings, but might experience problems with larger quakes.
"When the ground really gets going, a recording instrument needs to stay well-connected to the ground to record the motion, but a laptop will be jumping all over the place," USGS seismologist Susan Hough told the Associated Press.
The agency is developing on its own volunteer program, called NetQuakes, and is seeking homeowners willing to donate space in their home for a portable seismometer. It aims to begin deploying the devices in the San Francisco Bay area as early as this year on a trial basis, with public participation planned for next year.
The agency and its partners currently run a network of permanent stations, but are constrained by cost and other factors.  For instance, one seismic station on the southern San Andreas Fault cost about $70,000 to install and an additional $3,000 a year to maintain, the USGS said.
To participate in NetQuakes, volunteers must have a wireless Internet connection to allow the seismometer to communicate with the USGS network.
Similar to Quake-Catcher, the agency will only scan volunteer data from NetQuakes after an actual earthquake.
"Someone stomping on the instrument isn’t going to cause us to analyze the data," said USGS scientist David Oppenheimer, the NetQuakes project leader.
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