Disaster Prep

Research

These are notes and observations from research. It informs our projects, the sensors we choose, and the approaches we take.

Waves produced by an earthquake.

How to measure earthquakes accurately.

occur due to movement in tectonic plates
only seconds of notice, 5-10 seconds
[p waves] are much faster than [s waves] and the actual waves that cause the earthquake.
- earthquakes travel at about the same speed as data networks
can be measured by motion (on surface or underground) and pressure (underground)
- downside of underground monitoring is 1) power and 2) transmission
  - can use repeaters or solar power to solve these issues
- advantage of being underground is distance from noise (such as animals and humans) and being closer to the source of the earthquake
- being attached to rock is good

Possible methods to predict and measure tsunamis.

in the deep sea pressure sensors are used to measure the relatively small sea-level change (in centimeters)
nearer to shore, where waves start to form, altitude could be measured by buoy
travel at hundreds of miles per hour
tsunami headquarters in Hawaii
notification could be minutes to hours in advance depending on distance from source of tsunami
height/speed of wave reduces with distance