The University of California at Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology are among the beneficiaries of almost $5 million in federal funds to support ShakeAlert, an earthquake early warning system.
ShakeAlert is a product of the USGS Advanced National Seismic System, a federation of national and regional earthquake monitoring networks throughout the country, including networks along the West Coast and Nevada.
Besides UC Berkeley and Caltech, the USGS has signed new cooperative agreements with University of Oregon, University of Washington, Central Washington University, University of Nevada at Reno and UNAVCO Inc. of Boulder, Colo.
About 60 organizations are signed up as beta testers, including transit agencies in Central and Southern California, water and gas companies, and at least one startup company that does things such as remotely open firehouse doors so they don’t get jammed shut during a quake.
The organizations will work to bring real-time GPS observations into the ShakeAlert system as well as upgrade the networks and install new seismic stations to improve the speed and reliability of the warnings.
They’ll also develop and streamline scientific algorithms to quickly detect potentially damaging earthquakes, and more thoroughly test and refine the warning system.
“This is just a small step along the way, one of many milestones,” said Doug Given, earthquake early warning coordinator for the USGS.
Given said the warning system is partially built, but work still needs to be done. Hundreds of stations contribute seismic information to the network, but a few areas aren’t covered, and the technology to quickly warn the public is still being developed.
When the early warning system is in place, it very quickly will detect the size and location of an earthquake, then decide whether it should send alerts to surrounding areas.
A video produced in 2013 by Caltech, UC Berkeley and ETH Zurich simulates what a pre-quake warning might look like.
The goal is to able to provide public alerts beginning next year.
“That’s the goal, but it’s all subject to the funding,” Given said.
ShakeAlert collaborators will also continue to train, educate and expand the pilot project.
In 2014, the agency estimated it would require a $38.3 million investment to get ShakeAlert to the point of issuing public warnings on the West Coast, and $16.1 million each year to operate and maintain it.
The state of California in May committed $10 million to improve the California Earthquake Early Warning system. Oregon recently contributed nearly $1 million to enhance that state’s system.
©2017 The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
