[OANNES Foro] Peruvian geologists may be able to predict earthquakes using magnetometers

[Mario Cabrejos]

Using magnetometers, scientists from the PUCP predicted two earthquakes in April.
Peruvian geologists may be able to predict earthquakes
by Diego M. Ortiz
25 June 2013
http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-peruvian-geologists-may-be-able-to-predict-earthquakes-100220

 

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Anyone who lives on the Pacific coast-from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego-knows that from time to time the earth will move causing earthquakes. Sometimes we feel them, other times they go virtually undetected, but a group of scientists in Peru says they might have the technology to predict the quakes before they occur.

In October 2010, scientists used a magnetometer, a device that measures the strength and direction of magnetic fields, to detect an increase in magnetic pressure in Tacna. According to the data they collected, the investigators predicted that there would be an earthquake in the region sometime between the 22nd and 23rd of October. And just as they predicted, at 3 a.m. on the 22nd there was seismic activity off the coast of Tacna.

In April of this year, scientists used two magnetometers to predict a 4.1M earthquake on the 4th and a 3.8M on the 12th of the month. Scientists now believe that by using these magnetometers, the public can be better informed about potential earthquakes.

Dr. Jorge Heraud, director of the Radioastronomy Institute at the Catholic University in Peru, is now working to put more of those magnetometers in various locations around the country. There are currently 10 in place in Peru - nine were donated by a private company in California and one was donated by Telefonica. 

These sensors may allow us to better track small currents of energy that accompany tension in the friction points where earthquakes begin. Friction that builds when the Earth's tectonic plates rub against one another is what creates earthquakes. In Peru, earthquakes are caused by the Nazca plate rubbing against the South American plate.

The program is still in its infancy Heraud says, but with more magnetometers it may be possible to predict earthquakes in the future, allowing the public time to prepare incase of major earthquakes.

It will likely take years, if not decades, to perfect the system and to identify all of the mechanisms that lead to seismic activities. The question remains, how will people react to earthquake warnings once the technology exists?
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