{"68486":{"#nid":"68486","#data":{"type":"news","title":"More Quake-Forecasting Devices Needed on Sea Floor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 11 March Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami in Japan was a shock for citizens and researchers alike. The disaster is just the latest confirmation of why more ground-deformation monitors are desperately needed at sea, says Andrew Newman in a comment piece in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;this week.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENewman says the past 20 years have seen great strides in understanding earthquake faults, mainly through improved and expanded tracking of ground deformation. Most devices monitoring ground deformation are land-based because offshore monitoring is more complex \u2014 and costly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is a problem, says Newman, as \u201cthe real action happens\u201d offshore. Most big quakes are generated underwater, and tsunami potential can\u2019t be assessed from land measurements. \u201cProgress has been only partial,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGround-deformation monitors use Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to track deformations in the Earth\u2019s surface. The deformations occur over \u2018locked\u2019 patches, where tectonic plates get stuck along faultlines. When strain energy is suddenly released from a patch, an earthquake is generated. By keeping an eye on locked patches, researchers can predict the size and timing of quakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the monitors can\u2019t \u2018see\u2019 the GPS satellites through water, so when placed offshore they must be used in tandem with ships and sonar transponders. The cost of one survey can be as much as US$500,000.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENewman notes, however, that this must be set against the clean-up costs of giant quakes and tsunamis \u2014 a projected $300 billion for the Tohoku-Oki event alone. Offshore monitoring needs to ramp up, he says. \u201cIt is vital that all subduction boundaries \u2013 particularly those with the capacity for causing massive damage to nearby cities \u2014 be densely measured routinely enough to capture the extent of locking,\u201d he writes in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E. Newman calls on scientists to develop cheaper tools, and on agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Bank to get involved.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAndrew Newman of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences discusses his views on why we need better tsunami forecasting techniques. The comment appears this week in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Andrew Newman of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences discusses his views in Nature."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2011-06-23 10:26:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:37","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"68490":{"id":"68490","type":"image","title":"Andrew Newman","body":null,"created":"1449177176","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:12:56","changed":"1475894594","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:14","alt":"Andrew Newman","file":{"fid":"193325","name":"andrew_newman.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/andrew_newman_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/andrew_newman_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":198138,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/andrew_newman_0.jpg?itok=HcIzVMqC"}}},"media_ids":["68490"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v474\/n7352\/full\/474441a.html","title":"Nature"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12237","name":"Andrew Newman"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"12120","name":"earthquakes"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"13480","name":"tsumani"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}