Japan Wires the Ocean with an Earthquake-Sensing Nervous System'
Briefly

Japan's newly completed ocean floor monitoring system connects thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables to sensors on fault lines to enhance earthquake detection. This system aims to prevent future devastation similar to the 2011 disaster, where a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami, leading to nearly 20,000 deaths and the Fukushima disaster. By enabling real-time monitoring of subduction zones, the system allows for timely evacuations and infrastructure preparations, while providing detailed insights into earthquake mechanisms via constant listening to faults.
The system aims to stave off devastation like that of 2011 when a relentless six-minute-long temblor was followed by a 130-foot tsunami that reached speeds of 435 miles per hour.
Japan began expanding its earthquake-detection system to cover the ocean floor, achieving direct, real-time monitoring of entire subduction zones, adding minutes and seconds to evacuate people.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
[
|
]