9 years ago Wenchuan earthquake occurred, I ran down the violently shaking corridor from the fifth floor, with only two thoughts in my mind: Are you going to die? Is it still time? After leaving the corridor gate, the hall gate was still ten meters away, and I already had hope in my heart: it was the last few meters, I would escape, I would escape!
may have such mental journeys that have experienced major earthquakes. Although they are different, the despair is unforgettable for life. But in the future, we may no longer be tortured by this unforgettable despair. A study by Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States may allow scientists to accurately predict the upcoming earthquake a week in advance, and we will be able to calmly deal with the tyranny of nature!
An international team composed of researchers from the University of Cambridge , Boston University and Los Alamos National Laboratory studied the interaction between earthquakes, precursor earthquakes and faults. It found that before the earthquake, under increasing stress, the rocks emit a low rumble that cannot be heard by the human ear. This hidden key signal is usually issued a week before the earthquake, but due to the difficulty of distinguishing from random noise, it has not been effectively applied before.
In the laboratory, researchers used steel blocks, pistons and other materials to simulate the physical force in real earthquakes, record a large number of signals and sounds generated, and then used high-tech algorithms to train machines to learn independently, "excavate" hidden seismic signals from a large amount of noise, accurately evaluate the stress changes in the earthquake, and predict the remaining time before the rock formation breaks, so as to accurately predict the occurrence of earthquakes one week in advance.
Although the study was conducted in the laboratory, the researchers compared the simulated earthquakes and repeated small earthquakes of the San Andreas fault, as well as slow earthquakes that lasted for weeks or months at the junction of the United States and Canada, and found that the earthquakes reconstructed in the experimental were very similar to those in reality, and the results could be used to predict the exact time of the earthquake.
Researchers believe that the next challenge is to determine the magnitude of earthquake in advance to establish a reliable earthquake forecasting system so that each earthquake has enough time to evacuate people and reduce life and property losses. The researchers said the study can also be applied to forecasting geological disasters such as avalanches and landslides.
This study was published in the recent Journal of Geophysical Research.
Reference article: http://t.cn/RWMjYoY
