alec-
But two, and it's time for a reassessment, for the outlier thesis is now suspect
not when you weigh the outspoken minority
of two against the unspoken majority of millions
and millions.
- carl sagan
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov
and, regarding quakes:
Call it our earthquake alarm
A "revolutionary" underwater monitoring network off the B.C. coast that might deliver a one-minute warning of a cataclysmic earthquake has moved closer to reality with a mention last week in U.S. President George W. Bush's administrative budget.
While the latest U.S. funding remains to be approved by Congress, about $147 million US is earmarked as the U.S. portion of the Neptune Project that will allow scientists to monitor the ocean floor with a stream of "real time" data.
The U.S.-Canada project will include a network of sensors and instrument buoys spread across 200,000 square kilometres of ocean from B.C. to California.
The system will link satellites, underwater power sources and a host of interactive instruments through a 3,000-kilometre network of fibre-optic cables. The whole system will be controlled over the Internet.
Chris Barnes, project director of Neptune Canada, said the network will "revolutionize" marine science.
"Putting in power and the Internet means you can drive a whole new generation of instruments," he said. "The Internet will control what the vehicles or instruments can do, and they'll send back material in real time."
"On the Internet, we might get as much as a minute's notice [of an earthquake] and we think that it could be possible for some of the big utilities, gas or electrical, to at least shut down major systems in say, downtown Vancouver, where fire is usually half the damage."
The full-time observations will help in the study of earthquakes, tsunamis and the slow-moving ocean changes that could shed light on climate change.
Canada's contribution to the project, $47 million US, has already been pledged over five years.
The West Coast was chosen because of the proximity of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate and the wealth of facilities and expertise at the universities of Victoria and Washington.
Barnes said the Canadian side hopes to begin laying power cable in the summer of 2007. The majority of the instruments will be installed in 2008.
canada.com
-rose |
