NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
International Space Flight (ESA, Russia, China and others) => Indian Launchers => Topic started by: kanaka on 06/26/2015 04:01 pm
-
Any Idea what is the status of GAGAN implementation? Also why could not Indian Satellites detect Nepal Earthquake before hand?
-
Any Idea what is the status of GAGAN implementation? Also why could not Indian Satellites detect Nepal Earthquake before hand?
How would a satellite detect an impending earthquake?
Ground-based seismometers are the quickest known way to detect earthquakes, as they are happening.
Here is an article on GAGAN:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/gps-topup-gagan-is-up-and-ready/article7257994.ece
-
Official Link:
http://www.isro.gov.in/applications/step-towards-initial-satellite-based-navigation-services-india-gagan-irnss
-
How would a satellite detect an impending earthquake?
If you can't prognosticate, that's OK in seismology (https://xkcd.com/1052/) ... but COULD satellites do so? Maybe not now, but in the (near) future?
Using the same principle as GRAIL/GRACE? Using the mass-concentration changes associated with mantle flow (which in turn drives the tectonic plate motion).
GOCE has already proven an ability to detect earth-quakes (after they've happened, of course) - albeit using a different phenomenon of earthquake vibration->infra-sound->atmospheric drag variations at GOCE's low orbit height.
-
Yeah, I've heard of the infrasound thing, but apparently that's so weak that only large quakes could be detected - and obviously not in advance. In which case, ground-based seismometers could do the same.
One thing that I remember reading about way back, is that earthquakes may emit microwaves
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4711143&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F8859%2F4747356%2F04711143.pdf%3Farnumber%3D4711143
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUSM.S21A..03M
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/seismology
Various animals have shown the ability to react to earthquakes in advance. Some of it may be sensitivity to electromagnetic disturbances, and some of it may be infrasound (elephants and whales can do low-frequency sonic communication)
-
But at a laboratory in IIT Madras students are working on a Rs 3 crore satellite project which will try to take ahead research on the elusive prediction model. The nano-satellite IITMSAT will carry only one payload into low earth orbit by mid-2016. It will detect charged particles circling the earth through a plastic scintillation detector measuring 500sqcm.The detector will illuminate when particles (electrons and protons) circling the earth in the Van Allen belt precipitate towards low earth orbit.
.
.
.
The purpose of the satellite is to validate a theory that pressure generated in the tectonic plates before an earthquake emits low frequency waves which interact with the Van Allen belt leading to a sudden discharge of charged particles. Fluctuations in the particles could be due to varied reasons and one among them is believed to be earthquakes.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/IIT-Madras-to-study-particles-in-space-predict-tremors-beneath-earth/articleshow/49221747.cms
Any other experiments took a dig at this approach?
-
Found a paper by IITMSAT team (http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1411/1411.6034.pdf)[PDF]. It also mentions previous experiments on same approach.
Also their project site.
https://iitmsat.iitm.ac.in/