Researchers
at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras,  have developed a new
approach for detection of earthquakes that provides a small lead time which
could be helpful in saving lives.

“An estimate
of accurate time of arrival of non-destructive waves of earthquakes would not
only help in developing a robust early warning system but also gives a lead
time of approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes (range may vary depending on the
distance of epicentre from the monitoring site) till the destructive surface
waves hit the ground,”  an official statement said.

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This lead
time is enough to shut down nuclear reactors, metro services, park elevators
and other services that could save countless lives.

IIT Madras
PhD specialist Kanchan Aggarwal conducted research under the guidance of Prof
Arun K Tangirala, Department of Chemical Engineering. The findings of their
study were published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Tangirala,
while highlighting the practical applications of the study, said, “The proposed
framework is not necessarily limited to the detection of seismic events but can
be used for fault detection and isolation in other domains as well.
Furthermore, the framework can incorporate any predictive models, including
machine learning and deep learning models, which will reduce human intervention
in detection.”

The new
method is accompanied by sound features, which lead to less external
sensitivity or a stronger detection. Research also provides flexibility for
flexible band, with both high and low frequency levels at each level, leading
to accurate detection.

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“Information
of P-wave arrival is crucial in determining other source parameters of the
event such as magnitude, depth and epicentre location. Therefore, a solution to
the P-wave detection problem that is robust, accurate and precise is essential
in order to estimate the event details correctly and to reduce the damage
caused by the earthquake or other triggered events,” said Aggarwal.