USGS Develops Twitter-Based Earthquake Detection 95
Posted
by
samzenpus
from the whole-lotta-shaking-going-on dept.
from the whole-lotta-shaking-going-on dept.
sprinkletown writes "A team of seismologists at the US Geological Survey has found that Twitter is the fastest way to get information out of an earthquake area, especially in those less densely populated. Seeing the Twitter community as an untapped resource, the USGS has developed a new way to track earthquakes by clustering quake-centric tweets."
Twitter as a news search engine (Score:5, Interesting)
I've used Twitter's search before (out of desperation) when my wife thought that we had an earth quake and I didn't.
To my surprise just 3 minutes later (time it took me to exhaust regular search engines), someone tweeted that they're having an earthquake a few miles away from where we live.
Since that day I've been using Twitter's search to find up to the minute updates for topics that interest me (Intel's SSD firmware bug, conferences, etc.).
I think Twitter is shaking up to be a very good source of news/information, if you can manage to find gems in the pile of "I just landed. WOOT!" tweets.
Re:First post! (Score:2, Interesting)
When you have lived in California long enough you'll learn that:
1) Tremors move through the Earth's crust just a little bit faster than the speed of sound. To put this in perspective, it's perhaps just about 50-70% faster than a modern jet airliner cruising at high altitude.
2) If you've ever watched a modern jet airliner cruising at high altitude you know that telephone communication, radio and television, and even the internet travel much faster.
3) Following a fairly large earthquake, there will usually be a series of light to moderate aftershocks from which you can calibrate your understanding of the speed of tremors.
4) For instance, if talking across town on the telephone you will often notice that there is a substantial delay between one feeling the tremor and the other feeling the tremor.
5) The more substantial the delay between when one feels the tremor and when the other feels the tremor, the more substantial the difference in level of excitement that will be displayed. The first to feel the tremor will be the more excited party.
6) The epicenters of the aftershocks are not always in the same place, so it is possible that two observers talking on the telephone will reverse roles between (excited) and (calm) on subsequent tremors, sometimes even during a single telephone call.
7) During the period of frequent aftershocks, one of the most enjoyable things you can do is climb to the top of a small hill overlooking a large flat valley and watch the effects of the tremor propagate across the terrain. Unforgetable majesty.
8) These effects may be noted during/following a light to moderate aftershock, however, all bets are off during a large earthquake. You may wonder why a radio or television went off the air or why the power went off until you feel the tremor. But if you feel a huge earthquake first, you will lose power smartly and fail to hear when the radio station finally goes off the air.
I've been within a few thousand feet of the epicenter of four 6.0 or larger earthquakes during my adult life. Never once have I heard anyone scream during a major earthquake. I've heard people scream for 3.0 or smaller aftershocks, however. People are on edge already when aftershocks hit, and behavior changes.
Following the end of the 1994 Northridge quake, the first words out of my mouth were "Good one!", and my wife in effect said immediately "the baby's still asleep", but the extensive house repairs were not completed until four months after workmen began.