单选题 Scientists in the United States have developed a computer program that they say could provide an early warning of major earthquakes. The new system is designed to give warning seconds before an earthquake strikes.
That may not sound like very long. However, it could give people time to get under a table. The flow of electronic power or gas could be cut. Air traffic controllers could warn away pilots. Even so called “smart buildings” could be designed to get ready.
Richard Allen of the University of Wisconsin and Hiroo Kanamori of the California Institute of Technology developed the program. They call it the Earthquake Alarm System. A report published in Science magazine described it.
The system uses a mathematical program to measure information collected by instruments placed across the los Angeles area. Southern California already has more than 150 stations that measure movements within the ground. The information they collect is sent to a high-speed computer.
The new system is designed to estimate the strength of the earthquake once the shaking starts. Areas directly above the center of the earthquake would have the least warning. Distant places might have as long as forty seconds.
Professor Allen notes that an early warning system for earthquake would require a major campaign of public education. Then, another problem is the possibility of false alarms.