New NSF Grant Pairs Green Ocean Technology with Needed Earthquake Sensors
New NSF Grant Pairs Green Ocean Technology with Needed Earthquake Sensors. Industry-academia collaboration will help address critical gaps in earthquake monitoring and tsunami warning systems Oct 6, 2011 By Mario Aguilera - In a new NSF-sponsored project, Scripps Oceanography scientists will use a surfboard-sized Wave Glider from Liquid Robotics to relay real-time seismic data. Combining recently launched green technology for navigating the oceans with the need to address gaps in critical earthquake information across the globe, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have been granted $1.02 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a cutting-edge deep-ocean seismic system. With contributions from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Foundation for Earth Sciences in La Jolla, Calif., and Liquid Robotics Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Kamuela, Hawaii, the total project is valued at $1.46 million. The Scripps team, led by geophysicist Jonathan Berger and co-principal investigators John Orcutt, Gabrielle Laske and Jeffrey Babcock will develop a potentially transformative system for deploying seafloor seismometers and relaying their vital data in real-time for applications ranging from earthquake monitoring and deep Earth structure and dynamics to tsunami warning systems. Wave Gliders will serve as communication gateways for transmitting live seismic data from the seafloor to the ocean surface to shore via satellite.
