With a nod to UC Berkeley, Google crowdsources earthquake data

Earthquake early warning gives people time to drop, cover and hold on until the shaking stops, preventing injuries. (Animation courtesy of Google) A UC Berkeley idea to crowdsource every cellphone on the planet to create a global seismic network has been adapted by Google and incorporated into the Android operating system, kicking off an effort to build the world's largest network of earthquake detectors. Google announced today (Tuesday, Aug. 11) that Android cellphones - potentially billions of mobile phones around the planet - will automatically record shaking during an earthquake and feed the data into Google's network. Google will analyze the data in real time and, for now, share online the magnitude, location and estimated area of shaking with anyone searching for "earthquake" or "earthquake near me." The technology company's ultimate goal, like that of UC Berkeley, with its MyShake app , is to provide early warning of impending shaking from a quake to those in areas of the world without seismic or early warning networks, but with lots of personal cellphones that can serve as mini-seismometers. "Google is building on what we have done with MyShake," said Richard Allen, director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory and professor of earth and planetary science, who led the development of MyShake, which was released to the public last October. MyShake provides Californians with early warning of ground shaking through the ShakeAlert system, which was rolled out last year by the governor's Office of Emergency Services in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, UC Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology.