手机阵列预测地震
A Few Hundred Smartphones Could Catch Earthquakes Early
手机阵列预测地震
Thanks to their GPS systems, smartphones in an array could pick up movements indicating the onset of an earthquake and provide extra seconds of early warning.
基于GPS系统，智能手机阵列能够收集地震发生前的征兆，从而为地震的早期预警争取到多几秒的时间。
撰文 辛飞亚·盖博（Cynthia Graber）
翻译 M
审校 弥生
Early warning systems can be the difference between life and death in earthquake-prone regions, but they’re expensive. The U.S., Mexico and Japan have such systems. That leaves large swaths of Central and South America, Asia and the Caribbean unprotected.
在地震多发地区，早期预警系统可以挽救大量生命，但是它们的造价昂贵。美国、墨西哥和日本配置了这样的系统。然而中美洲、南美洲与加勒比海的大片地区仍未受保护。
Now, scientists think one solution could be hiding in our pockets: our cell phones.
现在，科学家认为一个解决方案可能就隐藏在我们的口袋之中：我们的手机。
Smartphones employ the latest GPS technology. So scientists tested arrays of smartphones to determine if they could measure displacement caused by the earth’s shaking—and signal the subtle beginnings of an earthquake.
智能手机都搭载了最新的全球定位系统(GPS)。基于此事实，科学家们测试了能否通过手机阵列来测量地震引起的位移，以及地震开始之初的微妙变化。
For the experiment, the researchers used a hypothetical magnitude 7 earthquake in California and data from the real magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Japan in 2011 that led to the tsunami that caused the nuclear accident at Fukushima.
在试验之中，科学家们建立了在加利福尼亚州发生7级地震的模型。模型的数据源自2011年发生在日本海岸，引发海啸，并导致了福岛核事故的9级地震。
They found that as few as 500 cell phones in California could alert the public five seconds before an event, enough time to at least move to a less vulnerable part of a room or dive under a desk.
他们发现在加利福尼亚，只需要500台手机就能在地震发生前5秒警示公众。这段时间足够让人们移动到一个不那么脆弱的房间或是躲到桌子下。
For the Japanese earthquake, early warning would not have helped in the region closest to the epicenter. But such an alert could have helped cut damage in downtown Tokyo. And the information would have reached the coastline lifesaving minutes before the resulting tsunami waves did.
就日本地震的经验而言，早期预警系统未能帮助到离震央最近的地区。但这样的警报能够帮助减少东京市区的损害。而且这些消息能够在海啸到达之前为海岸救援工作争取到数分钟的时间。
The research is in the journal Science Advances. [Sarah E. Minson et al, Crowdsourced earthquake early warning]
这项研究发表在《科学》杂志上。[Sarah E. Minson et al, Crowdsourced earthquake early warning]
The scientists say various technological details need to be worked out, such as how companies would allow smartphones to access and share the raw data. They point out that instead of waiting to buy expensive top-grade scientific equipment, governments could consider creating interim early detection systems based on arrays of sensitive smartphones.
科学家们说仍有几个技术细节需要解决，比如电信企业将如何使智能手机访问和共享原始数据。他们指出，与其等待尖端而且昂贵的高科技装置的购入，政府可以考虑建立基于灵敏的智能手机阵列的临时早期检测系统。
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京ICP备11000850号-1
京公网安备11010502039775号 信息网络传播视听节目许可证0111611号
国家科技基础条件平台