INNOVATION May-June 2014

f ea t ures

experts in the field of seismic engineering in BC and California to develop these guidelines. Their extensive involvement in the preparation of the SRG prompted UBC’s effort to develop an earthquake warning system. Earthquake warning technology has been available for many years and has been used effectively in schools and other types of build- ings in earthquake-prone areas around the world. “It’s been very successful in el- ementary schools where children have been trained to get to safe locations under desks or else- where when they hear the alarm,” says Sherstobitoff. “Carlos and his team at UBC have developed

Plastic cone with strong motion detector implanted inside.

how far away the fault is from populated areas. The West Coast of Canada—which we call Cascadia— has historically experienced very large subduction earthquakes.” These earthquakes occur when two plates, lying 50 to 100 kilometres below the surface of the earth, are pushing against one another—somewhat like offensive and defensive lines in a football game. One manages to get beneath the other and pushes it up. “They are usu- ally out in the ocean,” Ventura says. “One plate can lift another tens of metres. That’s what creates a tsunami.

a device that is very small and very cost-effective. It improves the economics of installing them over a wide system. Others are very expensive and the cost would have been prohibitive for the archdiocese.” Cost was one part of the equation for Ventura and his team. They also wanted to develop sensors that could be calibrated to deliver the best results, given the specific seismicity of the region. “Earthquakes are like different animals,” says Ventura. “Each has its own signature depending on how the fault moves and

That type of earthquake has happened in BC and it’s the type we call the Big One—a magnitude nine.” A second type is called a crustal earthquake and it occurs when two plates, generally located 10 to 50 kilometres below the surface, rub against each other, but in opposite directions. A third, known as sub-crustal, occurs for the same reason, but at depths of 50 to 100 kilometres. Sub-crustal earthquakes occur about once every 30 years in the Seattle area and could also occur in the Strait of Georgia. Even a quake with a magnitude of 6 to 6.5 could have devastating effects due to the proximity to heavily populated urban centres, says Ventura. When an earthquake happens, waves are propagated and dispersed in all directions from the point of origin of the earthquake. Several types of waves are commonly generated that spread at different speeds and different mo- tions. Those that travel at faster speeds and produce an initial or primary shock are known as primary waves or P-waves.

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