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Summary: 28 Caltech Undergraduate Research Journal W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 29www.curj.caltech.edu
Community Seismic Network :
Catching Earthquakes Quickly and Cheaply Through
Volunteer-based Sensor Networks
Daniel Obenshain, K. Mani Chandy, Rishi Chandy, Rob Clayton, Andreas Krause, Michael Olson, Daniel Rosenberg, and Annie Tang
INTRODUCTION
EARTHQUAKES are devastating natural disasters. They
are of particular concern to the people of the Los Angeles area
as the San Andreas Fault and other faults lie nearby. ShakeOut,
a scenario constructed by the United States Geological Survey,
conservatively estimates that a 7.8 or higher magnitude
earthquake in this area would result in a death toll of 2,000, with
an additional 50,000 injured and over $200 billion in damage.
In such an event, early warning would be a lifesaver. With as
little as ten seconds of early warning, automated systems could
take action to reduce damage and loss of life. Elevators could be
stopped and the doors opened so that the passengers could step
out. Data servers could suspend read/write operations to prevent
corrupting millions of dollars worth of data. The electrical grid
could be placed in a more stable configuration to reduce rolling
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