Citizen Science Seismometers Could Revolutionise Earthquake Monitoring, New Research Shows

New research from Victoria University of Wellington shows that low-cost, off the shelf seismometers can add great value to earthquake monitoring and even show promise as early detection devices.

The Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC) funded* research is the first in the world to analyse the quality of data gathered through publicly available Raspberry Shake seismometers in such detail.

Lead researcher Bethany Hughes and her supervisor Dr Finn Illsley-Kemp say the $1000 NZD “small but powerful” desktop seismometers could revolutionise how we think about earthquake data.

“The citizen science data collected through Raspberry Shakes has been often dismissed as a hobby of people interested in earthquakes, and very rarely has it been used for scientific research because it’s been assumed that the data isn’t good enough,” says Illsley-Kemp.

“But we show that, when paired with the GNS Science’s GeoNet seismometer network, the data is high quality and reliable and can help us accurately monitor earthquakes,” he says.

Studying earthquakes helps scientists better understand the causes and potential impacts of future events, which can inform preparedness planning by communities and emergency management agencies.

Illsley-Kemp’s group collaborated with the CRISiSLab team from Massey’s Joint Centre for Disaster Research who used the Raspberry Shakes to study early earthquake detection.

The researchers sent out 22 Raspberry Shakes to people around the Wellington region, to compliment GeoNet’s network of 20 high-quality seismometers.

“We purposely didn’t help people set-up the Shakes because we wanted to simulate real-world situations where people don’t have guidance from experts.”

Together with the GeoNet network, the Raspberry Shakes picked up 19 earthquakes ranging from magnitudes 1.1 to 3.5 over a one-week period.

“The amplitudes measured by the Shakes was comparable to the GeoNet network, and we were surprised to see the Shakes picking up low magnitude earthquakes that were even outside the range of GeoNet seismometers due to the increased sensor density in the study.”

Illsley-Kemp was also surprised to find the devices accurately located earthquakes, despite users’ exact locations being obscured for privacy reasons.

“Understanding earthquake location can help us find new faults or better understand known ones.”

Illsley-Kemp cautions that Raspberry Shakes are most useful in conjunction with professional seismometer networks, which is why Wellington was a good place to undertake this research.

Alongside the GeoNet land-based sensor network, NHC is also funding a temporary network of ocean-bottom seismometers to study the Hikurangi subduction zone off Wellington’s coast.

There are about 50 Raspberry Shakes in New Zealand, according to the global map, which hosts earthquake data from devices all over the world.

“If more people installed these devices in their homes, alongside the professional networks, we would have a really amazing seismometer network that would be able to locate earthquakes in and around Wellington in great detail,” Illsely-Kemp explains.

"A dense distribution of Raspberry Shakes could act as an early warning system, picking up signals seconds before they reach the GeoNet network,” he says.

"One of the biggest barriers to an earthquake early warning system in New Zealand is the cost, whereas we show that the instrumentation can be affordable while still being very useful.”

The group plans to extend their research into using Raspberry Shakes to study fault lines, earthquake swarms, and even volcanic activity.

Dr Natalie Balfour, NHC Head of Research, is pleased to see the practical application of this study.

“We’re interested in innovative research that helps communities be more resilient to natural hazards. These results are promising because they show that it’s possible to supplement our high-quality GeoNet network with low-cost, readily available devices, to better understand earthquake hazard.

“What’s also great about this approach is that it empowers people and communities to take part in the science,” she says.

*The project is co-funded by the Rachael Westergaard Memorial Scholarship.

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