Naturally, having access to more seismic stations (specifically in close proximity to flood-prone areas), could supply a lot more comprehensive details about this, and could do so at a small portion of the cost sustained by the 2021 disaster, which remained in the tens of billions of euros.
Seismic stations generally identify vibrations and ground movement. It does not always have to be an earthquake– seismic stations can likewise spot large bombs, for example, which is why theyre even utilized as a way to monitor any possible nuclear bomb testing activity. They can likewise discover things like sinkholes or landslides. So Michael Dietze, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Göttingen, had a concept: what if they could likewise choose up the vibrations from floods?
Given that this information can be derived in almost real-time, this kind of system could be used to enhance flood danger evaluation and management not just in Europe, however in any area that is vulnerable to flooding and has seismometers– and given the big network of seismic stations all around the world, plenty of areas could benefit from it.
Communities in Germanys Ahr Valley, for instance, were left ravaged by a flood that killed nearly 200 people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes. Michael Dietze, a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Göttingen, had an idea: what if they could likewise pick up the vibrations from floods?
Flooding is a problem as old as human society. Wherever there are rivers and valleys and the conditions are right, there will be flooding. But that does not mean were well prepared for it. In reality, rather the opposite: were building a growing number of in flooding-prone locations and our mismanagement of water resources is frequently connected to this sort of problem. To make matters even worse, environment modification is making extreme weather condition more likely, and extreme weather upstream is often connected to flooding downstream.
“If the information stream from that station had been available and analysed as our research study now shows, necessary actual time details on the magnitude and speed of the flood would have been offered,” states Dietze.
How much particles does the flood transportation? Where is the flood front at an offered time? The precision and resolution of answers to these questions would increase substantially with the number of offered seismic stations in a catchment,” the scientists conclude in the research study.
When a flood comes downstream, it can damage most things in its course, however a seismometer does not need to be close to get vibrations. It can select up large earthquakes from hundreds or countless kilometers away, and when it comes to the Ahr Valley, a seismometer was 1.5 km away. By looking at the data from the seismometer, Dietze and coworkers had the ability to measure the “seismic footprint” of the flood, and from it obtain information about its magnitude, speed, and trajectory in real-time– info that would have been very valuable throughout the 2021 floods.
This ended up being apparent in 2021 in numerous parts of central and western Europe. Parts of Germany, for instance, saw virtually unprecedented floods. Communities in Germanys Ahr Valley, for circumstances, were left devastated by a flood that killed practically 200 individuals and ruined or harmed numerous houses. The floodwaters were so strong that they even ruined three stations utilized to determine water levels along the Ahr river, rendering them useless and leaving the community blindfolded as to what was coming their way.
Flooding in Germany. Image credits: Martin Siefert.
To make matters even worse, environment change is making severe weather condition more likely, and extreme weather upstream is often linked to flooding downstream.
But a nearby seismic station, that selects up vibrations from earthquakes, still spotted the flood.
Normally, seismometers are utilized to choose up information from earthquakes. However significantly, researchers are taking a look at using them for various additional functions. For flooding, this might be a game changer.
A (probably insufficient) map of seismic stations from all over the world.
When a flood comes downstream, it can damage most things in its course, but a seismometer does not have to be close to pick up vibrations. By looking at the data from the seismometer, Dietze and associates were able to measure the “seismic footprint” of the flood, and from it derive details about its magnitude, speed, and trajectory in real-time– details that would have been very valuable throughout the 2021 floods.
