SEATTLE — A new app uses your smartphone to collect data on earthquakes with the goal of eventually providing warnings to your phone before a quake hits. University of Washington seismologists hope to incorporate the app into the Earthquake Early Warning System currently being tested in the Pacific Northwest.
UC Berkeley seismologists created the MyShake app. http://myshake.berkeley.edu/
“So all smart phones have an accelerometer,” Richard Allen, director of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, said in a demonstration. “That allows the phone to sense motion whether you're walking or whether you're running. When the earthquake strikes, the accelerometer in the phone will record the ground shaking, send that data to our system.”
University of Washington Seismologist John Vidale works closely with the Berkeley seismologists. He explained to KIRO 7 how the app can tell it’s a quake.
“Specifically, they look to see the frequency of the motion,” said Vidale. “So earthquakes have a rattling motion. People moving around have a different set of motions. So they apply a test to see what kind of motion it is.”
The app has more than 70,000 downloads. With more people using it, more data is collected. Eventually, seismologists say that will allow them to send out alerts before a quake hits, giving you a matter of seconds to take cover.
UW seismologists hope that will complement the warning system being tested in Western Washington, which uses seismometers.
“Add the cellphone system into the hard wired system,” said Vidale. “And get even better accuracy and speed than we can with just the hard wired system in the ground.”
The MyShake app is free for Android users, and the creators hope to have an iPhone version soon.
Cox Media Group
