For years, scientists have struggled to collect accurate real-time data on earthquakes, but a new article published today in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America may have found a better tool for the job, using the same accelerometers found in most modern smartphones. The article finds that the MEMS accelerometers in current smartphones are sensitive enough to detect earthquakes of magnitude five or higher when located near the epicenter. Because the devices are so widely used, scientists speculate future smartphone models could be used to create an "urban seismic network," transmitting real-time geological data to authorities whenever a quake takes place.
The authors pointed to Stanford's Quake-Catcher Network as an...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/29/4783690/scientists-turn-smartphone-accelerometers-into-earthquake-sensors
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