In a bid to study earthquakes more closely, Indian scientists are preparing to send probes to greater depths to monitor changes in the earth's crust; perhaps the first such project in this part of the world.
The scientists are planning to drill a borehole up to eight kilometres deep into the earth in the quake-prone Koyna region in Maharashtra to understand the changes that occur underground when an earthquake strikes.
Seismic zone
The Koyna region, home to a large hydel project, is a highly active seismic zone and would provide scientists an opportunity to study earthquakes more closely in real-time. It will also help them in looking for precursors or warning signals to an earthquake.
“We are having the first meeting in this regard at the end of this month,” Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, told PTI here.
The scientists believe that the seismicity associated with the Koyna reservoir was unique in the world as it is one of the few sites where earthquakes of magnitude greater than five continue to occur even four decades after the initial spurt of activity in 1967.
The work of drilling an eight km hole and sending down sophisticated instruments to record changes in the earth's underbelly is expected to cost around Rs. 500 crore.
International workshop
Once the internal consultations are complete, the Ministry plans to hold an international workshop early next year to finalise the plan. The actual programme will be charted out based on the recommendations of the international workshop.The exercise is expected to begin in the next plan period (2013—2018).
India's first coordinated attempt at studying earthquake precursors has taken off in the shape of a Multiparametric Geophysical Observatory located atop an isolated hill in Ghuttu in Uttarakhand.
