Three days after two earthquakes rocked Mahrashtra in quick succession, the National Centre of Seismology (NCS) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) said another seismometer would be installed in Palghar district, taking the total number of such monitors to four.
According to officials from IMD, the fourth instrument to be located east of the last earthquake’s epicentre will enable the team in acquiring a more accurate data. The existing three seismometers were not targeting the area situated east of where the earthquakes have been occurring, officials said.
Palghar district has seen thousands of small earthquakes since November 2018, but the March 1 quake measuring 4.3 on the moment magnitude (Mw) scale was the first time the magnitude crossed 4 here.
“The fourth seismometer will be installed along the road that connects Haldipada and Udhawa in Palghar district. The instrument will be on standby for support. We require atleast three seismometers for perceiving the earthquakes. In case any one of them fails, the fourth one will be there so as to ensure that data gathering is not affected,” Kiran Narkhede, scientific assistant, IMD, said.
A team of three members – one from the IMD, Mumbai and two from NCS, New Delhi - will arrive in Palghar on March 5, for the installation work. During their five-day stay there, the team will collect data from previously installed instruments and send it to New Delhi for further analysis.
“We will first survey the site for installation. The site needs to be secured, and have as much hard rock as possible. Power supply and silence are important factors. There should also not be any movement on the road or kids playing constantly, as these are factors that can disturb the recording of data,” an official from the IMD said.
Officials said that the installation of the fourth seismometer was already in the pipeline before the two earthquakes struck, the team wanted more accurate data to study the issue. “By putting one more instrument, we want to get a better understanding of the parameters and focal depth of the earthquakes. We are going to install GPRS modems at all stations that will transmit the data to our New Delhi centre. The whole idea is to know exactly where and at what depth these quakes are occurring, and the data responsible for them,” Mr. Gahalaut said.
Previously, scientists had estimated that Palghar could see a ‘maximum credible earthquake’ or MCE measuring Mw 6.5. The MCE is the largest quake that can occur in a region. All of Palghar’s buildings must be prepared for this, seismologists said, though the timing cannot be predicted.
