The National Science Council (NSC) is working on establishing a cross-departmental integrated mechanism for monitoring earthquake precursors in hopes of setting up an effective national earthquake early warning system.
Many countries have initiated studies of earthquake precursors in an attempt to predict earthquakes, and Taiwan should promote similar research given that the nation lies on a seismic belt and its geological structure is prone to landslides, National Science Council Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-hong (陳正宏) said yesterday.
Research into this topic by academic centers and government agencies only began in earnest after the Sept. 21, 1999, earthquake, Chen said.
Although studies over the past decade have yielded significant results, Chen said the data are scattered in various research centers — including the Central Weather Bureau, the Central Geographic Research Bureau and universities — and their methodologies differ, he said.
As such, the council has established a “Taiwan Earthquake Research Center” and initiated a three-year project to integrate all the data on studying earthquake precursors to improve predictions and precautions.
Lin Cheng-horng (林正洪), director of the center and a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Earth Sciences, said some of the studies showed promise for predicting earthquakes.
These include analysis of past earthquake patterns (including frequency, scale, location and depth), changes in electromagnetic signals and monitoring of groundwater levels or ground movements from GPS sites.
For example, researchers have found a pattern of the level of groundwater dropping abnormally a few hours or a couple of days before an earthquake, he said.
However, more proof using different methodologies is need to test whether these phenomena can be effective earthquake precursors, he said.
“The ongoing project is like the process of forming a baseball team. We are still trying to verify which methods are like players with higher batting rates,” said Chen Yue-gau (陳于高), executive secretary of the project and a professor at National Taiwan University’s geosciences department.
About 100 on-site earthquake early-warning systems have been set up in elementary schools across the nation, the researchers said.
If they prove to be effective, it may give people a 10-second warning before an earthquake strikes, they said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS