A device placed on the floor of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monterey, Calif., will help geologists measure earthquake activity along the fault line running along the California coast.
\Without these types of seafloor monitors, we don't have good information on the location and depth of earthquakes, and the type of faulting involved, as well as the level of seismic activity on these faults,"" said University of California-Berkeley Professor Barbara Romanowicz.
The broadband sensors in the device measure seismic vibrations from a tenth of a second to 300 seconds. Three components measure vertical movement and two measure horizontal movement.
Although this is a breakthrough in seismic monitoring, data is not immediately available to researchers; it must be retrieved periodically from a recording device also located on the ocean floor.
