Quake Catcher Network catching on New Madrid, worldwide

NEW MADRID -- For those living along the New Madrid Fault Line, earthquakes are nearly a daily occurrence -- whether they know it or not.

Last Tuesday a 2.0 quake rattled northeastern Arkansas. There were three quakes recorded on Aug. 4 and another three on Aug. 6, all ranging in strength of 1.5 to 2.1, with three of those six centered within 10 miles of New Madrid.

Quakes so small almost no one noticed.

But the region's quakes may soon get attention worldwide as the Quake Catcher Network catches on.

Among the first in the area to join the QCN is the New Madrid Historical Museum. Jeff Grunwald, the museum's director, said it seemed appropriate for the museum, which includes an exhibit on the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 and earthquakes in general.

"I think it dovetails nicely with our exhibit on earthquakes," he said. "Hopefully, it can improve earthquake awareness and monitoring."

According to Grunwald, the museum is involved in several national earthquake projects, ranging from earthquake preparedness information to educational efforts. It was during a conference call on another project that he learned about QCN.

The QCN is a network of small seismic sensors that are installed by schools, museums, and individuals onto their computers via a USB port, he explained. The sensors provide real-time detection of earthquakes with that information relayed via Internet to Palo Alto, Calif.

"The thinking is that by engaging private individuals, schools, etc., that there will be more data on seismic activity in a given area and this will help seismologists and geologists to learn more about the nature of that activity more quickly," Grunwald said.

The project is part of BOINC, which stands for Berkley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. BOINC uses the power of personal computers worldwide to help "crunch" large groups of information, he said.

For the complete story, see the Wednesday edition of the Standard Democrat.