A 5,158-meter-deep well China drilled to get to know about the
earth's crust could contribute to forecast earthquakes, said
scientists.
"Researchers will be able to record the movements of liquid and
gas which lie five kilometers underground. While drilling the well
they have found abnormal movements related to earthquakes," said Xu
Zhiqin, the chief scientist of the China Continental Scientific
Drilling Engineering Center and member of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences.
The well is located at Maobei Village of Donghai, a county in
the proximity of the port city of Lianyungang in northern Jiangsu
Province, east China. The drilling operation started in 2001 and
was completed in 2005. The exploration program cost a total of 166
million yuan (about US$22 million).
Maobei Village was selected as an ideal location of the well
drilling as it is situated on the world's largest
ultra-high-pressure metamorphic belt, known as the "Dabie-Sulu
Mountain fracture belt" and described by geologists as "a natural
research lab for the formation of plates and global geological
changes".
According to Wang Da, chief commander for the continental
scientific drilling program, an observation stand was built in the
well, with a diameter of 156 millimeters, to facilitate long-term
studies on the earth's in-depth secrets.
"We analyzed the gas data collected about 4,000 km underground
before and after the great Sumatra Earthquake happened on Dec. 26,
2004. There were significant differences. It is possible that one
day we could predict an earthquake by observations on underground
gas," said Xu.
The island of Sumatra is more than 4,000 km away from Jiangsu
Province.
Xu said workers had installed detectors in different depths
during the drilling operation, which could not only help forecast
earthquakes but also facilitate life science studies by observing
microorganism deep down in the earth's crust.
Researchers would also be able to acquire data useful for
studies on continental plate boundaries and substances in the layer
of the earth between the crust and the core, she said.
The chief scientist said the continental scientific drilling
program had passed national examinations. A five-km-deep well free
of ground intruders is left for future research.
"We have set up the first long-term integrated geophysics
research base in Asia. I hope it could serve the human being." said
Xu.
Because of their devastating potential, there is great interest
in predicting the location and time of large earthquakes. Although
a great deal is known about where earthquakes are likely, there is
currently no reliable way to predict the days or months when an
event will occur in any specific location.
The Sumatra Earthquake, the greatest in 40 years, killed about
300,000 people after triggering a large tsunami which spread
outward from off the Sumatran coast.
Earthquakes around the world killed about 1.2 million people in
the 20th century, including 590,000 in China. The biggest disaster
in the country is a 1976 quake that killed more than 242,000 in
Tangshan, Hebei Province.
Statistics show 35 percent of earthquakes measuring seven and
above on the Richter Scale in the world's continents occurred in
China in the last century.
China will build an earthquake-proof system to correspond with
the development of its cities, according to its 2006-2020
earthquake proof and relief plan.
Under the plan, the system will enable all areas in China to
basically have the capability to cope with earthquakes measuring
around six on the Richter Scale by 2020. Measures will also be
taken to equip rural areas with both earthquake-proof facilities
and knowledge in relief procedures.
Currently in rural areas earthquakes usually cause heavy
economic loss and casualties due to a lack of earthquake-proof
facilities and relief knowledge.
According to the plan, publicity of earthquake-proof and relief
knowledge shall cover 40 percent of the population and 200,000
volunteers will be enrolled to work for earthquake-proof and relief
efforts by 2010.
Material storage systems for disaster relief will be built and
earthquake victims will be ensured of basic living and medical
assistance within 24 hours of an earthquake.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2007)