Home / China / National News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
5,158-m-deep well to help forecast earthquake
Adjust font size:

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)

 

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- Powerful quake hit Sumatra, Indonesia
- Quake blueprint on the agenda
- Beijing to get 100 emergency shelters
- Three Gorges area to have earthquake monitoring
- 2 killed, 26 injured in strong quake in Indonesia
- Earthquake hits north China
Most Viewed >>
主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久午夜福利电影| 多人交换伦交视频| 亚洲av无码专区在线厂| 污污的软件下载| 免费观看a级毛片| 美女露100%胸无遮挡免费观看| 国产在线无码精品电影网| 亚洲精品视频在线观看你懂的| 国产黄三级高清在线观看播放| а天堂中文在线官网在线| 欧美MV日韩MV国产网站| 午夜视频在线观看视频| 里番acg全彩本子同人视频| 在线播放免费人成毛片乱码| 一本色道久久综合亚洲精品高清| 欧美xxxxx在线观看| 亚洲欧美日韩图片| 美女毛片一区二区三区四区 | 亚洲精品亚洲人成在线观看| 穆天阳吃饭还在顶是哪一章节| 哪里可以看黄色播放免费| 舔舔小核欲成欢| 国产中文字幕一区| 陈雅伦三级dvd在线观看| 国产女精品视频在ktv| 99热精品久久只有精品| 女性无套免费网站在线看| 久久久精品国产sm最大网站| 日韩精品亚洲专区在线影视| 亚洲精品成人片在线播放| 玉蒲团之天下第一| 你懂得视频在线观看| 香蕉视频免费看| 国产女人18毛片水真多18精品| 精品小视频在线| 在异世界迷宫开后迷宫无修改版动漫| www久久com| 女人18毛片水真多免费播放| 中日韩亚洲人成无码网站| 樱桃视频影院在线观看| 亚洲国产婷婷综合在线精品|