earth science

Shakealarm

Shakealarm is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Shakealarm rather than just read about it. In short: ShakeAlarm is an on-site earthquake early warning system (EEWS) developed by Weir-Jones Engineering Consultants in Vancouver, British Columbia. The system functions by detecting and identifying fast moving P-waves that arrive before the slower and damaging S-waves generated from the hypocenter of an earthquake.

Key takeaways

Shakealarm belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Shakealarm to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Shakealarm from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ShakeAlarm is an on-site earthquake early warning system (EEWS) developed by Weir-Jones Engineering Consultants in Vancouver, British Columbia. The system functions by detecting and identifying fast moving P-waves that arrive before the slower and damaging S-waves generated from the hypocenter of an earthquake. Once ShakeAlarm has identified a candidate P-wave it will determine in less than 500 milliseconds if the following S-wave will be strong enough to be dangerous. Once the determination has been reached that an inbound S-wave might exceed acceptable levels the system can trigger the structured shutdown of critical processes - gas, electricity and water services - and can also be used for opening of fire bay doors, SMS warnings to the general population and a variety of other services to be activated before the S-wave's (shaking) impact. ShakeAlarm represents a streamlined site specific application of technology and ideas that Japan has been working with for some time on a nationwide deployment level in the form of a network.

Applications ShakeAlarm is deployed throughout British Columbia, Washington State and Oregon State - further locations on the West Coast of North America are being investigated for deployment of the ShakeAlarm system. Shakealarm has been protecting the George Massey Tunnel, (and its 50,000+ daily users) in Delta, BC against significant seismic activity since 2009.

Development ShakeAlarm is the most current technology to come from over 30 years of microseismic research and development conducted by Weir-Jones Engineering Consultants. Major contributors to the development of ShakeAlarm include Dr. Anton Zaicenco Dr. Iain Weir-Jones, and Sharlie Huffman formerly of the BC Ministry of Transportation.

History The earliest uses of this technology by the development company were focused on listening for propagating micro fractures in the rock hundreds of meters under the surface. This was done to monitor the effects of oil and gas sector activities like fracking. The next major development from microseismic technology was the ability to look at interactions on the surface from a buried sensor, this led to a system called Rockfall which is designed to replace fall fences on sections of railway prone to falling rock and debris. ShakeAlarm was a natural evolution when it was discovered that the technology being used was capable of detecting P-wave vibrations in the ground.

References

http://www.shakealarm.com/earthquake_warning/early_warning_system.php http://www.shakealarm.com/earthquake_warning/Detecting_Fronts_of_Elastic_Wave.php http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2015/05/earthquake-on-the-way-the-radiator-building-in.html http://corefirst-seismic-upgrade-system.com/shakealarm-earthquake-early-warning-system/ http://www.oregonbusiness.com/the-latest/15195-oregon-businesses-face-destruction-from-future-earthquake

External links Official website Company website Facebook - "ShakeAlarm.com". Facebook.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Shakealarm

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Shakealarm claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Shakealarm before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Shakealarm ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Shakealarm

In research: Shakealarm appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Shakealarm in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Shakealarm is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Earthquake early warning systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Shakealarm outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Shakealarm in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Shakealarm means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Shakealarm out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shakealarm in simple terms?

Why does Shakealarm matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Shakealarm?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Shakealarm.