Researchers use seismic sensors to track size and speed of the 2021 flood – ScienceDaily

Rapidly developing floods pose a significant and growing danger worldwide. At the moment, it is difficult to determine its inception and development using existing systems. However, seismic sensors that already exist to detect earthquakes can be a solution to this problem. Researchers led by the University of Göttingen have shown that a seismometer can feel a flood, like the devastating flood that hit Germany in July 2021, up to 1.5 kilometers away. This can act as an early warning to save lives and minimize damage. They also found that the ability to measure a flood’s “seismic footprint” provides real-time information on its magnitude, speed and trajectory, which can be used to guard against future floods. The results have been published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Seismic stations sense not only the shaking of the Earth due to earthquakes, but also signals emitted at the surface of our planet, such as eruptions, landslides, storms and – as the researchers discovered – floods. For this research, scientists turned a seismometer station located near the town of Ahrweiler into a flood detection and tracking tool. Using seismic data from the time of the event, they reconstructed the lethal spread of the disaster up to the point where the loss of power cut off the data flow.

They found that the seismometer shows literally the path of the flood for one hour as it passes through the steep valley through the cities of Resch, Dernau, Walborzheim, and Aroffeller in Germany. By combining mathematical models, the researchers were able to estimate the speed at which the flood moved, to extract information about the rise in water levels, and the amount of debris — gravel, cars and oil tanks — that the flood washed away. In fact, this data was the only systematic source of measurable information about how the flood developed due to the destruction of the three early water level stations located in the valley.

When seismic data is analyzed, this method provides valuable information for improving flood behavior models for warning and rescue initiatives. says Dr. Michael Dietz, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Geography, University of Göttingen. Dietz adds: “Because 10% of Europe’s surface area is vulnerable to flash floods from rivers trapped in valleys, we may want to start thinking about new flood early warning methods. The current network of water level stations is not sufficient to adequately prepare for future events.”

Dietz and his colleagues are currently working on a plan to identify more areas at risk of flooding and outfit them with pairs of low-cost “watchtower”-type seismographs—an initiative that would cost a fraction of the damage from future floods. Dietz concludes that “the catastrophic July floods that hit the River Arthal in Germany in July 2021 revealed to residents, politicians, emergency services and scientists how much we need to learn to improve existing flood warning systems.”

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Materials provided by the University of Göttingen. Note: Content can be modified according to style and length.

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