In a scientific first, a cosmic ray sensor detects tsunami waves
We are all aware of the devastating impact of tsunamis, and the potential for tragedy continues to drive research into better detection methods. A new study reports on a more general approach to tsunami detection: monitoring the muon.
These highly energetic, elementary particles form when cosmic rays come from space, are everywhere in the atmosphere, and can pass harmlessly through anything, including you: when you read this sentence, 100,000 of them will pass through your body.
Importantly, they can be moved very rarely in their path by large natural forces, including tsunamis.
Detecting muon movement requires an incredibly sensitive instrument, which brings us to the Tokyo-Bay Seafloor Hyper-Kilometric Submarine Deep Detector, or TS-HKMSDD for short. It is installed inside the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line Expressway tunnel.
TS-HKMSSD has the honor of detecting tsunami waves through muon waves for the first time. Important from the standpoint of earlier warnings, the detection took place in real time and was shown to be highly accurate.
“This variation corresponds to ocean waves that were measured with other methods. Combining these readings means we can more accurately model sea level changes, bypassing other methods that come with drawbacks.” for mugraphic data.
Those other methods include tide gauges, buoys in the water, satellite imagery taken from above, and various sensors in the ocean itself. However, moon detection promises to be faster, cheaper, and easier to maintain than those methods.
New research describes how the TS-HKMSDD system detected a mild tsunami passing through Tokyo Bay in September 2021, caused by a storm approaching Japan from the south. As the ocean rose, there was little change in the number of muons, which were scattered by the volume of the water.
Now that TS-HKMSSD has shown that it can detect these muon shifts, the researchers suggest it could be installed in other tunnels in tsunami-risk areas and as part of tidal early warning systems. Can be used with instruments such as gauges.
“Thanks to the success we have had with these early trials, similar systems are already being tested in the UK and Finland,” says Tanaka.
“Obviously, such an undertaking comes with challenges, and it can be difficult to install delicate equipment in a busy tunnel. But we are grateful for the cooperation of the agencies responsible for the Tokyo Bay Tunnel.”
The muon detectors that make up TS-HKMSSD are really small, measuring about 2 meters (6.5 feet) in length. Currently, 20 of them are laid along the road tunnel under Tokyo Bay, working together to form the overall system.
As well as detecting an approaching tsunami, such a system could be used to look for natural gas reserves and reveal ancient earthquake patterns.
For now, the researchers are pleased to have the TS-HKMSSD up and running as a precision tsunami detector that, with some more work, will be available for use in alerting experts to natural disasters.
“To the best of my knowledge, the tunnel is now the first active national road in the world to be defined as a laboratory,” says Tanaka.
Source: funancial.news
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In a scientific first, a cosmic ray sensor detects tsunami waves