China: Sichuan, Yunnan sites of experimental earthquake prediction network

China began an ambitious seismic prediction pilot program this week in hopes of creating a national earthquake warning network. Experimental work on the system will be conducted in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and include installing a huge web of interconnected sensors designed to measure "stress and energy dynamics" deep below the surface of the earth.

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Once the network is complete, scientists will be able to monitor, in real-time, tectonic activity taking place between eight and 20 kilometers underground. The end goal is to develop the capacity to accurately predict earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 and higher before they happen. [Wang Tun, Head of the Disaster Reduction Institute,] told reporters he expects scientists involved in the project may one day be able to predict strong quakes up to three weeks in advance.

The pilot period is expected to conclude by the end of 2019, at which point the program — assuming it has been proven efficacious — will be adopted nationally. Wang explained that the grid of sensors operates by making "maps" of underground activity.

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