That light shines into space, said Freund, where satellites can register the change. Low-resolution thermal cameras aboard the proposed satellites would scan the Earth to detect earthquake precursors, said Eves. The positively charged magnet creates a dimple, up to 12 miles deep, in the Earth's atmosphere by attracting negatively charged ions from as far away as 372 miles above the surface of the Earth. To detect this ionospheric dimpling, the satellites would monitor the existing Global Positioning Satellite System with three small GPS antennas on its side. As each GPS satellite comes up over the horizon, its signal would pass through the ionosphere. Any dimpling would change that signal. The theory is not without skeptics, including the United States Geologic Survey's Mike Blanpied and other geologists interviewed by Discovery News. "As far as I know, there is no published research to suggest that this will work," said Blanpied, who is with the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Criticisms and past failures of other earthquake detection systems don't deter the researchers, however. Freund has already put $1 million of his own money into the satellite project. Other proponents expect new research confirming their theory will appear later this summer, based on a leaked memo written by Dimitar Ouzounov, a NASA-funded researcher at George Mason University. On May 2, 2008, Ouzounov was looking for these same infrared light sources and found one over Sichuan province. Ouzounov sent a memo to colleagues reporting his finding, which he said was later leaked to the press. On May 12 a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the Chinese province, killing thousands. Ouzounov and his colleagues are currently preparing a paper detailing the Sichuan event, he told Discovery News. They hope it will be accepted for publication later this summer. Related Links: Eric Bland's blog: Interior Design Discovery News blog: Earth Impacts |
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