The U.S. Geological Survey team lays the groundwork for an experiment that will record underground explosions this fall VIDEO CNN's Anne McDermott reports on the quest to limit quake damage Windows Media 28K 80K

August 19, 1999
Web posted at: 8:19 p.m. EDT (0019 GMT)

From Correspondent Anne McDermott

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Earthquakes strike without warning, leaving scientists unable to make accurate predictions of when and where the ground might shake, quake and roll.

But in an effort to get a better grip on seismic knowledge, a team from the U.S. Geological Survey is preparing a unique experiment.

The team is setting up a 60-mile-long string of seismographs across the Los Angeles basin. This fall, explosives will be detonated to mimic small, magnitude-2 earthquakes, and those machines will record the results.

The data will be translated into an ultrasound image of the area's subsurface.

"It's basically like lifting the hood of the car to see what the engine looks like," says Gary Fuis of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Seeing that engine can give scientists a better handle on predicting areas of greatest shaking during quakes, so people will know where to build the sturdiest buildings.

Another team at the University of California at San Diego is looking into how to build the sturdiest buildings. They are incorporating a special pre-cast cement into experimental structures, which are then subject to quake-like shaking.

And another quake researcher, geologist Daniel Ponti, is taking deep core samples around the Los Angeles basin, evaluating the soil composition in the underground depths where earthquakes often start.

The samples will give clues as to which surfaces are likely to be shakier than others, helping people figure out where -- and where not -- to build, Ponti says. It will also help authorities plan where to allocate emergency personnel.

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