Turkey prepares for earthquake prediction project

Preparations are underway on a scientific study aiming to predict earthquakes, Turkey's semi- official Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.

The project, code-named "LAI", envisions earthquake prediction on the basis of examining interaction of lithosphere, atmosphere and ionosphere with respect to seismic activities, said the report.

According to the plan of the project, unmanned aircraft, wireless cameras and atmospheric measurement equipment will be used to monitor the sky changes within the scope of the project, added the report.

It said that the project will jointly be carried out by Ataturk University in northeastern Turkey and Meteoquake Research Center- MRC, led by Ronald Karel.

Quoted by the report, Karel said that the project also got support from some international, European and U.S. institution, such as Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMESAT), Development of a European Multi-model ensemble system for seasonal to inter-annual prediction (DEMETER) and NASA.

He noted that NASA envisaged 10 years for the completion of the study, adding that after the completion, earthquake could be predicted 24 or 36 hours before it occurs.

Source: Xinhua