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GNS Science taking geohazard monitoring tech to Solomon Islands


GNS Science specialist are installing new seismic monitoring stations in the Solomon Islands.  Pictured at the solar-powered
installation on Makira Island are, from left, Kevin Porahora and Jack Gwali of Solomon Islands' Government seismology team, Craig Miller (GNS), Solomon Possy (SIG seismology team), Cam Asher (GNS) and Sally Pita (World Bank).

GNS Science

GNS Science specialist are installing new seismic monitoring stations in the Solomon Islands. Pictured at the solar-powered
installation on Makira Island are, from left, Kevin Porahora and Jack Gwali of Solomon Islands’ Government seismology team, Craig Miller (GNS), Solomon Possy (SIG seismology team), Cam Asher (GNS) and Sally Pita (World Bank).

The Solomon Islands is getting its first geohazard monitoring network.

The network will provide real-time information on earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis.

Staff from GNS Science’s Wairakei office, in Taupō, are installing the equipment. 

Project leader Craig Miller said the technology will enable Solomon Islanders to take their safety into their own hands.

“The development of a national seismic network will herald a new era in vigilance to earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions in the Solomon Islands, and reduce reliance on overseas agencies for hazard monitoring,” he said.

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“It will also enable the Solomon Islands to both contribute to and receive seismic data from other countries in the Southwest Pacific.”

The Solomon Islands are east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu.

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The Solomon Islands are east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu.

The project is funded by the World Bank and will be done in November.

Permanent seismic monitoring equipment will be installed in six of the islands’ nine provinces.  A monitoring centre will also be set up in the Islands’ capital, Honiara.

Staff from GNS Science’s Wairakei office will train local staff to operate and maintain the gear,  and will work with local officials to develop inter-agency operating procedures.

Guidance will also be provided to enable the Solomon Islands to build and operate its own earthquake monitoring stations once this phase of the deployment is complete.

Miller said the country has suffered severe economic impacts and losses of life over the past 30 years, because of natural hazards. 

The work is part of a wider World Bank-funded project to increase the capacity of the Solomon Islands to manage natural hazards and climate change risks.

Located east of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands is made up of six major islands and several hundred smaller islands.

In recent years, GNS Science has assisted Vanuatu, Samoa, and Tonga in building their capacity to monitor and mitigate geological hazards.

 



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