As reported yesterday, technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) helped search-and-rescue teams find and save four men buried in rubble following the Nepal Earthquake. FINDER, a device no larger than a carry-on suitcase weighing less than 20 pounds, detected the heartbeats of the victims through 10 feet of wood, mud, and brick.
Two of the survivors had been trapped in a textile factory destroyed by the quake; two others were in the remains of a separate building in Chautara, Nepal. All four had been buried for about four days. The town has essentially been devastated by the April 25th 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
"I'm very gratified that it did its job-it's the first time that Finder's ever been used in an actual disaster situation," said James Lux, FINDER's JPL task manager. "You've done the best you can, you put it out there, and it worked."
These kinds of urban search-and-rescue missions are extremely challenging. Victims are often injured, unconscious, and cannot call out to rescuers. Even the best search-and-rescue dogs need rest after about three working hours. Furthermore, the pandemonium of most disaster zones makes it even more difficult to hear and find survivors.
FINDER can distinguish between living people and debris using low-power microwave signals. These penetrate through layers of rubble and bounce back off of victims and everything else. What points out the living to the device are the minuscule movements of life that are also reflected back; even the faintest heartbeat registers as movement to FINDER. The movements of a living body are rhythmic.
"It looks for the reflections coming back," Lux says. "The rubble reflections don't move, but the reflections from the people who are alive inside do. For instance, if you're looking from the top of your head, most of what you're seeing is the pulse flowing from the blood vessels right under your skin, and it makes your skin move."
The software FINDER uses analyzes patterns, and can even distinguish the movements causing them from the movements of animals and other rhythmic motions like a ticking clock or swaying tree branch. Each target has its own set of movements and patterns.
FINDER was created based on the same technology that allows NASA equipment to track space probes orbiting planets like Jupiter. This version will be mass produced for search-and-rescue use around the world.
Other NASA-influenced technologies are easing the burden of the challenges faced by search-and-rescue teams. Satellites are used to image stricken areas, assessing damage. Drones can be used to look for survivors, to assess damage close to the ground in areas that are unsafe for people, and to deliver crucial supplies safely.
Interestingly, these same technologies are also being put to other beneficial uses. National Geographic reported that anti-poaching teams hope to use the technology as well. They can use it to detect the specific rhythms of endangered animals like rhinos, and to locate hiding poachers in restricted areas. In each of these cases, real-time information, speed, and reduced risk for rescuers is key to effective, on-the-ground mobilization.
NASA is also watching the sky as international teams move forward; its technology is essential not only to rescue work but to preventing this kind of destruction in the future.
NASA scientists and other experts have noted that the Nepal Earthquake was of such intensity that it disturbed and changed the atmosphere above Nepal. The violent movement disrupted electron distribution in the ionosphere as much as 621 miles above the surface of Earth.
This is significant. Tony Greicius of NASA reports that this study of ionosphere disruption caused by natural disasters to predict their signatures.
"The disturbances caused by earthquakes help scientists develop new first-principle-based wave propagation models," Greicius says. "These models may become part of future early warning systems for tsunamis and other difficult-to-detect natural hazards."
NASA and its partner organizations are also using satellite data and compiling information to create updated topographical maps of the area. This assists rescue workers in transporting both supplies and survivors. It also reveals areas which remain vulnerable to future natural disasters including additional earthquakes, mudslides, and avalanches.
The damage caused by the Nepal Earthquake is important to assess in detail. The European Space Agency (ESA) has provided an assessment of permanent changes to the Earth's surface in the area. This assessment shows that the land surrounding Kathmandu is 40 inches higher than it was before the quake. This has caused major rippling effects within the region, and to avoid further destruction these kinds of changes must be analyzed.
