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| For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Contents of this Tipsheet:
BURIED ALIVE? MICROWAVE IN A BOX WILL HELP RESCUERSRescue workers trying to locate earthquake and bomb survivors buried under tons of rubble may soon have a new tool: a device no bigger than a bread box that emits microwaves which penetrate stone, masonry and wire to "listen" for the weakest heart beat, breathing or movement. The NSF funded five years of research by Kun-Mu Chen, professor of electrical engineering at Michigan State University, to develop a microprocessor-controlled system that can separate microwaves reflecting off human victims and the rubble around them. The system is superior to all existing tools used to find buried survivors, the researcher says. Dogs can only sniff out people under less than a meter of debris, sound sensors can hear survivors call out but are useless with unconscious or severely weak or immobile victims, and paths for fiber optic "snake" lights can be blocked by rubble. Chen says his system should succeed in locating avalanche victims as well. A prototype of Chen's system was field-tested by FEMA officials last summer and now is undergoing refinements in his lab. [George Chartier]
NSF FUNDS STUDY OF LARGE INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKEOn February 17, 1996, a large (magnitude 8.2) earthquake occurred along the northwestern coast of Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The area suffered widespread destruction of nearby coastal communities from strong ground-shaking and a large tsunami. New research, funded by the NSF's earth sciences division, is taking advantage of an extraordinary opportunity to use advanced portable seismic instrumentation to study the effects of the quake. The part of the fault where the quake happened was considered to be largely inactive, prior to February, based on past seismicity, seismic reflection profiles of the New Guinea trench, and recent geodetic measurements. The NSF grant to John Nabelek of Oregon State University and Robert McCaffrey of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, is supporting operation of a temporary seismograph network to map the area's aftershocks. Researchers are also measuring changes in the Irian Jaya coastal region by tracking earthquakeinduced sea level changes. NSF funded the establishment of earlier seismic arrays in the area, and now, says Jim Whitcomb, director of NSF's geophysics program, "we can develop valuable comparisons between pre- and post-earthquake distortions and seismicity." The scientists are also meeting with local government representatives, and with the general public, to discuss the quake and steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of future such disasters. The grant is a component of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program. [Cheryl Dybas]
LESSONS FROM NORTHRIDGE CRISISSociologists from the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center raced to the scene of the January 17, 1994 Northridge, Calif., earthquake to learn which disaster response practices succeed -- and why. Their NSF-funded study of "Emergency Response and Early Recovery Activities" credits several factors. Among the most important: an emergency operations organization (EOO) which included more than a dozen key department heads overseeing city services, directed by the mayor and headed by Los Angeles' chief of police. The EOO met daily to communicate and coordinate needs and resources. Another essential factor is a well planned emergency operations center located, constructed and outfitted to resist both direct physical damage and interruption of lifelines. The NSF-funded researchers say that a major lesson from recent disasters is the need for local officials to understand intergovernmental relations - to know what activities and resources they are responsible for, and what formal channels are required to obtain assistance from state and federal agencies. Understanding what to ask for, when, and how, falls under the category of critical knowledge, researchers say. [George Chartier]
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