Seismometers for Ukraine: GFZ

11/14/2023 News_2023 4-7-Erdoberflächenprozessmodellierung Kacheln unterm Slider

The GFZ is setting up a temporary seismic network in Ukraine. For this purpose, three special seismometers that can be used by laypersons have been installed in Ukraine. Twenty more are to follow.

As the outer casing of the seismometer is transparent, you can see the inner elements. The seismometer is a little narrower than the pencil next to it for size comparison. — One of the seismometers for the Ukraine, next to a pencil for comparision of size *(Photo: Trimborn)*

Under the leadership of Dr. Tetiana Amashukeli and with assistance of her mentor Dr. Luca Malatesta, the GFZ has installed three special seismometers in Ukraine. These are particularly easy to use and provide results in real time. The seismometers can therefore be used even by laypersons. They record both natural and man-made tremors and allow non-experts to visualise the results.

Funded by Department 4 of the GFZ, 24 more seismometers are to be installed throughout Ukraine in the future. These seismometers will be placed in classrooms. Their main purpose is to develop a temporary seismic network before the Ukrainian Seismic Network can be reconstructed with modern broadband stations. At the same time, they serve the geoscientific education of the students.

In a development, a collaboration with the education platform Mykolaiv Water Hub has been established. As part of this initiative, few seismometers have been prepared for deployment within the education platform, specifically in the library and school environments.

The state of the Ukrainian Seismic Network

Already in February 2022, before Russia's offensive war on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Seismic Network needed modernisation. The consequences of the war have further damaged the network. Power and internet failures have partially or completely destroyed existing infrastructure, stations can no longer be serviced and people responsible for maintenance are no longer available.

Even though the Ukrainian territory is relatively quiet in terms of earthquakes, it needs a functional seismic network for safety and research purposes, as there are many industrial and agricultural facilities and 15 nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

Seismicity in Ukraine

Seismicity in Ukraine is aligned along the Alpidic seismic orogenic belt, which stretches from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas and thus through the southern and western parts of Ukraine. Significant intraplate earthquakes also occur in central and eastern Ukraine, with heavy industries and iron ore mining concentrated there at the same time.

Hereyou can view the activity of the seismometers.