Scientists planning to create artificial quakes

MARKED TREE, Ark. -- Scientists will create two artificial earthquakes on Monday by detonating explosives in the New Madrid Seismic Zone near Marked Tree.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, stationed at the University of Memphis, will study the artificial seismic waves in an effort to discover how the ground shakes during an earthquake.

"We can't predict when an earthquake will occur, but we will be able to tell you where the worst damage will be," said Butch Kinerney, USGS spokesman.

"What we're doing is actually installing new equipment throughout the New Madrid Zone ... which will provide us near real-time earthquake notification and information."

Kinerney said the New Madrid Zone runs through Arkansas, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The information gathered by the study will produce a "shake map," from which vulnerable areas can be identified.

Kinerney said the data will help emergency agencies pinpoint heavily damaged areas in the event of a quake -- a procedure that typically requires visual assessment from a helicopter.

The experiment will be conducted between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. to minimize interfering ground motions caused by activities such as daytime vehicular traffic, people and mechanical vibrations from businesses.

Scientists will create the quakes by detonating 2,600-pound and 5,000-pound explosives about 120 feet deep.

The explosions are estimated to have a magnitude of about 2.0 and could be felt by citizens within a few miles. But the blasts should not cause damage to buildings or create any significant noise.