An earthy opening

Seismology may not be a career that rocks, but seismologists will have a more significant role to play in the times to come in view of the proposed disaster management programmes,
writes Vibha Sharma

The government’s decision to set up a National Disaster Management Authority and ensure the formation of such authorities at the state level is part of a policy that will now ensure that the focus of disaster management shifts from relief and rescue to mitigation and prevention instead.

"Considering the vast application of seismology in structural engineering, students having a basic degree in engineering are also specialising in the study of earthquakes and their effects." — A.K. Bhatnagar, Addl Director-General (Seismology),IMD

With the focus shifting to prevention of calamities, especially in the wake of the recent earthquake, a career in geophysics and seismology is increasingly becoming an interesting option.

While the soon-to-be introduced Disaster Management Bill will ensure that all states implement the National Disaster Plan, the process of micro-zoning has already been planned for 38 cities of the country in Phase I to reduce the vulnerability of buildings and other structures in the event of an earthquake in future. Currently the process is under way in four cities. Predicting calamities, says Additional Director-General (Seismology), Indian Meteorological Department, A.K. Bhatnagar, can not only help save many lives but also prevent unnecessary damage to property, making it an extremely satisfying and interesting career option.

So, while seismology is the process of mapping subsurface features of the earth and involves scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the earth, the word "seismology" is derived from the Greek word ‘seismos’, meaning earthquake.

"The science deals with study of earthquakes and broadly comes under geology or geophysical science. A seismologist’s job is to locate the source the nature and size of seismic events for the use of various agencies," says Dr Bhatnagar.

Seismologists, says Dr Bhatnagar, are basically earth scientists, specialising in geophysics. They study the genesis and movement of seismic waves in geological material, which can be a laboratory sample or the entire earth as a whole.

"The aim of the science is to evaluate potential dangers due to earthquakes and other earth movements and try and minimise them. The information can also be used by the administration for providing quick relief as the first few hours are very crucial after any major devastating event," he adds.

In the times to come, whether it is improving building bylaws of a particular city to build quake-proof structures or identifying individual areas having different potential for hazardous earthquake effects or carrying out micro-zonation to reduce damage to existing buildings, seismology is a field that would be at the centre of most activities for disaster mitigation and prevention.

"It is important that weak points in the damaging pattern of an earthquake are identified so that they can be avoided in future development and also used to improve existing structures so that they can be saved in the event of any such a disaster," says Dr Bhatnagar.

Considering that urbanisation and the resulting constructional activities are essentials of development, in countries like India, having a large number of seismically active areas, there is ample scope for seismological studies in construction activities.

"Since you cannot pull down all building and rebuild them after making them seismically safe, the best option is to carry out micro-zoning of cities and identify seismically unsafe areas and sub-areas. This way buildings standing on unsafe areas can be identified and adequate precautionary measures like retrofitting be taken accordingly," he says.

In itself, seismology is a multidisciplinary field comprising earth scientists as well as technicians and professionals, specialising in computers, physics electronics, telecommunications and civil and structural engineering.

Besides these recent opportunities for seismologists in the process of micro-zoning, where government agencies will collaborate with a large number of private agencies for providing information about various components, there is a vast scope for professionals in petroleum exploration as well. Then, of course, research opportunities are always available in the government, industry or universities, adds Dr Bhatnagar. In India, as far as monitoring quakes is concerned, the entire operations are handled by the IMD. "In the IMD, there are not too many job opportunities as it has a fixed number of vacancies. Only when someone retires that a vacancy is created. However, there are ample opportunities if one decides to go in or research, both in the government as well as the private sector. There are institutions like the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad and the IITs that offer options for research in this field," he says.

As far as the government sector is concerned, there may have been a decline in job opportunities in this line, but geophysics as a field is in high demand in several areas like ground water and oil explorations, he says.

Recently, the Human Resources Ministry launched a national programme on earthquake engineering education to build capacity in technical institutions like engineering colleges.

Since it is a very much a scientific field, anyone wanting to become a seismologist has to have the basic background in science right from Class XI onwards.

Later, all those having a degree in geology, geophysics, physics or applied science can opt for a specialisation in seismology. There are several universities and institutions all over the country offering an M. Tech in geophysics, which covers seismology. "Considering the vast application of seismology in structural engineering, students having a basic degree in engineering are also specialising in the study of earthquakes and their effects," points out Dr Bhatnagar.

IIT, Kharagpur, offers an M. Tech degree in computation seismology. Besides one can also study seismology in the Department of Earthquake Engineering, IIT, Roorkee, Department of Geophysics, BHU, Varanasi, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, and the GIS Institute, Noida.

(The list is not exhaustive)