BACKGROUND: Scientists at Scripps Institute of Oceanography have
devised a method to use ultrasound images to provide key
information about earthquake ruptures in near or real time
following a large earthquake. HOW IT WORKS: The new method uses
ultrasound imaging, a medical technique that uses high frequency
sound waves and their echoes. It's similar to how bats, whales
and dolphins pinpoint locations, and to the basis for the SONAR
technology used by submarines. Ultrasound waves not only let
doctors see inside the body, they can provide information about
the inside of an earthquake. The machine sends out high-
frequency sound pulses, which bounce off objects and reflect
back to a detector, which sends that data to the machine's
computer. The computer can calculate the distance between the
machine and the objects by knowing the speed of sound through
the earth and the time it takes for the echo to return. By
measuring how the frequency of the echoes changes, scientists
can also determine how fast that object i