Research at the University of Arizona after an earthquake in Nepal helped emergency response teams.
After the deadly earthquake struck in April, Jeffrey Kargel, a research scientist in UA’s hydrology and water resources department, wanted to help his friends and colleagues in that Asian country. He assembled a team of volunteers to examine satellite images of the area struck by the quake.
"Part of the value of our effort was just seeing that we can organize in a big team, interdisciplinary team get a lot of eyes and minds on the data and extract meaningful information in almost real time enough to assist people on the ground," said Kargel.
The team looked for landslides, especially in remote mountain villages, to quickly identify areas of need.
The group also mapped potential future hazards that could be triggered by another quake.
Kargel discussed the team’s efforts at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.