Bensberg earthquake station

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Bensberg earthquake station

The earthquake station Bensberg (BNS) is the earthquake monitoring station of the Geological Institute of the University of Cologne . The facility is used to monitor and scientifically evaluate the earthquake activity in the Rhineland and especially in the Lower Rhine Bay . It is located in the Bensberg district of Bergisch Gladbach in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district .

history

Memorial plaque for the founder Martin Schwarzbach

The station was founded by Martin Schwarzbach and has been in operation since 1954.

The reason for the establishment of an earthquake control station was the Euskirchen earthquake on March 14, 1951, which caused damage to people and property in the Rhineland with a magnitude of 5.8. As the head of the Geological Institute in Cologne at the time, Schwarzbach initiated the establishment of a suitable station to monitor earthquake activity in the Rhineland. As the Cologne location did not seem suitable for an exact registration of earthquakes due to the geological subsurface, the location Bensberg in the Bergisches Land was chosen. The geological subsoil there consists of Devonian slate and greywacke . In 1952 the foundation stone for the Bensberg earthquake station was laid. The first test operation began in 1954, and regular station operation began in 1955. The station was also the official residence of Professor Schwarzbach, in which he lived and worked for three decades. Today the house is the only research station.

Between 1960 and 1995, the earthquake station was managed by Ludwig Ahorner and expanded into an internationally renowned research facility. Klaus-Günter Hinzen has headed the facility since 1995 .

function

The earthquake station takes on tasks as part of the global earthquake observation service. The focus of the station, however, lies in the recording and research of the earthquake activity in the active tectonic subsidence field of the Lower Rhine Bay. In addition to the base station, this includes a network of numerous outstations, which has been expanded in the greater area between Aachen , Cologne and Koblenz since 1974 . The station network consists of short-period seismographs and accelerometers , some of which are supervised by volunteers. Since records began, more than 2000 earthquakes in the Rhineland have been registered in Bensberg.

The data obtained are used to assess the regional hazard potential from seismic activities and to create hazard maps.

As a research facility of the University of Cologne, the station is also committed to teaching. In addition to the station operation, students and doctoral candidates are also looked after here.

In its public relations work, the station informs the population about historical and current earthquakes and provides information about dangers.

Research priorities

One of the main research areas is the investigation of historical earthquakes. In the field of archeoseismology , the station works together with the Cologne city archeology and the preservation of historical monuments, among other things, in researching the archaeological zone . In addition, regional projects are taking place, such as the investigation of the seismic activity of the Laacher See area to assess the potential danger it poses.

In addition, the scientific staff participate in the Heracles project, which deals with the archaeoseismic causes of the fall of the Mycenaean palaces Tiryns and Midea .

The station has been operating five seismological measuring instruments in Cologne Cathedral since 2007 - in the basement, in the attic and three in the north tower, at different heights.

Technical Equipment

The technical equipment includes short- and long-period seismographs .

The short-period measuring system consists of a triaxial arrangement of GEOTECH-S-13 vibration velocity sensors with a natural period of 1.25 seconds and a Lennartz LE-5D three-component system with a natural period of five seconds.

Strong earthquakes up to a local earthquake magnitude ML 6 can be recorded with an MR-2002 Strong-Motion measuring system from the manufacturer Syscom.

The long-period system is based on a Sprengnether vibration velocity transducer with a natural period of 15 seconds.

For museum purposes, the station keeps a mechanical horizontal seismograph (Wiechert pendulum) developed by Emil Wiechert and a set of short-period Hiller seismometers.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of the BNS outstations
  2. ↑ museenkoeln.de: Archäologische Zone - Archaeoseismological investigations of the earthquake station in Bensberg , accessed on December 13, 2014
  3. ↑ seismo.uni-köln.de: Projekt Heracles , accessed on December 13, 2014
  4. ↑ spiegel.de: Seismology: Wankender Dom zu Köln , accessed on December 14, 2014
  5. ↑ Technical equipment of the BNS

Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 46.7 "  N , 7 ° 10 ′ 30.1"  E