IRELAND:A HUGE earthquake which killed thousands of people in China was so powerful that it was detected by students operating a small seismometer at a Co Wicklow secondary school.
Pupils at Scoil Chonglais post-primary school in Baltinglass noticed the earthquake while they were conducting research as part of the Institute of Advanced Studies Seismology in Schools project.
The 7.9-magnitude quake hit the southwestern province of Sichuan on Monday, causing widespread destruction in the region.
More than 10,000 have died following the earthquake and a further 19,000 people are feared to be buried under rubble in one city alone. It was China's worst earthquake in three decades.
The students noticed the tremor about 13 minutes after the earthquake happened in China and shockwaves were picked up at the school even though a small seismometer was being used.
The students and their teacher recorded the shockwaves and the incident will be registered in the Seismology in Schools records.
Tom Blake, of the School of Cosmic Physics in Dublin, said it was great to see students having an opportunity to see science in action, which he hoped would lead to a greater understanding of cause and effect.
Mr Blake said he regularly encounters minor earthquakes in his work but that the technology being used in Ireland is "quite primitive" by international standards. "We will never have a magnitude eight earthquake in Dublin but one in the Atlantic could cause problems and the country needs an up to date facility that could identify such an event were it to happen," he said.
