Palisadian NASA Scientist Aids Nepal Disaster Relief Efforts

By FRANCES SHARPE | Editor-in-Chief

Palisadian Dr. Frank Webb is playing an instrumental role in disaster relief efforts in Nepal even though he’s never stepped foot in the country that was devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on April 25.

Webb, who lives in Marquez Knolls, is part of a team of JPL and NASA scientists that has developed state-of-the-art technologies that are being used in Nepal to identify damaged structures and guide search and rescue teams on the ground in areas that have been hit hard by the earthquake.

One such technology that is being used for Nepal disaster relief involves remote-sensing observations, which use radar satellite images from before and after the earthquake to map the extent of the ground motion and pinpoint damaged structures.

Called the ARIA (Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis) project, collaboration between Caltech and JPL, where Webb has worked for 25 years, these images are used to create two types of maps referred to as “damage proxy maps” that show destruction in the area and deformation maps which show how much the ground moved during the earthquake.

In the “damage proxy maps,” damaged structures show up as red and yellow dots with red being the most severely impacted areas.

This can help guide search and rescue teams to areas with the most damage where victims might be found, according to Webb, whose family moved to the Palisades when he was 16 years old.

Both technologies have already been used after major earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan to better understand the impact of those earthquakes, and the “damage proxy maps” have also been used after Hurricane Sandy and a super typhoon in the Philippines to map damage. These remote sensing technologies were also put to use after a 6.0 temblor rocked the Napa Valley on Aug. 24, 2014 and helped zero in on trouble spots.

“We were able to identify ruptures to roads and even a crack that was only a few centimeters long in an airport runway after that earthquake,” Webb said.

This is critical for rescue efforts that use airports and roads to bring in relief aid and supplies.

“We need to understand the impact an earthquake has to these lifelines during relief efforts and search and rescue efforts,” Webb added.

So far, reports from officials in Nepal have indicated that the damage proxy maps have proven to be highly accurate, according to Webb.

The maps can be especially helpful in early identification of the impact of the earthquake on structures in remote, rural areas where communication systems aren’t as robust, he said.

During the development phase, the JPL team validated the mapping technology’s accuracy using construction sites in the Pasadena area where JPL is located.

Several years ago, a city block was bulldozed to make way for the construction of a new apartment building and the JPL team used the mapping technology before and after the demolition to test its accuracy.

“We clearly saw red dots in the demolition area,” Webb said, adding that the team also saw red dots elsewhere on the map.

“It turned out that these were areas that were also undergoing construction. The mapping was so sensitive it even picked up a single-room addition at one home,” Webb said.

The remote-sensing satellites have proven critical for imaging in Nepal because it has been cloudy and rainy following the earthquake. Webb explained that optical satellites don’t see through clouds but radar satellites do.

Since the earthquake hit, Webb and his team at JPL, Caltech, NASA, and a number of universities across the country have been meeting every day at 8 a.m. to review the latest satellite images and maps to help in the humanitarian efforts.

NASA then sends out the maps to relief organizations, including USAID, the State Department and the USGS, all of which have people on the ground in Nepal.

Other JPL technology being deployed in Nepal includes a portable radar device called FINDER (Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response) that uses microwaves to detect breathing and heartbeats under as much as 30 feet of rubble.

The backpack-sized device, created in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has been sent to Nepal, according to Webb.

“We aren’t getting a lot of reports back from Nepal about it yet, but I’m very happy it was sent to the area and we are hopeful that it will find people in the rubble,” Webb told the Palisadian-Post.

He added that the device is so sensitive it can detect the difference between an animal and a human trapped in rubble.

“As scientists and engineers, our job is to develop new technology, but in events like this we’re all very honored to use our abilities to help people in need and to assist people in other parts of the world,” Webb said.

As a native Californian, Webb is fully aware that the technologies he’s helping to develop could play a role in relief efforts closer to home.

“One day there will be a big earthquake in LA, so we’re learning as much as we can about these technologies so others will be able to use them to help us if we need it,” he said.

Visit jpl.nasa.gov to view additional images in greater detail.