Data produced by internet users can help to speed up the detection of earthquakes. Fast and accurate information is essential in the case of earthquakes: Epicentre location, depth and magnitude are minimum requirements to reliably estimate their possibly catastrophic consequences. An international team of scientists has presented a method to combine in real time data from seismic networks with information derived from users looking for earthquake information on specific websites, the smartphone LastQuake app and via Twitter. This method significantly reduces the time needed to detect and locate those earthquakes that are felt by the public. The team reported about their results in the journal Science Advances.
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