Melbourne shakes

The string of earthquakes on the outskirts of Melbourne

Throughout 2009 the ES&S Seismology Research Centre has been involved in recording an extraordinary sequence of seismic activity near Korumburra, about 100 kilometres southeast of Melbourne.

Activity in this area began on the 4th of January with a small earthquake of magnitude ML 1.5. We now believe this was a precursory event for the magnitude ML 3.7 earthquake that occurred at Korumburra on the 12th of January at 7:48 pm local time. The estimated intensity at the epicentre was MMI 5.

This ML 3.7 was the first earthquake of the sequence to trigger the ES&S Alarm Notification Service. Clients were all contacted and notified of the estimated intensities at their relevant assets. Ten intensity reports were sent in to ES&S from residents in Korumburra and Leongatha. The mainshock was followed by a series of at least 8 aftershocks, the largest of which was a magnitude ML 2.0.

On March 6th at 8:55pm local time the first of two magnitude ML 4.7 earthquakes occurred 3.5 kilometres northeast of Korumburra. This earthquake produced severe shaking and an estimated intensity at the epicentre and up to 8 kilometres around of MMI 6.

This earthquake was quite strongly felt in Melbourne and over 1000 intensity reports were sent in from people throughout Victoria, up to 180 kilometres from Korumburra.

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STOP your equipment
grinding to a halt!

Lubrication is a necessity but inefficient lubrication costs you time and money. The amount of lubrication grease is crucial to optimal performance.

The Ultraprobe 201 Grease Caddy is specially designed to help you gauge it correctly. Simply attach the Grease Caddy to a standard grease gun, monitor your bearings, and start saving your time and machinery.

Uniquely designed, it allows individual operators to simultaneously lubricate and monitor ultrasound levels to prevent over-lubrication.

The UP201 Grease Caddy will:

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Zone in on slides with GPS

Applied Geomechanics designed an instrumentation system for a large, active landslide in Trapper Coal Mine. 

Three GPS sites measures three dimensional surface movement. GPS processing software help achieve 1mm accuracy.  Four subsurface arrays measure tilt and pore pressure with inclinometers and piezometers. The subsurface stations share power and communication systems.

Atlas, Applied Geomechanics’s web-based data monitoring software brings these three monitoring technologies together. Trapper engineers can configure plots to visualize their data and set alarms to help keep mining personnel safe.

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Kipp & Zonen LAS helps improve Water Management in Victoria

Scintillometers have been essential for Australia’s Department of Primary Industry (DPI) in measuring heat flux in critical agricultural areas in the Sunraysia and Goulburn Valley regions of Victoria. Both these regions are irrigated from Australia’s largest inland water source, the Murray-Darling river system. The region is suffering from twelve years of drought and inland water management is becoming more and more critical.

ES&S is playing its part by supplying the tools to enable more effective management of scarce resources.  Over the past 12 months DPI purchased three Large Aperture Scintillometers for their water resource and agricultural management programs. 

These programs managed by Dr. Des Whitfield, Senior Agronomist at DPI will be strengthened by research conducted at a number of other Australian Universities that have also recently purchased Kipp & Zonen Scintillometers, including Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga and James Cook University, Townsville.

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