Energies (May 2022)
High Activity Earthquake Swarm Event Monitoring and Impact Analysis on Underground High Energy Physics Research Facilities
Abstract
A seismic swarm is a series of earthquakes that occur in a small area over a short period of time. A sequence of earthquakes of this magnitude is unusual in Switzerland, and it is impossible to anticipate how it may unfold in the future.The seismic activity of such an event usually fades after a few days or weeks. Significantly greater earthquakes are likely to occur during the next several days, with up to a chance of 5 to 10%. For these reasons, the underground research facilities need tools to provide data on the impact of these events on their experiments. The paper presents the techniques implemented at The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to allow the tracking and monitoring of these unusual events. Additionally, the real effect of such an unusual event is presented together with the statistical approach to monitoring and effect evaluation. Considering the collision energy of the beams at 14 TeV, the energy stored in the magnets at 10 GJ (2400 kg of TNT), and the energy carried by the two beams at 724 MJ (173 kg of TNT), prolonged exposure to vibration close to or above the set alarm levels may result in serious safety issues. The presented evaluation of earthquake swarm impact on underground facilities together with the approach for data evaluation can be used for the design of future detectors and accelerators. Additionally, it provides tools for facilities users to present the data in an easy to understand way. This includes the Future Circular Collider, whose purpose is to significantly expand the energy and intensity frontiers of planned particle colliders, with the goal of reaching collision energies of 100 TeV in the quest for novel physics. As a result, even greater standards for beam size and stability will be required.
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