Editorial Features | News / Analysis

One way to spot an underground culture

With funding from the DHS science and technology directorate, a team of researchers from the University of Mississippi and the University of Alberta in Canada is developing an innovative way to detect underground tunnels with the use of seismic sensors.

The goal is to determine the location of covert tunnels along the U.S.-Mexican border which could be used by drug smugglers and perhaps less frequently by terrorists.

The tunnel spotters have received a research grant under S&T’s international program designed to sponsor U.S. and foreign universities engaged in homeland security studies.

According to a recent article in an S&T online publication, Craig Hickey, a professor of geological engineering at the University of Mississippi, "bangs a hammer onto a line of sensors called geophones, which are placed strategically aboveground." A separate receiver tracks the resulting seismic waves as they travel through the ground. These waves are charted on a computer through a process called seismic refraction tomography, creating a cross-sectional view that can sometimes spot abnormalities that might signify tunnels.

"We’re measuring the timing and propagation of the waves," said Hickey in the DHS article. "We’re looking at the velocity and path of each."

The innovative tool, if it works on a larger scale, could help border patrol agents and law enforcement officers spot covert tunnels that could, in turn, lead them to all sorts of nefarious characters.

• Print
• E-mail
• Add your comment
• trackback url: http://www.gsnmagazine.com/cms/trackback/411-1