Article Entry
16 Feb 2010
Comments:2
DARPA’s “Transparent Earth:” Taking GEOINT Underground, Literally
Added by USGIF Category: Daily Intelligence Brief, General
Fact is almost always stranger and more exciting than fiction. This is certainly the case with DARPA’s new initiative aimed at creating real-time 3-D maps that display “the physical, chemical and dynamic properties of the earth down to 5 kilometer depth.” Yes, that is correct. GEOINT is going underground. Literally. The project is called “Transparent Earth,” and it could change the face of GEOINT as we know it. As Wired Magazine noted, the earth is more than 3,500 miles deep, from crust to core, so DARPA’s plan would just scratch at the surface. But geologists and geophysicists still know very little about the day-to-day goings-on underground, even at a depth as shallow as 5 km (that’s 3.1 miles). The purpose of the project is to detect “natural indicators of subsurface activity,” including geophysical turbulence and shifting tectonic plates. Wow. This could certainly have a major impact in preemptive responses to disasters like the recent earth quake in Haiti.
Tags: DARPA, Darpa Transparent Earth, GEOINT, got geoint?, Transparent Earth, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, USGIF
Thats really great. We will be able to know starting with the centre of the Earth, what is the correct order for the layers of the Earth. Core, mantle, crust Mantle, core, core Core, crust, mantle. What causes tectonic plates to move. Convection currents in the mantle Strong winds in the tropics Sea water currents in the oceans. The rate of the movement of tectonic plates. I guess with this rapid movement of technology with success there will be a day when we will be able to measure the density of black hole…..off course if we can reach .0.0001% near it.
[...] we covered a story that Wired’s “Danger Room” broke about DARPA’s “Transparent Underground”, which creates real-time 3-D maps that display “the physical, chemical and dynamic properties of [...]