IPSTAR Enhanced Seismic Operations in Cha Yu Station
China Satcom, one of the leading telecommunication operators in China and partner of IPSTAR, recently connected a seismograph station in Cha Yu, China to the Internet, via the Thaicom-4 (IPSTAR) satellite. The newly installed IPSTAR broadband enhances the seismic research operations of the Cha Yu station. Built in 1976, the station is 900 km away from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
The Situation
During the previous years, seismologists in Cha Yu used phone lines to contact Lhasa to determine the size, location and depth of an earthquake. With the newly installed IPSTAR broadband connection, vital information on any earthquake activity in China is rapidly available in real-time and on a round-the-clock basis. In addition, an immediate readout of an offshore earthquake also allows Cha Yu station to issue a tsunami warning within minutes.
Early Warning System via IPSTAR
IPSTAR proved to be reliable in places prone to unpredictable and snowy weather, like Cha Yu. A test report in Cha Yu station stated, “In snowy weather, the satellite's signal strength will weaken a little but the weather has no impact on IPSTAR to transmit seismic data”.
Satellite communication links are likely to be disrupted under heavy weather conditions, but IPSTAR's inherent Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) prevents outages – enabling a seamless communication link between the seismologists and their instruments in the field. ACM enables the downstream carrier to dynamically change its modulation and coding in response to changing link conditions.
