Nobuaki Suzuki and Takashi Ito / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
TSUKUBA, Ibaraki--The March 11 earthquake struck a heavy blow against Japan's scientific community, particularly in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, the center of scientific research in the nation.
Shaken by tremors measuring lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of seven, Tsukuba lost electric power, a lifeline for scientific research. The city contains one of the world's largest facilities for elemental particle studies and Japan's central facilities for disaster prevention research--all were severely damaged.
Three weeks after the disaster, scientists are taking on new goals and painfully acknowledging the limits to what they and science can accomplish.
Tsukuba is home to the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, which has supported the research of Nobel Prize-winners Makoto Kobayashi and Hidetoshi Masukawa.
The March 11 tremors dislodged electromagnets inside equipment that accelerates the beams of electrons, positrons and other elementary particles and shoots them into an accelerator to conduct research into the particles.
On Wednesday, the organization turned off its air conditioning and all nonessential lights to lower its electricity consumption to less than one-thirtieth the usual amount.
Researchers and officials have continued to assess the damage to the organization, but because exact data can only be obtained when devices are working at high voltage, checks are being conducted late at night when electricity consumption is generally low.
The organization's electricity consumption is equivalent to that of 100,000 ordinary households. In fiscal 2009, its electricity bills totaled 3.1 billion yen.
Given the critical supply-demand situation in the Kanto region, many scientists wonder whether it would be right to continue with their past methods of research. The organization is preparing to transfer some of its research activities overseas.
How can research be done in elementary particles, the symbol of the nation's basic science? This is a question that also touches on the philosophy of how to rebuild the nation.
The global positioning system (GPS) is used to observe crustal movement and strain. GPS is essential for forecasting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and observing ground conditions after an earthquake.
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's geodetic observation center receives data from 1,200 observation points across the nation.
Koh Nitta, 57, chief of the center's crustal watch section, was stunned when data from 350 locations in and north of Fukushima Prefecture stopped after the March 11 earthquake.
In fiscal 2009, measures were implemented to automatically restore the observation devices in an emergency. They included backup batteries that can last for up to 72 hours and telecommunication circuits capable of sending information in small blocks known as packets.
With the restoration of electricity to the observation points, 100 began sending data again, and the number rose to 200 the following day.
However, data transmissions did not resume from 13 observation points, including those in Iwaizumicho, Iwate Prefecture, and Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture.
Engineers went to the sites to collect data and set up solar power generators. With the exception of three locations that were submerged, functions were restored at most of the observation points.
"Data about levels of subsidence are essential for rebuilding ports," Nitta said. "We want to utilize the huge quantity of data for reconstruction."
The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention's earthquake data center operates strong-motion seismograph networks, which determine levels on the Japanese scale of quake intensity. The center also operates the High Sensitivity Seismograph Network, which is used for the Meteorological Agency's urgent quake warnings.
Just after the agency issued warnings about the March 11 earthquake, the institute lost all its electricity and its computer networks stopped working. About 90 percent of its observation networks across the nation malfunctioned.
Center chief Shin Aoi, 43, continued sending limited data to the agency after the quake, operating machines with a standby power system.
Aoi also visited facilities in places hard-hit by the disaster, including Minami-Sanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture, due to his belief that correct data is the basis of effective disaster response.
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Kounotori, Kibo control room hit
At the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tsukuba Space Center, the quake damaged the Kounotori, an unmanned cargo transporter to the International Space Station, and a four-story operation building housing the flight control room of the Kibo experimental facility for ISS.
Due to damage to the flight control room's first floor, its functions were temporarily transferred to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Johnson Space Center in Houston from the time of the quake until March 22. Five workers were dispatched from Japan to Houston during the period.
"Two underwater cables housing telecommunication lines [connecting Japan] to the United States were severed in the quake. So the flight director in charge immediately switched to an alternative line [to contact the U.S. side] to continue managing Kibo's operation. However, that method was audio-only communication," said Hiroshi Sasaki, 48, who manages the cargo transporter.
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Most foreigners leave
Many foreign researchers at facilities in Tsukuba have left Japan in the aftermath of the quake.
At the National Institute for Materials Science, dozens of foreign researchers went home, as did 79 of 105 students from overseas. However, most of the students have said they want to come back eventually.
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization have experienced a similar exodus.
"[The foreign nationals] aren't used to earthquakes and they've suffered mental stress due to the many aftershocks," a director at a research institute said.
"Also, many experimental facilities have been damaged. Research has been difficult since the foreign researchers left, but it can't be helped," the director said.
(Apr. 2, 2011)
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