IO, Surabaya – Starting from their concern about possible landslide disasters in Indonesia’s regions, students from the Tenth of November Technological Institute (Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember – “ITS”)’s Department of Geophysical Engineering, under the guidance of Dr. Dewa Desa Warnana, S.Si., M.Si. wrote a scientific paper that examines the importance of using geophysical approach in disaster mitigation. The paper argues that landslides can be mitigated more easily and thoroughly if we apply an integration of five geophysical methods.
Frankstein Arphan, Gregorio Adri Prawira, and Darrian Alisantoso of ITS’ Geophysical Engineering Department started their research with ITS’ Physics Engineering Department student Tita Oxa Anggrea, noting that a local Medco Power electricity generator station continued to suffer from soil subsidence and landslides, which continued despite many efforts to mitigate them. The Company attempted to move the water channel heading towards the generator in the effort to stop landslides and subsidence, but to no avail. Further research in landslides around the generator’s location was necessary.
The ITS team met up with Medco Power’s geophysical team, Sugiyono and Pramadi, to investigate the mechanics of joint research. Frankstein stated that he and his team offered a solution that integrates five geophysical methods: Very Low Frequency (VLF), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), Remote Sensing, and Cone Penetration Test (CPT). “We use remote sensing to get topographical data from a region,” Frankstein stated in the press release he provided to the Independent Observer on Friday (06/12/2019).
Data from ERT generates a two-dimensional image of the strata cross-section underground, while VES data maps out sub-surface conditions in a single dimension, such as drill holes. Integration between ERT and VES data will generate three-dimensional underground images that can serve as reference in detecting border strata. “The results are then rechecked using CPT in order to generate the predicted lithology of the measurement,” he said.
When incorporated with drilling real-time data, the above measurements show that there is a weak zone in the soil caused by leaking irrigation pipeline. The weakened stratum, shifts easily due to its being waterlogged. Darrian Alisantoso further stated that after sub-surface analysis was made, the team discovered a spring with continuously strong flow nearby, even during long droughts. “Therefore, our team concluded that the landslides and subsidence are caused by the large amounts of water saturating underlying sediments,” he said.
From the research, the Company obtains a good reference limit that they can implement in order to reduce potential continued landslides in the future. Thanks to the joint research, three papers written by the ITS Team have gone international: first, they were presented in the 7th AUN/ SEED-Net Regional Conference on Natural Disaster 2019 in Malaysia in 25-26 November 2019. The three papers generated by the research were also published in the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (EES) or ASEAN Engineering Journal (AEJ) with Scopus index. All elaborated on the geophysical methods used for mapping underground structure in three dimensions, which generates a more accurate model of the landslide area in the studied region. This allows for more effective landslide mitigation.
The ITS team expressed their thanks to the Company for its trust in them and to PT PLN for having been involved in the research and its publication. “Thanks to the support of PT PLN, we succeeded in publishing three papers internationally,” Frankstein said. (*/est)
Two Unpad students take part in Huawei Seeds For The Future 2019
Bandung – Two Informatics Engineering students at Padjadjaran University (Unpad), Bandung, West Java, Sachi Hongo and Vega Savera Yuana, were selected as Indonesian delegates to the “Huawei Seeds For The Future 2019” event held in Beijing and Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China, in November 2019. This program is an affirmation of Huawei’s commitment to preparing professional resources in the fields of information and communication technology.
Preparation is achieved through the transfer of knowledge about technology, innovation, corporate values, global insights, and also the importance of upholding local wisdom. Sachi and Vega followed the program for two weeks. During their first week in Beijing, both of them studied Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy. Then in Shenzhen, both of them gained knowledge about the latest developments from 3G / 4G / 5G network technology, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things.
While in China, the two also met with the Indonesian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Listyowati. According to her, China is the right country to study technology. Besides having several large technology companies, China has many unicorn startups engaged in digital technology.
This year the Seeds for the Future program included eight leading Indonesian universities: the University of Indonesia, the Bandung Institute of Technology, Padjadjaran University, Telkom University Bandung, Diponegoro University, Gadjah Mada University, the Ten November Institute of Technology, and Multimedia Nusantara University.
“Many collaborative activities have been conducted by Unpad and Huawei, including Martgen, TechDay, HAINA, national and international Huawei ICT competition, international certification, and training for lecturers and students,” said the Unpad Informatics Engineering lecturer, who is also the coordinator of Unpad cooperation with Huawei, Dr. Asep Sholahuddin, MT., As quoted by Unpad Public Relations, 9 December 2019. (*/est)