BEIJING, June 24, 2009 -- The Seismological Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region plans to set up an automatic seismic monitoring station in the Mount Qomolangma Area.

Standing above the sea level of 4,323 m, the monitoring station will start service at the end of the year.

File photo taken in June 2005 shows Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest. The mountain, highest in the world, is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, bordering between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region of China.(Xinhua Photo)
 
Site of the automatic station is selected near the observation station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the Mount Qomolangma Area.

According to an official of the Seismological Bureau, a work panel of the bureau has finished exploration and testing work in the area, and related procedures of land requisition and approval have been completed as well.

Construction of the station is already underway and is expected to finish by September. The instruments will be installed in October, and the station will be put to use at the end of the year.  

After completion, the automatic monitoring station will be able to conduct real-time data transmission via satellite communication to the Monitoring and Forecasting Center of the Seismological Bureau of Tibet and China Earthquake Administration in Beijing.

"The station will enhance the monitoring of seismic hazards in the Qomolangma area, and also will provide ampler and more accurate information for geological study and scientific research," said the official.