A statistical approach to crowdsourced smartphone-based earthquake early warning systems

The Earthquake Network research project implements a crowdsourced earthquake early warning system based on smartphones. Smartphones, which are made available by the global population, exploit the Internet connection to report a signal to a central server every time a vibration is detected by the on-board accelerometer sensor. This paper introduces a statistical approach for the detection of earthquakes from the data coming from the network of smartphones. The approach allows to handle a dynamic network in which the number of active nodes constantly changes and where nodes are heterogeneous in terms of sensor sensibility and transmission delay. Additionally, the approach allows to keep the probability of false alarm under control. The statistical approach is applied to the data collected by three subnetworks related to the cities of Santiago (Chile), Iquique (Chile) and Kathmandu (Nepal). The detection capabilities of the approach are discussed in terms of earthquake magnitude and detection delay. A simulation study is carried out in order to link the probability of detection and the detection delay to the behaviour of the network under an earthquake event.     

地震预警震级计算方法研究综述

地震预警系统是减轻地震灾害的有效手段之一,世界上多个国家和地区都已经建立了地震预警系统,并在实际应用中取得了显著的减灾实效.由于地震预警系统应用中的高度时效性要求,预警震级计算是整个地震预警系统中最重要也是最困难的一部分.本文回顾总结了地震预警研究中采用的一些震级计算方法,并将其归纳为三大类算法:与初始周期相关的算法、与初始幅值相关的算法和与初始强度相关的算法.对每种算法都做了详尽介绍和仔细分析,同时列举出与该算法相关的研究成果.通过对这些算法的分析总结并结合我国地震观测台网的实际情况,作者推荐τc、Pd两种方法作为我国地震预警系统建设中优先采用的两种预警震级算法.     

Performance-based earthquake early warning

Significant investments are undergoing internationally to develop earthquake early warning (EEW) systems. So far, reasonably, the most of the research in this field was lead by seismologists as the issues to determine essential feasibility of EEW were mainly related to the earthquake source. Many of them have been brilliantly solved, and the principles of this discipline are collected in the so-called real-time seismology. On the other hand, operating EEW systems rely on general-purpose intensity measures as proxies for the impending ground motion potential and are suitable for population alert. In fact, to date, comparatively little attention was given to EEW by earthquake engineering, and design approaches for structure-specific EEW are mostly lacking. Applications to site-specific systems have not been extensively investigated and EEW convenience is not yet proven except a few pioneering cases, although the topic is certainly worthwhile. For example, in structure-specific EEW the determination of appropriate alarm thresholds is important when the false alarm may induce significant losses; similarly, economic appeal with respect to other risk mitigation strategies as seismic upgrade should be assessed. In the paper the least issues to be faced in the design of engineering applications of EEW are reviewed and some work done in this direction is discussed. The review presented intends to summarize the work of the author and co-workers in this field illustrating a possible performance-based approach for the design of structure-specific applications of EEW.     

On the use of JMA intensity in earthquake early warning systems

The estimation of strength of shaking at a site from the initial P-wave portion of ground motion is the key problems for shortening the alert time of the earthquake Early Warning (EEW). The most of the techniques proposed for the purpose utilize (a) ground motion models based on the estimated magnitude and hypocentral distance, or (b) the interim proxies, such as initial vertical displacement P _d . We suggest the instrumental Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) intensity (JMA_I) as a characteristic for fast estimation of damage potential in the EEW systems. We investigated the scaling relations between JMA_I measured using the whole earthquake recordings (overall intensity) and using particular time intervals of various duration (2.0–8.0 s) starting from the P-wave arrival (preliminary intensity). The dataset included 3,660 records (K-NET and the KiK-net networks) from 55 events (M _W 4.1–7.4) occurred in 1999–2008 in Japan. We showed that the time interval of 4–5 s from the P-wave arrival can be used for reliable estimations of the overall intensity with the average standard error of about 0.5 JMA units. The uncertainty in the prediction may be reduced by consideration of local site conditions or by development of the station-specific models.     

地震预警的十个问题

地震预警是国内外应用地震学的热点,也是近期公众关心的热门话题.本文就地震预警的一些基本问题、概念、关键技术及其在防震减灾方面的作用等问题做了简要概述,指出了地震预警存在的问题,以及需要研究的方向.首次提出了地震预警系统的确认和解除及地震预警社会容忍度的概念.同时强调地震预警是复杂的社会工程,需要全社会的共同参与.     

地震预警立法问题的探讨

地震预警作为一种防震减灾手段,目前受到我国政府和公众的极大关注。为了实现地震预警的社会效能,必须将其纳入法制化管理。本文首先论述了地震预警立法的必要性和可行性,然后就立法思路展开分析,最后对地震预警的主要立法内容进行了较为详细的阐述。     

地震预警信息可靠度研究

提出了一种地震预警信息可靠度检验方法. 针对地震预警系统对信息的高度时效性及准确性要求, 并结合其应用特点, 从地震动记录信噪比、 特征参数相容性、 特征参数协调性及地震预警定位结果可靠性等4个方面对地震预警信息的综合可靠度进行探讨, 并分别提出了相应的可靠度定量计算方法. 利用日本KiK-net台网记录的444个地震事件共4737条三分向加速度记录对上述4个指标参数及综合可靠度指标参数的验证结果表明, 采用本方法有助于提高地震预警信息发布的准确性和可靠性, 减少“漏报”及“误报”事件的发生.     

Designing efficient earthquake early warning systems: case study of Almaty, Kazakhstan

Rapidly expanding urban areas in Central Asia are increasingly vulnerable to seismic risk; but at present, no earthquake early warning (EEW) systems exist in the region despite their successful implementation in other earthquake-prone areas. Such systems aim to provide short (seconds to tens of seconds) warnings of impending disaster, enabling the first risk mitigation and damage control steps to be taken. This study presents the feasibility of such a system for Almaty, Kazakhstan. Genetic algorithms are used to design efficient EEW networks, computing optimal station locations and trigger thresholds in recorded ground acceleration. Factors like the possibility of station failure, elevation and access difficulty to a potential site, and the potential usefulness of existing stations in the region are considered. We present a large set of possible efficient networks, to which further selection criteria can be applied by both the installation teams and the end user, such as authorities in Almaty.     

地震预警震级确定方法研究

地震预警技术是减轻地震灾害损失的有效手段之一．地震预警系统中,地震震级计算是最重要也是最困难的部分之一．利用日本KiK-net台网和四川汶川余震共142次地震事件的记录,分别采用tau;c和Pd方法统计得到了地震预警震级的计算公式,震级计算的方差分别为0.62和0.56个震级单位．为消除震级计算过程中出现的震级饱和现象,作者拓展了Pd方法,提出了一套对位移幅值连续追踪测定的算法．当时间窗长度为10 s时,采用该方法的震级计算方差仅为0.37个震级单位,充分满足地震预警系统的需求．同时,该方法也实现了信息的连续过渡,提高了对现有信息的利用率．最后,还对位移幅值Pd用于地震动峰值PGV的估计以及不同特征参数间的相容性等内容进行了讨论．      

用于地震预警的P波震相到时自动拾取

P波震相的自动拾取可用于地震预警中地震事件判别和地震定位,是实现基于地震台网地震预警的首要条件.针对地震预警中P波震相拾取的特点,本文发展了一套基于长短时平均(STA/LTA)和池赤准则(AIC)算法的多步骤P波自动拾取技术,应用Delaunay三角剖分提出了一种非几何相关的干扰信号剔除方法,并应用福建省数字地震台网记录对方法进行了验证,目前方法已经用到了福建省地震预警试验系统中.     

累积绝对速度在核电厂地震危险性分析中的应用研究

指出了运用我国现行的考虑时空非均匀性的地震危险性分析计算方法对核电厂等设计精良的设施进行地震危险性分析时所存在的问题.介绍了累积绝对速度（CAV）的概念,并将其引入到我国现行的考虑时空非均匀性的地震危险性分析计算方法之中,用以排除厂址周围小震对核电厂地震危险性分析的影响,并选取实际工程场点进行了试算.试算结果表明,此方法能明显排除厂址周围小震对地震危险性分析结果的影响.     

Structural monitoring and earthquake early warning systems for the AHEPA hospital in Thessaloniki

This study aims at presenting the analyses of monitoring data that have been used in the context of structural monitoring and Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) for a hospital building in Thessaloniki. Permanent and temporary instrumentation arrays, implemented under the responsibility of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (SDGEE-AUTH) in close cooperation with German Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) are presented. The ambient noise data recorded at the temporarily installed networks are used for the dynamic characterization of the building based on both vibrational and waveform approaches. Moreover, long-term ambient noise recordings from the permanent array installed within the hospital are used for the investigation of the daily and seasonal wandering of the building resonance frequencies related to environmental effects. The modal identification results are used in a comprehensive framework for the computation of the up-to-date fragility curves representing the actual structural state considering aging effects of the construction materials, possible pre-existing damages and changes in the geometry and mass distribution. The building-specific fragility functions are integrated into two independent EEW systems and rapid damage assessment approaches, namely the PRESTo software and an onsite EEW algorithm on the instruments of the permanent array, to provide the expected level of damage after strong ground shaking at the monitored building. The implemented monitoring networks and the developed operational tools can be used in the context of seismic risk mitigation and preparedness for structural safety assessment under earthquake loading.     

地震预警定位方法研究

实时地震定位是地震预警系统中必须解决的关键问题之一.文中在借鉴已有实时地震定位方法的基础上并结合我国台网的实际情况,推导得到一套利用前三/四台P波、S波到时信息进行实时定位的算法.作者选取2000年至2008年问福建省地震监测台网记录到的68个3.0级以上地震对该算法进行验证.研究结果表明,采用文中方法的定位结果具有一...     

Expected loss‐based alarm threshold set for earthquake early warning systems

Earthquake early warning systems (EEWS) seem to have potential as tools for real‐time seismic risk management and mitigation. In fact, although the evacuation of buildings requires warning time not available in many urbanized areas threatened by seismic hazard, they may still be used for the real‐time protection of critical facilities using automatic systems in order to reduce the losses subsequent to a catastrophic event. This is possible due to the real‐time seismology, which consists of methods and procedures for the rapid estimation of earthquake features, as magnitude and location, based on measurements made on the first seconds of the P‐waves. An earthquake engineering application of earthquake early warning (EEW) may be intended as a system able to issue the alarm, if some recorded parameter exceeds a given threshold, to activate risk mitigation actions before the quake strikes at a site of interest. Feasibility analysis and design of such EEWS require the assessment of the expected loss reduction due to the security action and set of the alarm threshold. In this paper a procedure to carry out these tasks in the performance‐based earthquake engineering probabilistic framework is proposed. A merely illustrative example refers to a simple structure assumed to be a classroom. Structural damage and non‐structural collapses are considered; the security action is to shelter occupants below the desks. The cost due to a false alarm is assumed to be related to the interruption of didactic activities. Results show how the comparison of the expected losses, for the alarm‐issuance and non‐issuance cases, allows setting the alarm threshold on a quantitative and consistent basis, and how it may be a tool for the design of engineering applications of EEW. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地震预警实质的探讨

随着国家地震烈度速报与预警工程的开展,“地震预警”越来越进入公众的视线,国内外关于“什么是地震预警”的问题越来越多,对地震预警技术的解释也多种多样。本文论述了我国地震预警的进展,地震预警的实质和局限性。地震预警实质是地震观测进入密集观测新阶段,地震速报从分钟级发展到秒级超快地震速报,也就是地震警报。由于在地震预警实际应用中受预警盲区和地震强度估算不准确的局限,地震科学家对地震预警技术应用效能的认识也在不断加深和变化,逐步认识了发挥地震预警的警报作用的重要性。同时,地震预警是复杂的社会工程,引导公众认识地震预警的局限性,才能有效发挥减灾效能。      

Evaluation of earthquake signal characteristics for early warning

This paper evaluates different characteristics for earthquake early warning.The scaling relationships between magnitude,epicenter distance and calculated parameters are derived from earthquake event data from USGS.The standard STA/LTA method is modified by adding two new parameters to eliminate the effects of the spike-type noise and small pulsetype noise ahead of the onset of the P-wave.After the detection of the P-wave,the algorithm extracts 12 kinds of parameters from the first 3 seconds of the P-wave.Then stepwise regression analysis of these parameters is performed to estimate the epicentral distance and magnitude.Six different parameters are selected to estimate the epicentral distance,and the median error for all 419 estimates is 16.5 km.Four parameters are optimally combined to estimate the magnitude,and the mean error for all events is 0.0 magnitude units,with a standard deviation of 0.5.Finally,based on the estimation results,additional work is proposed to improve the accuracy of the results.     

Comparison of two earthquake early warning location methods

According to earthquake catalog records of Fujian Seismic Network, the T _now method and the four-station continuous location method put forward by Jin Xing are inspected by using P-wave arrival information of the first four stations in each earthquake. It shows that the four-station continuous location method can locate more seismic events than the T _now method. By analyzing the results, it is concluded that the reason for this is that the T _now method makes use of information from stations without being triggered, while some stations failed to be reflected in earthquake catalog because of discontinuous records or unclear records of seismic phases. For seismic events whose location results can be given, there is no obvious difference in location results of the two methods and positioning deviation of most seismic events is also not significant. For earthquakes outside the network, the positioning deviation may amplify as the epicentral distance enlarges, which may relate to the situation that the seismic stations are centered on one side of epicenter and the opening angle between seismic stations used for location and epicenter is small.     

两种地震预警定位方法的比较

根据福建地震台网的地震目录,利用各个地震事件前4台的P波到时对Tnow定位方法和4台连续定位方法进行检验,结果表明,两种方法的定位结果相差不大,大部分地震事件的定位偏差也都较小;随震中距的增大,两种方法对网外地震的定位偏差可能增大,这可能和台站集中在震中的一侧、参与定位的台站与地震之间的张角较小有关。波速结构对4台连续定位方法的定位结果存在一定的影响,选择合适的速度模型将有助于改善地震预警定位结果。采用Tnow定位方法不能定位的地震事件相对于4台连续定位方法要多,这可能是由于Tnow定位方法应用了未触发台站的信息,而部分P波到时信息因台站断记或震相记录不清晰等原因而未在地震目录中体现导致的;综合考虑两种定位方法的局限性有助于提高地震预警系统的稳定性和可靠性。     

美国地震预警系统ShakeAlert测试与评估

美国地震预警系统ShakeAlert目前已向美国西海岸3个州的试验用户发送地震预警信息。地震预警算法在正式上线之前必须经过严格的实时原位测试和离线测试。实时原位测试主要针对被测试系统或模块的鲁棒性进行压力测试,以评估新的系统是否可以上线运行;离线测试选取一定数量的历史地震事件进行回放测试,并基于点源结果和地震动强度预测结果这两种方式对系统的算法进行测试评估。本文以Cochran等[1]这篇文章为蓝本,编译并概要介绍了美国地震预警系统ShakeAlert测试与评估的流程和算法等。