Estimation of Earthquake Early Warning Parameters for Eastern Gulf of Corinth and Western Attica Region (Greece). First Results

Abstract

The main goal of an Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) is to alert before the arrival of damaging waves using the first seismic arrival as a proxy, thus becoming an important operational tool for real-time seismic risk management on a short timescale. EEWSs are based on the use of scaling relations between parameters measured on the initial portion of the seismic signal after the arrival of the first wave. To explore the plausibility of EEWSs around the Eastern Gulf of Corinth and Western Attica, amplitude and frequency-based parameters, such as peak displacement (Pd), the integral of squared velocity (IV 2) and the characteristic period (τc), were analyzed. All parameters were estimated directly from the initial 3 s, 4 s, and 5 s signal windows (tw) after the P arrival. While further study is required on the behavior of the proxy quantities, we propose that the IV 2 parameter and the peak amplitudes of the first seconds of the P waves present significant stability and introduce the possibility of a future on-site EEWS for areas affected by earthquakes located in the Eastern Gulf of Corinth and Western Attica. Parameters related to regional-based EEWS need to be further evaluated.

Keywords

• earthquake
• early warning system
• seismic risk mitigation
• Gulf of Corinth