The national seismic network for the Maltese islands: Update 2021

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Galea ◽  
Matthew Agius ◽  
George Bozionelos ◽  
Sebastiano D'Amico ◽  
Daniela Farrugia
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Site Response ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Time Data ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Seismic Stations ◽  
Maltese Islands ◽  
Sicily Channel

<p>The Maltese islands are a small country 15 km wide by 30 km long located about 100 km south of Sicily, Italy. Since 2015 Malta has set up a national seismic network. The primary aim of this network is to monitor in real-time and to locate more accurately the seismicity close to the islands and the seismicity in the Sicily Channel, offshore between Sicily, Tunisia and Libya. This Channel presents a range of interesting and complex tectonic processes that have developed in response to various regional stress fields mainly as a result of the collision between the African plate with Europe. The Maltese islands are known to have been affected by a number of earthquakes originating in the Channel, with some of these events estimated to be very close to the islands.</p><p>The seismotectonic characteristics of the Sicily channel, particularly south of the Maltese islands, is not well understood. This situation is being partially addressed through an increase in the number of seismic stations on the Maltese archipelago. The Malta Seismic Network (FDSN code ML), managed by the Seismic Monitoring and Research Group, within the Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, currently comprises 8 broadband, 3-component stations over an area slightly exceeding 300 km<sup>2</sup>. We present a technical description of the MSN including quality control tests such as spectral analysis (Power Spectral Density and HVSR), station orientations and timings as well as examples of local and regional earthquakes recorded on the network. We describe the upgrades to real-time data transmission and archiving, and automated epicentre location for continuous seismic monitoring using the local network amalgamated with a virtual seismic network to monitor the seismicity in the extended Mediterranean region. Such a dense national network, besides improving epicentral location in the Sicily Channel, is providing valuable information on microearthquake activity known to occur in close proximity to the islands, which has been very difficult to study in the past. It also provides an important tool for analysing site response and site amplification related to underlying geology, which constitutes a major component of seismic hazard analysis on the islands. Furthermore, the increase in seismic stations to the seismic monitoring system provides more robust earthquake estimates for the tsunami monitoring/simulation system.</p><p>Funding for stations was provided by Interreg Italia-Malta projects (SIMIT and SIMIT-THARSY, Codes B1-2.19/11 and C1-3.2-57) and by Transport Malta.</p>

A First National Seismic Network for the Maltese Islands—The Malta Seismic Network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Galea ◽  
Matthew R. Agius ◽  
George Bozionelos ◽  
Sebastiano D’Amico ◽  
Daniela Farrugia
Keyword(s):  
Site Response ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Time Data ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Small Magnitude ◽  
Maltese Islands ◽  
Sicily Channel

Abstract The Sicily Channel, situated on the leading edge of the African plate as it collides with Europe, presents a range of interesting and complex tectonic processes that have developed in response to various regional stress fields. The characterization and interpretation of the seismic activity, however, still presents a challenge. The Maltese islands, lying approximately 100 km to the south of Sicily, are known to have been affected by a number of earthquakes in the Channel, with some of these events estimated to be very close to the islands. Yet, in the absence of nearby seismic instruments, an accurate evaluation and mapping of small magnitude seismicity, and, hence, the identification of unmapped active faults in the region, remains a challenge. This situation is being partially addressed through the deployment of more seismic stations on the Maltese archipelago. The Malta Seismic Network (MSN; International Federation of Digital Seismograph Networks code ML, see Data and Resources), managed by the Seismic Monitoring and Research Group, within the Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, currently comprises eight broadband, three-component stations covering an area of, approximately, 315  km2. Continuous seismic monitoring is possible following upgrades to real-time data transmission and automated epicenter location, coupled with a virtual seismic network established through SeisComP3, and focused mainly on the Mediterranean region. Such a dense national network, besides improving epicentral location in the Sicily Channel, will provide valuable information on microearthquake activity known to occur in close proximity to the islands, which has been very difficult to study in the past. It will also provide opportunities to study shallow crustal structure, site response on different geological substrates, microseismic noise propagation, and effects of anthropogenic activities. Here, we give a technical description of the MSN and an appraisal of its potential.

scholarly journals OGS improvements in 2012 in running the North-eastern Italy Seismic Network: the Ferrara VBB borehole seismic station

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
D. Pesaresi ◽  
M. Romanelli ◽  
C. Barnaba ◽  
P. L. Bragato ◽  
G. Durì
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Seismic Station ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Seismic Stations ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Borehole Seismic

Abstract. The Centro di Ricerche Sismologiche (CRS, Seismological Research Centre) of the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS, Italian National Institute for Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics) in Udine (Italy) after the strong earthquake of magnitude M=6.4 occurred in 1976 in the Italian Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, started to operate the North-eastern Italy Seismic Network: it currently consists of 17 very sensitive broad band and 18 simpler short period seismic stations, all telemetered to and acquired in real time at the OGS-CRS data centre in Udine. Real time data exchange agreements in place with other Italian, Slovenian, Austrian and Swiss seismological institutes lead to a total number of about 100 seismic stations acquired in real time, which makes the OGS the reference institute for seismic monitoring of North-eastern Italy. The south-western edge of the OGS seismic network (Fig. 1) stands on the Po alluvial basin: earthquake localization and characterization in this area is affected by the presence of soft alluvial deposits. OGS ha already experience in running a local seismic network in high noise conditions making use of borehole installations in the case of the micro-seismicity monitoring of a local gas storage site for a private company. Following the ML = 5.9 earthquake that struck the Emilia region around Ferrara in Northern Italy on 20 May 2012 at 02:03:53 UTC, a cooperation of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, OGS, the Comune di Ferrara and the University of Ferrara lead to the reinstallation of a previously existing very broad band (VBB) borehole seismic station in Ferrara. The aim of the OGS intervention was on one hand to extend its real time seismic monitoring capabilities toward South-West, including Ferrara and its surroundings, and on the other hand to evaluate the seismic response at the site. We will describe improvements in running the North-eastern Italy Seismic Network, including details of the Ferrara VBB borehole station configuration and installation, with first results.

scholarly journals OGS improvements in the year 2011 in running the Northeastern Italy Seismic Network

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. L. Bragato ◽  
D. Pesaresi ◽  
A. Saraò ◽  
P. Di Bartolomeo ◽  
G. Durì
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Data Exchange ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Seismic Stations ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Northeastern Italy

Abstract. The Centro di Ricerche Sismologiche (CRS, Seismological Research Center) of the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale - OGS (Italian National Institute for Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics) in Udine (Italy) after the strong earthquake of magnitude Mw = 6.4 occurred in 1976 in the Italian Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, started to operate the Northeastern Italy Seismic Network: it currently consists of 12 very sensitive broad band and 21 simpler short period seismic stations, all telemetered to and acquired in real time at the OGS-CRS data centre in Udine. Real time data exchange agreements in place with other Italian, Slovenian, Austrian and Swiss seismological institutes lead to a total number of 93 seismic stations acquired in real time, which makes the OGS the reference institute for seismic monitoring of Northeastern Italy, as shown in Fig. 1 (Bragato et al., 2011; Saraò et al., 2010). Since 2002 OGS-CRS is using the Antelope software suite as the main tool for collecting, analyzing, archiving and exchanging seismic data, initially in the framework of the EU Interreg IIIA project "Trans-national seismological networks in the South-Eastern Alps" (Bragato et al., 2010; Pesaresi et al., 2008). SeisComP is also used as a real time data exchange server tool. In order to improve the seismological monitoring of the Northeastern Italy area, at OGS-CRS we tuned existing programs and created ad hoc ones like: a customized web server named PickServer to manually relocate earthquakes, a script for automatic moment tensor determination, scripts for web publishing of earthquake parametric data, waveforms, state of health parameters and shaking maps, noise characterization by means of automatic spectra analysis, and last but not least scripts for email/SMS/fax alerting. A new OGS-CRS real time seismological website (http://rts.crs.inogs.it/) has also been operative since several years.

scholarly journals The first results of the seismic monitoring system of the Solntsevsky open pit coal mine area (on Sakhalin Island)

2021 ◽  
Vol 946 (1) ◽  
pp. 012002
Author(s):  
D V Kostylev ◽  
N V Boginskaya
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Sakhalin Island ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Seismic Events ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Active Coal ◽  
First Results

Abstract In 2021, work began as a part of the implementation of the decision of the protocol of the Sakhalin branch of the Russian Expert Council on earthquake prediction, seismic hazard and risk assessment dated October 6, 2020 on detailed monitoring in the area of active coal mining at the Solntsevsky open pit coal mine (Sakhalin Island). New points of seismic monitoring were installed directly in the area of the open pit coal mine. Integration of real-time data received from the points in real time into a unified seismic monitoring system in the Sakhalin Region was ensured. The results of registration of seismic events of various origins since the commissioning of the stations are presented. A significant increase in the accuracy of the determined epicenters and the possibilities of determining earthquakes and industrial explosions has been noted. The results of the monitoring system for studying the landslide process in the area of the open pit coal mine, as well as the probable factors that caused the landslide, are shown. The developed monitoring system allows for representative registration of seismic events with ML ≥ 0.8 in the immediate vicinity of open pit coal mine, which makes it possible to control blasting operations with increased accuracy, as well as weak and possible induced seismicity formed as a result of a constant technogenic impact on the subsoil.

scholarly journals Real-Time Data Transmission and Visualization as a Powerful Technology to Reduce Non-Productive Time During Drilling Operations: Present Day Capabilities, Limitation, and Future Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-142
Author(s):  
Yustian Ekky Rahanjani ◽  
Budhi Nugraha
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Data Transmission ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Intelligence System ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Drilling Operations ◽  
Productive Time

This paper primarily is focusing on presenting the non-productive time overview and any kind of non-productive time that can be reduced by real-time data technology, real-time data transmission and visualization infrastructure which supports the processes of aggregation, transmission, and visualization; the example of multipurpose implementation and further innovation and improvements that can be made within the real-time data transmission and visualization, such as real-time reservoir footage calculation during geosteering and drill-time calculation to pick the formation tops and casing point; the challenges and limitation while using real-time data, such as VSAT and local network connectivity issue; and future target and improvement of real-time data usage especially to make an artifi cial intelligence system to predict the potential feature, such as formation or drilling problem while drilling. All of those stuff s could be found by literature study and direct professional experience while handling real-time data system. This technology will inspire the user to design their own solution for their operations. Despite the signifi cant advances on real-time data transmission and visualization, there is signifi cant room to fully use itspotential for advanced workfl ows and the usage of real-time data technology which was proven to reduce the Non-Productive Time that could save the operational cost. We believe that the utilization of real-time data transmission and visualization will defi nitely increase the effi ciency of the drilling operations, especially for multiple wells operations.

The Northwest Mexico Seismic Network: Real‐Time Seismic Monitoring in Northern Baja California and Northwestern Sonora, Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (2A) ◽  
pp. 324-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Antonio Vidal‐Villegas ◽  
Luis Munguía ◽  
J. Alejandro González‐Ortega ◽  
M. Alejandra Nuñez‐Leal ◽  
Erik Ramírez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Northwest Mexico

scholarly journals Real-time earthquake monitoring for tsunami warning in the Indian Ocean and beyond

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2611-2622 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Hanka ◽  
J. Saul ◽  
B. Weber ◽  
J. Becker ◽  
P. Harjadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Tsunami Warning ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Earthquake Monitoring ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Abstract. The Mw = 9.3 Sumatra earthquake of 26 December 2004 generated a tsunami that affected the entire Indian Ocean region and caused approximately 230 000 fatalities. In the response to this tragedy the German government funded the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) Project. The task of the GEOFON group of GFZ Potsdam was to develop and implement the seismological component. In this paper we describe the concept of the GITEWS earthquake monitoring system and report on its present status. The major challenge for earthquake monitoring within a tsunami warning system is to deliver rapid information about location, depth, size and possibly other source parameters. This is particularly true for coast lines adjacent to the potential source areas such as the Sunda trench where these parameters are required within a few minutes after the event in order to be able to warn the population before the potential tsunami hits the neighbouring coastal areas. Therefore, the key for a seismic monitoring system with short warning times adequate for Indonesia is a dense real-time seismic network across Indonesia with densifications close to the Sunda trench. A substantial number of supplementary stations in other Indian Ocean rim countries are added to strengthen the teleseismic monitoring capabilities. The installation of the new GITEWS seismic network – consisting of 31 combined broadband and strong motion stations – out of these 21 stations in Indonesia – is almost completed. The real-time data collection is using a private VSAT communication system with hubs in Jakarta and Vienna. In addition, all available seismic real-time data from the other seismic networks in Indonesia and other Indian Ocean rim countries are acquired also directly by VSAT or by Internet at the Indonesian Tsunami Warning Centre in Jakarta and the resulting "virtual" network of more than 230 stations can jointly be used for seismic data processing. The seismological processing software as part of the GITEWS tsunami control centre is an enhanced version of the widely used SeisComP software and the well established GEOFON earthquake information system operated at GFZ in Potsdam (http://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/db/eqinfo.php). This recently developed software package (SeisComP3) is reliable, fast and can provide fully automatic earthquake location and magnitude estimates. It uses innovative visualization tools, offers the possibility for manual correction and re-calculation, flexible configuration, support for distributed processing and data and parameter exchange with external monitoring systems. SeisComP3 is not only used for tsunami warning in Indonesia but also in most other Tsunami Warning Centres in the Indian Ocean and Euro-Med regions and in many seismic services worldwide.

Real-Time Data Gathering and Transmission of Fracture Treatment Operations and Micro Seismic Monitoring to Enable Optimization of Field Development

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Musab M. Al-Khudiri ◽  
Faisal S. AlSanie ◽  
Kirk M. Bartko ◽  
Mohammed S Kurdi ◽  
Muhammad Kashif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Fracture Treatment ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Real Time Data

Evaluating Effectiveness of Real-Time Advanced Traveler Information Systems Using a Small Test Vehicle Fleet

1997 ◽  
Vol 1588 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Saricks ◽  
Joseph L. Schofer ◽  
Siim Sööt ◽  
Paul A. Belella
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Guidance System ◽  
Effective Characteristics ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Route Guidance ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Traveler Information ◽  
Link Travel Time

ADVANCE was an in-vehicle advanced traveler information system (ATIS) providing route guidance in real time that operated in the northwestern portion and northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It used probe vehicles to generate dynamically travel time information about expressways, arterials, and local streets. Tests to evaluate the subsystems of ADVANCE, executed with limited availability of test vehicles and stringent scheduling, are described; they provided useful insights into both the performance of the ADVANCE system as a whole and the desirable and effective characteristics of ATIS deployments generally. Tests found that the user features of an in-route guidance system must be able to accommodate a broad range of technological sophistication and network knowledge among the population likely to become regular users of such a system. For users who know the local network configuration, only a system giving reliable real-time data about nonrecurrent congestion is likely to find a market base beyond specialized applications. In general, the quality and usefulness of systemwide real-time route guidance provided by other means are enhanced significantly by even a small deployment of probes: probe data greatly improve static (archival average) link travel time estimates by time of day, although the guidance algorithms that use these data should also include arterial traffic signal timings. Moreover, probe- and detector-based incident detection on arterial networks shows considerable promise for improved performance and reliability.

scholarly journals Evolution and strengthening of the Calabrian Regional Seismic Network

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D'Alessandro ◽  
A. Gervasi ◽  
I. Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Hazard ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Seismic Monitoring ◽  
Seismic Network ◽  
Individual Contribution ◽  
Seismic Stations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Network Evaluation ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The Calabrian Arc is an area of high seismic hazard, in the past often affected by destructive earthquakes. The seismicity of the Calabrian region is monitored by the Italian National Seismic Network integrated by the Calabrian Regional one and, in the last three years, by the Pollino temporary array. We have applied the Seismic Network Evaluation through Simulation to assess the individual contribution of each network in locating earthquakes with epicentres in the Calabrian region and surrounding. We shows that the Calabrian Regional Seismic Network greatly improves the quality of the coverage in almost the Calabria territory except in the Crotone Basin, in the Serre and in the offshore areas. We show that the contribution of the Pollino temporary array is instead restricted to a very small area centred on the Pollino Chain. Due to the presence in the Serre of important seismogenic volumes, which in the past have generated destructive earthquakes, it would be opportune to add at least several seismic stations in this area and surrounding to improve the seismic monitoring.

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