INSTANCE – the Italian seismic dataset for machine learning

The Italian earthquake waveform data are collected here in a dataset suited for machine learning analysis (ML) applications. The dataset consists of nearly 1.2 million three-component (3C) waveform traces from about 50 000 earthquakes and more than 130 000 noise 3C waveform traces, for a total of about 43 000 h of data and an average of 21 3C traces provided per event. The earthquake list is based on the Italian Seismic Bulletin (http://terremoti.ingv.it/bsi, last access: 15 February 2020​​​​​​​) of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia between January 2005 and January 2020, and it includes events in the magnitude range between 0.0 and 6.5. The waveform data have been recorded primarily by the Italian National Seismic Network (network code IV) and include both weak- (HH, EH channels) and strong-motion (HN channels) recordings. All the waveform traces have a length of 120 s, are sampled at 100 Hz, and are provided both in counts and ground motion physical units after deconvolution of the instrument transfer functions. The waveform dataset is accompanied by metadata consisting of more than 100 parameters providing comprehensive information on the earthquake source, the recording stations, the trace features, and other derived quantities. This rich set of metadata allows the users to target the data selection for their own purposes. Much of these metadata can be used as labels in ML analysis or for other studies. The dataset, assembled in HDF5 format, is available at http://doi.org/10.13127/instance (Michelini et al., 2021).

INSTANCE – the Italian seismic dataset for machine learning

The Italian earthquake waveform data are here collected in a dataset suited for machine learning analysis (ML) applications. The dataset consists of near 1.2 million three-component (3C) waveform traces from about 50,000 earthquakes and more than 130,000 noise 3C waveform traces, for a total of about 43,000 hours of data and an average of 21 3C traces are provided per event. The earthquake list is based on the Italian seismic bulletin (http://terremoti.ingv.it/bsi) of the ``Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia'' between January 2005 and January 2020 and it includes events in the magnitude range between 0.0 and 6.5. The waveform data have been recorded primarily by the Italian National Seismic Network (network code IV) and include both weak (HH, EH channels) and strong motion recordings (HN channels). All the waveform traces have a length of 120 s, are sampled at 100 Hz, and are provided both in counts and ground motion units after deconvolution of the instrument transfer functions. The waveform dataset is accompanied by metadata consisting of more than 100 parameters providing comprehensive information on the earthquake source, the recording stations, the trace features, and other derived quantities. This rich set of metadata allows the users to target the data selection for their own purposes. Many of these metadata can be used as labels in ML analysis or for other studies. The dataset, assembled in HDF5 format, is available at http://doi.org/10.13127/instance (Michelini et al., 2021).

Parental and offspring psychopathological disorders after the 2012 Italian earthquake

Background Parental mental health can affect offspring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but up to now few data focused on families exposed to natural disasters. Thus, this study aimed at investigating the association between parental and youth psychopathology after the Italian earthquake of 2012. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 1162 parents and 682 children and adolescents (9-14 years) living in two districts, earthquake area (EA) and control area (CA), were assessed for psychopathological distress two years after the earthquake. Children filled in the UCLA PTSD-Index for DSM-IV, an exposure questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); parents the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Results Parents in EA showed a higher frequency of psychopathological difficulties than those in CA (28% vs 17.5% had a SCL-90 global score over the cutoff, p < 0.001). Sleep disturbances were the most prevalent disorder, followed by obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, somatization and anxiety. Compared to fathers, mothers had significantly higher scores, especially in the EA sample. Both SCL90 total and symptom domain scores correlated with PTSD total and clusters scores, especially for hyperarousal and re-experiencing. Parental anxiety, depression and somatization showed the highest correlations. Considering SDQ, mothers' psychopathology resulted to be associated mainly with offspring's emotional and peer problems, while fathers' disorders affected mainly children's hyperactivity. Conclusions This study showed a significant association between parental mental health and both PTSD and emotional/behavioral problems among offspring after earthquake. These results should be carefully considered when planning mental health support interventions in areas affected by earthquakes. Key messages Parental psychopathology and PTSD and other emotional/behavioral difficulties in children tend to cluster in families exposed to natural disasters, especially earthquakes. Parental and offspring psychopathological disorders should be considered when planning mental health support interventions in areas affected by earthquakes.

Finding Faults in Our Past: Uncovering the Messina Earthquake

The source of the deadly 1908 Italian earthquake may finally be identified, thanks to a fresh look at the geomorphology of the Strait of Messina.