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Source:

GFZ Potsdam

Date:

August 12,
2007

More on:

Tsunamis, Natural Disasters, Earthquakes, Environmental Policy, Weather, Geography

Java Earthquake: Warning In Less Than Five Minutes With
New Early Warning System

Science Daily — Determination
of earthquake location and size in Indonesia dramatically improved due to
German Tsunami Early Warning Project (GITEWS).

The M 7.6 West Java earthquake on August 8 was detected, located and
sized after only 4 minutes and 38 seconds by the German Tsunami Early
Warning System (GITEWS) currently under construction in Indonesia.

The location of the earthquake had been established after just 2
minutes and 11 seconds. For comparison: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
(PTWC) in Hawaii published the location and magnitude of this earthquake
after about 17 minutes.

Such a rapid analysis was possible due to the new software system
called "SeisComP" (Seismological Communication Processor) developed by GFZ
Potsdam that was recently installed at the Meteorological and Geophysical
Agency of Indonesia (BMG) in Jakarta. BMG Jakarta will host the future
Tsunami Early Warning Center for Indonesia, which is supported by the
German government with 40 million Euro. SeisComP, with its functionality
of standardized acquisition, global exchange and automatic as well as
interactive analysis of earthquake data, forms the backbone of the Indian
Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System.

Earlier SeisComP versions are in use with nearly 100 seismological
observatories and organizations of the world. In the framework of the
GITEWS project SeisComP was further improved to focus on accelerated
manual analysis for early detection of potentially tsunamogenic large
earthquakes. Sophisticated graphical user interfaces were developed for
optimal display of automatic analysis results and for efficient
interactive processing by operators at the warning centers. In Jakarta,
the new version of the seismology software package "SeisComP3" replaces an
older one that only worked automatically and did not include sufficient
visual control and interaction.

With the old version, earthquakes could be detected only after about
ten minutes and localized relatively unprecisely. Furthermore the
magnitude of strong quakes could only be determined to a certain degree.
This older version was operational since 2005 as a immediate measure to
support Indonesia after the devastating Sumatra tsunami in December
2004.

The work done at GFZ Potsdam and at BMG Jakarta is part of the
installation of a Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean region
coordinated by GFZ Potsdam. Professor Reinhard Hüttl, Scientific Executive
Board of GFZ Potsdam said: "Due to the German initiative and support,
Indonesia has taken a large stride towards its self-defined goal of
determining the location and size of large earthquake in less then 5
minutes. The new earthquake monitoring system is already running in
real-time operation mode since May 2007 and has successfully detected and
located a number of earthquakes. By the end of 2008 Indonesia will possess
the most modern seismological network for tsunami early warning in the
world."

Good progress of GITEWS seismological network installation: nine of the
planned 23 stations in Indonesia are already installed in Nias Island,
Sumatra (2), Krakatau Island, Java (2), Kalimantan, Flores Island and
Molucca Islands. Additional 5 stations are under preparation. The speed of
installation strongly depends on various "non-scientific" factors like
purchase of land, construction of seismic vaults and the current grounding
of Indonesian airlines due to security considerations.

Quality versus quantity: Meanwhile, 63 additional seismological
stations installed in Indonesia (45 Indonesian, 15 Japanese, 3 Chinese)
are also acquired and analyzed by the SeisComP system. However, the data
quality in many cases seems very poor and is not comparable to the high
standards set for the GITEWS-stations.

The GITEWS-project is a contribution of the German Federal Government
to re-establish the infrastructure in the disaster areas around the Indian
Ocean affected by the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami. The project under the lead of
GFZ Potsdam is carried by a consortium of eight German research
institutes, four of these are Helmholtz centres.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by GFZ
Potsdam.

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