Testing a Prototype Earthquake Early Warning System: A Retrospective Study of the 2021 Mw 7.4 Maduo, Tibet, Earthquake

Abstract

Abstract On 21 May 2021, an Mw 7.4 earthquake occurred in Maduo County, Qinghai Province, China. A dense network of high-rate (1 Hz) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations around the epicenter provided one of the most complete recordings of GNSS kinematic displacements in Tibet to date. We used these data retrospectively to test a prototype earthquake early warning (EEW) system. Here, we present the results of that test, in which the EEW system archived high-rate GNSS displacement streams, and then used them to track evolving magnitude and slip. The geodetic module in the EEW system issued the first alert 34 s after the earthquake onset. The first alert had a moment magnitude (Mw) of 6.65, which then increased until reaching a stable value (Mw 7.4) 61 s after the earthquake onset. Testing results show good agreement with rapid GNSS displacements and postprocessed GNSS displacements; moreover, the rapid finite-fault inversion is consistent with postinversion magnitude and rupture dimensions. Our findings confirm the viability and usefulness of this EEW system in quasi-real-time magnitude estimation and finite-fault slip inversion.