Early Warning Network Research Articles

Interdisciplinary methods for researching climate-mental health links through the Methane Early Warning Network (ME-NET): improving ‘visibility’ and integrating complex multi-datasets

Interdisciplinary methods for researching climate-mental health links through the Methane Early Warning Network (ME-NET): improving ‘visibility’ and integrating complex multi-datasets

Analysis of Strong Ground Motion Characteristics for the Jishishan MS6.2 Earthquake December 18, 2023

The MS6.2 earthquake occurred in Jishishan, Gansu Province, China, on December 18, 2023. Based on some strong seismic acceleration time histories captured by some stations of China National Strong Earthquake Observation Network and National Earthquake Early Warning Network, the spatial distribution characteristics, rupture directivity effect, hanging wall and footwall effect, response spectrum characteristics, and attenuation of the peak ground acceleration (PGA) were analyzed in this paper. It can be used as reference for the site determination of post‐earthquake reconstruction and seismic design of engineering structures. The analysis shows that the spatial distribution of strong ground motion of the Jishishan MS6.2 earthquake is mainly controlled by the distribution of causative fault. Near the fault, the effect of rupture directivity is obvious. The effect of hanging wall and footwall significantly affects the distribution of PGAs for this earthquake, causing a pronounced asymmetric pattern about PGAs relative to the fault, with slower attenuation on the hanging wall compared to the footwall. The type of site obviously affects the characteristics of response spectrum. The ground motion intensity observed at the epicenter of this earthquake significantly exceeded the levels of rare and extremely rare seismic events in the current seismic design codes. The attenuation relationship of PGA obtained by regression analysis shows that ones in the 5th generation Chinese ground motion parameter zoning map for the Qinghai‐Tibet region underestimate the horizontal PGA.

Multi-Tempo Forecasting of Soil Temperature Data; Application over Quebec, Canada

The profound impact of soil temperature (TS) on crucial environmental processes, including water infiltration, subsurface movement, plant growth, and its influence on land–atmosphere dynamics, cannot be undermined. While satellite and land surface model-based data are valuable in data-sparse areas, they necessitate innovative solutions to bridge gaps and overcome temporal delays arising from their dependence on atmospheric and hydro–meteorological factors. This research introduces a viable technique to address the lag in the Famine Early Warning Network Land Data Assimilation System (FLDAS). Notably, this approach exhibits versatility, proving highly effective in analyzing datasets characterized by significant seasonal trends, and its application holds immense value in watershed-scaled hydrological research. Leveraging the enhanced state-space (SS) method for forecasting in the FLDAS, this technique harnesses TS datasets collected over time at various depths (0–10 cm, 10–40 cm, and 40–100 cm), employing a multiplicative SS model for modeling purposes. By employing the 1-step, 6-step, and 12-step-ahead models at different depths and 2 locations in Quebec, Canada, the outcomes showcased a performance with an average coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.88 and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 2.073 °C for the dynamic model, R2 of 0.834 and RMSE of 2.979 °C for the 6-step-ahead model, and R2 of 0.921 and RMSE of 1.865 °C for the 12-step-ahead model. The results revealed that as the prediction horizon expands and the length of the input data increases, the accuracy of predictions progressively improves, indicating that this model becomes increasingly accurate over time.

A Qualitative Analysis of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel Experiences and Perceptions Responding to Drug Overdoses in the United States (US) During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The purpose of this work was to describe the experiences of EMS personnel in responding to drug overdose-related calls and the impact the pandemic has had to help better inform current response and treatment efforts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 99 EMS personnel across 18 areas throughout the United States that were designated as Early Warning Network sentinel sites by the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded National Drug Early Warning System. Participants were asked about topics including the potential burdens from the pandemic and the opioid crisis. We coded the interview responses and identified themes through qualitative analysis. Multiple cycles of descriptive coding, recoding, subcoding, pattern-coding, and thematic coding of responses were conducted. Responses were categorized into the following themes: 1) being over-worked from increased call volume; 2) increased risk for personal harm when responding to patients; 3) compassion fatigue due to long hours and repeat calls for the same people; 4) conflicting perceptions of the utility of naloxone; 5) the need for better treatment options to respond to opioid crisis on top of COVID-19. The burden of the substance use disorder (SUD) crisis on EMS personnel has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. These reports from EMS personnel throughout the US can help inform policy and procedures to better protect the mental health of EMS personnel and to ensure better care for patients with SUD. These experiences and recommendations may be of use for other countries as substance use and COVID-19 are global health issues.

A Magnitude Estimation Approach and Application to the Yunnan Earthquake Early Warning Network

Abstract Estimating the magnitude based on P waves is important to issue early messages to the general public for earthquake early warning (EEW) purposes. First, we reviewed part of the magnitude estimation results of the current EEW system deployed in Yunnan and found that the magnitude of the mainshock of the Yangbi earthquake sequence (Ms 6.4, as formally determined by the Yunnan Seismic Network) is severe underestimated by 0.9, whereas a number of small earthquakes are overestimated. Then, we determined the reason for this phenomenon and improved the magnitude estimation precision in Yunnan by introducing the fixed effect regression technique, adopting a flexible time window and deriving the magnitude estimation equation strictly. Finally, we examined the deficiencies of this magnitude estimation approach and demonstrated that it is possible to provide instant and reliable parameters of an earthquake through numerous inexpensive accelerometers on the ground.

Exploring the Potential of a Global Emerging Contaminant Early Warning Network through the Use of Retrospective Suspect Screening with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

A key challenge in the environmental and exposure sciences is to establish experimental evidence of the role of chemical exposure in human and environmental systems. High resolution and accurate tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS) is increasingly being used for the analysis of environmental samples. One lauded benefit of HRMS is the possibility to retrospectively process data for (previously omitted) compounds that has led to the archiving of HRMS data. Archived HRMS data affords the possibility of exploiting historical data to rapidly and effectively establish the temporal and spatial occurrence of newly identified contaminants through retrospective suspect screening. We propose to establish a global emerging contaminant early warning network to rapidly assess the spatial and temporal distribution of contaminants of emerging concern in environmental samples through performing retrospective analysis on HRMS data. The effectiveness of such a network is demonstrated through a pilot study, where eight reference laboratories with available archived HRMS data retrospectively screened data acquired from aqueous environmental samples collected in 14 countries on 3 different continents. The widespread spatial occurrence of several surfactants (e.g., polyethylene glycols ( PEGs ) and C12AEO-PEGs ), transformation products of selected drugs (e.g., gabapentin-lactam, metoprolol-acid, carbamazepine-10-hydroxy, omeprazole-4-hydroxy-sulfide, and 2-benzothiazole-sulfonic-acid), and industrial chemicals (3-nitrobenzenesulfonate and bisphenol-S) was revealed. Obtaining identifications of increased reliability through retrospective suspect screening is challenging, and recommendations for dealing with issues such as broad chromatographic peaks, data acquisition, and sensitivity are provided.

A Dedicated Seismic Early Warning Network: The Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX)

A Dedicated Seismic Early Warning Network: The Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX)

Metrology for Radiological Early Warning Networks in Europe ("METROERM")-A Joint European Metrology Research Project.

As a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986, all European countries have installed automatic dosimetry network stations as well as air sampling systems for the monitoring of airborne radioactivity. In Europe, at present, almost 5,000 stations measure dose rate values in nearly real time. In addition, a few hundred air samplers are operated. Most of them need extended accumulation times with no real-time capability. National dose rate data are provided to the European Commission (EC) via the EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP). In case of a nuclear emergency with transboundary implications, the EC may issue momentous recommendations to EU member states based on the radiological data collected by EURDEP. These recommendations may affect millions of people and could have severe economic and sociological consequences. Therefore, the reliability of the EURDEP data is of key importance. Unfortunately, the dose rate and activity concentration data are not harmonized between the different networks. Therefore, within the framework of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), 16 European institutions formed the consortium MetroERM with the aim to improve the metrological foundation of measurements and to introduce a pan-European harmonization for the collation and evaluation of radiological data in early warning network systems. In addition, a new generation of detector systems based on spectrometers capable of providing both reliable dose rate values as well as nuclide specific information in real time are in development. The MetroERM project and its first results will be presented and discussed in this article.

Contribution au maintien du caractère opérationnel des plans d’intervention sanitaire d’urgence en santé animale

Preserving the operability of contingency plans for animal health emergencies. Certain animal disease outbreaks require a quick and well managed response. They are emergencies, since any delay could result in huge economic losses. The French zoosanitary emergencies and crisis’ management mainly involves State Veterinary Services at local level. Contingency planning enables to organize the surveillance and eventually the response to outbreaks. The last decades have seen zoosanitary contingency plans adopt an inclusive, interdisciplinary approach, fostering flexibility and engagement of various stakeholders. Seven critical issues for their operability require specific vigilance by competent authorities : financial aspects, early-warning networks, human resources, material resources, communication, documentation of procedures, and of course continuous improvement. This article is an overview of the preparing work within the French Veterinary Services, stemming from the 2012 author’s thesis.

FrontlineSMS as an Early Warning Network for Human‐Wildlife Mitigation: Lessons Learned from Tests Conducted in Mozambique and Zimbabwe

AbstractHuman‐wildlife conflicts (HWCs) have drastically increased around conservation areas in Africa in recent decades, thus undermining the peaceful cohabitation of wildlife populations and rural human settlements. Mitigation packages include HWC reporting, which is often ineffective since the information conveyed is generally scattered and useless. The booming mobile phone sector and the popular use of text messages (SMS) have provided an opportunity to assess the impact of real‐time communication systems in HWC mitigation strategies. This paper presents the results of preliminary tests conducted in Mozambique and Zimbabwe with FrontlineSMS, a mobile data collection system. With sets of 52 wildlife playing cards, any wildlife events from patrol reports to HWCs were easily translated into explanatory variables listed on forms. Sending written information as text messages was hampered by IT problems linked with the use of commercial 3G USB modems. The overall system could be improved by using GPRD modems allowing a higher SMS flow and, at the informant level, by introducing ad‐hoc SMS models to facilitate data capture on mobile phones. Once adopted, HWC early warning systems could be deployed at low cost.

Effectiveness analysis of a semiactive base isolation strategy using information from an early-warning network

In this paper the possibility to manage data transferred by a Seismic Early Warning network to protect from collapse Base Isolated strategic structural systems by using semiactive devices has been investigated. In particular, by estimating the frequency content of the incoming seismic signal recorded at the accelerometric stations using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) technique, a new approach is proposed to estimate the seismic demand of the structure to be protected in order to eventually modify its mechanical features by means of semiactive devices. The analysis concerns a Base Isolated benchmark system equipped with semiactive devices located at the isolation layer, capable of modifying both the stiffness and damping of the overall structural system.The effectiveness of the proposed strategy has been tested on varying the “anticipation time”, namely the range of the time interval between the start of the seismic data elaboration by the recorded stations and the arrival of the seismic S-wave to the interested site, the added stiffness and damping resources, as well as by taking into account different seismic input signals.The results highlight the practical feasibility of the proposed strategy as well as the critical role played by the considered parameters on the performance of both the isolation level and superstructure. This work has to be intended as a first contribution concerning the potentiality of the Early Warning applications in reducing the seismic risk in built environments.

An intelligent Communication terminal for the Campus-Vehicle Early Warning System Based on RFID

It is very important how to ensure the network connectivity of the RFID reader in a qualified Campus-Vehicle Early Warning System. In this paper, the intelligent communication terminal is presented and will be used to connect the RFID reader and Campus-Vehicle Early Warning network. The terminal automatically choose one of communication channels such as LAN and WLAN or 3G Network, to make RFID reader connected with the Campus-Vehicle Early Warning network. If a communications link in use failed for some reason, the terminal should automatically choose one from other communication channels to repair a network connection, thus ensuring connectivity of the network.

How to Master A Seismic Disaster

When the next big earthquake hit Tokyo, an early-warning systems could help save lives and properties. Japanese government has spent the last five years constructing an automated earthquake early-warning network. It's the first national system of its kind and by far the most sophisticated. The network is designed to detect the first tremors of an earthquake, calculate the likely source and magnitude, and then broadcast an alert

Distributed Management Architecture for Cooperative Detection and Reaction to DDoS Attacks

We propose a cooperative intrusion detection framework focused on countering Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks through the introduction of a distributed overlay early-warning network. Ou...

The use of passive environmental TLDs in the operation of the Spanish early warning network 'REVIRA'.

As required by different international agreements, the regulatory body in Spain (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear) implemented in 1992 a national automatic network (REVIRA) that continuously monitors radiation levels in order to give early warning of incidents having potential transboundary implications. The detector for environmental gamma-radiation dose rate is an active instrument based on a Geiger-Müller counter. However, the use of passive environmental dosemeters provides an additional low-cost dose estimate with an independent centralised calibration and even better basic features than active instruments. Since 1999, all 25 REVIRA stations have been monitored with passive TL environmental dosemeters based on LiF:Mg,Cu,P and operated according to the procedures established at Ciemat. This paper presents the obtained results and the further analysis considering differences in aspects such as photon energy response, inherent background or response to cosmic rays. The benefits of the use of passive environmental dosemeters in early warning networks are discussed.

Towards the Development of an Early Warning/Response Network

This article outlines a proposal put forth by the Prevention/Early Warning Unit at the Centrefor Refugee Studies, York University. The article describes the problems with early warning and how an early warning network (EWNET) can address these existing difficulties. This EWNET is described as an academic- NGO-policy consortium that over a period of a few years will become self-sufficient through the involvement of business. Utilizing the Internet, EWNET will collect information from all over the world, analyze and disseminate such information. The link to policy makers and the importance of properly communicating alerts are discussed. While a central management team oversees EWNET, there are several units working on administration, sales and research. Furthermore, the research unit is broken down into indicator, communication, response and area study research; the latter being linked to twenty crises area nodes. This structure assures that EWNET will comprise a broad resource network as well as the links necessary for sending uniform early warning signals.