Earthquake early warning using ocean bottom seismic data for railways

Abstract

This article explains processes for improving the railway earthquake early warning system. These processes were introduced to use data transmitted in real time from recently developed ocean bottom seismic networks. Three mechanisms were designed to be able to exploit this data: 1) an algorithm for servers in OBS system base stations; 2) a procedure to allow transmissions between the servers and railway company receivers; and 3) a system built into the receiver to determine whether running trains need to be stopped or not. Confirmation was obtained that the proposed processes were able to reduce the risks to railways from earthquakes, because they are capable of extending the lead time before the arrival of strong seismic motion.