Applicability of Magnitude Determination Method Considering Time Dependence of P-Wave Growth to Railway Earthquake Early Warning System

Abstract

This article examines an earthquake magnitude (M) determination method to test its applicability for the railway earthquake early warning system. Although the effectiveness of the M determination method has been shown so far when multiple station approach is used, the railway system employs a single station algorithm considering immediacy of the warning. This study investigates if the M determination method can improve the performance of the system analyzing seismic records observed in Japan. As a result, the test demonstrated that the method speeds up the final M estimation without loss of accuracy, suggesting that the risks of running trains during an earthquake can be reduced by applying the new technique to the railway system.