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Usage of an early warning and information system Web-site for real-time seismicity in Iceland

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Abstract

Iceland has been subjected to destructive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions throughout history. Such events are often preceded by changes in earthquake activity over varying timescales. Although most seismicity is confined to micro-earthquakes, large earthquakes have occurred within populated regions. Following the most recent hazardous earthquakes in 2000, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) developed an early warning and information system (EWIS) Web-site for viewing near-real-time seismicity in Iceland. Here we assess Web-site usage data in relation to earthquake activity, as recorded by the South Iceland Lowland (SIL) seismic network. Between March 2005 and May 2006 the SIL seismic network recorded 12,583 earthquakes. During this period, the EWIS Web-site logged a daily median of 91 visits. The largest onshore event (M L 4.2) struck 20 km from Reykjavík on 06 March 2006 and was followed by an immediate, upsurge in usage resulting in a total of 1,173 unique visits to the Web-site. The greatest cluster of large (≥M L 3) events occurred 300 km offshore from Reykjavík in May 2005. Within this swarm, 9 earthquakes ≥M L 3 were detected on 11 May 2005, resulting in the release of a media bulletin by IMO. During the swarm, and following the media bulletin, the EWIS Web-site logged 1,234 unique visits gradually throughout the day. In summary, the data reveal a spatial and temporal relationship between Web-site usage and earthquake activity. The EWIS Web-site is accessed immediately after the occurrence of a local earthquake, whereas distant, unfelt earthquakes generate gradual interest prompted by media bulletins and, possibly, other contributing factors. We conclude that the Internet is a useful tool for displaying seismic information in near-real-time, which has the capacity to help increase public awareness of natural hazards.

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Acknowledgements

Deanne Bird thanks the Department of Physical Geography and the International Office at Macquarie University for scholarship funding to support this research. Ragnar Stefánsson and Páll Halldórsson are credited with initiating the EWIS project at IMO. Between 2000 and 2006, the development of the EWIS Web-site was funded partly by RANNÍS: the Icelandic Research Council; Viðlagatryggingar: the Iceland catastrophe insurance fund and the European Union project FORESIGHT (GOCE–CT–2003–511139). Gratitude is expressed to Páll Magnússon for his assistance and advice with IP address identification. Non-seismic GIS data presented here and on the EWIS Web-site were sourced from the National Land Survey of Iceland. This article benefited from insightful comments from Graham Leonard and an anonymous reviewer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Deanne Bird

  2. Physics Department, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bústaðavegur 9, Reykjavík, 150, Iceland

    Matthew J. Roberts

  3. Natural Hazards Research Laboratory, School of Safety Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Dale Dominey-Howes

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  1. Deanne Bird
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  2. Matthew J. Roberts
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  3. Dale Dominey-Howes
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Correspondence to Deanne Bird.

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Bird, D., Roberts, M.J. & Dominey-Howes, D. Usage of an early warning and information system Web-site for real-time seismicity in Iceland. Nat Hazards 47, 75–94 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9198-y

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