Seismoacoustic monitoring of eastern mediterranean earthquakes toward a tsunami early warning system for Egypt
Published in Scientific Reports, 2025
Abstract
Tsunami early warning systems (TEWSs) issue alerts that can save lives. Egypt, as a coastal nation, is particularly vulnerable to tsunamis from seismic activity along the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs. This study examines earthquakes with moment magnitude ≥5.5 in the eastern Mediterranean between 2012 and 2023 using USGS data, automatically analyzed by SeisComP3. P-wave moment magnitude (Mwp) and body-wave magnitude (mB) were used to estimate Mw at 6 and 11 minutes, validated against the W-phase moment magnitude (Mww). Results show Mwp-based warnings were more accurate (87.5% at 11 min vs. 84.4% at 6 min), with 11 minutes sufficient for tsunami countermeasures in Egypt. Additionally, infrasound waves from these earthquakes were detected at large distances, and F-K analysis demonstrated infrasound’s potential contribution to earthquake location verification for future local observatories in Egypt.
Recommended citation: Elbehiri, H.S., Hara, T., Hamama, I., et al. (2025). "Seismoacoustic monitoring of eastern mediterranean earthquakes toward a tsunami early warning system for Egypt." Scientific Reports, 15, 37158.
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