Yannik Behr

• PhD
• Volcano Science Operations Specialist at GNS Science

Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems can play an important role in seismic‐risk mitigation, filling the gap between long‐term measures such as earthquake safe building design (e.g., Housner et al. , 1997) and medium‐to‐short term measures like operational earthquake forecasting (e.g., Gerstenberger et al. , 2005) and rapid notifications following...

1] The increased use of ambient seismic noise for seismic imaging requires better understanding of the ambient seismic noise wavefield and its source locations and mechanisms. Although the source regions and mechanisms of Rayleigh waves have been studied extensively, characterization of Love wave source processes are sparse or absent. We present he...

We show that interferometric theory allows recordings on a large variety of sensor types to be both spatially and temporally redatumed. Recordings of an energy source can thus be obtained at times before, during or after the period during which the sensor was physically installed. As a consequence, sensors in acoustic, elastic, electromagnetic, ele...

1] The central North Island of New Zealand is characterized by extension, high heat flow, and active vol-canism caused by the Pacific plate subducting beneath the Australian plate off the east coast of the North Island. The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is the current locus of rifting and active volcanism. The shear velocity structure derived here from...

ObsPy: The Python toolbox for seismology (http://www.obspy.org) aims at filling the gap between interactive analysis and automatic data acquisition systems. Automatic batch analysis of continuous data streams or feeding a so far unknown formatted data stream into an acquisition system are two possible applications.

The GeoNet programme at GNS Science has monitored and managed data for volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and tsunami in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2001. Volcano monitoring data are collected from seismometers, acoustic sensors, GNSS receivers, webcams, remote gas monitoring sensors, and a range of environmental sensors, as well as manually during...

Immediately after a significant earthquake, rapid scientific information is critical for response decision-making and estimating secondary hazards, and is a key component of advisories and public communication. Characterization of the fault rupture extent is especially valuable because it strongly controls ground-motion estimates, or tsunami foreca...

Volcanic lakes often capture a significant amount of volcanic heat emission and thus provide a unique opportunity to monitor changes inside the volcano. We present a Bayesian inversion method to automatically infer changes in volcanic heat emission over time at the base of a volcanic lake from lake monitoring data using a non-linear Kalman Smoother...

Volcanic ashfall forecasts are highly dependent on eruption source parameters (ESPs) and synoptic weather conditions at the time and location of the eruption. In New Zealand, MetService and GNS Science have been jointly developing an ashfall forecast system that incorporates four-dimensional high-resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) and ES...

Volcano observatory best practice recommends using probabilistic methods to forecast eruptions to account for the complex natural processes leading up to an eruption and communicating the inherent uncertainties in appropriate ways. Bayesian networks (BNs) are an artificial intelligence technology to model complex systems with uncertainties. BNs con...

Volcanic lakes often capture a significant amount of volcanic heat emission and thus provide a unique opportunity to monitor changes inside the volcano. We present a Bayesian inversion method to automatically infer volcanic heat emission at the base of a volcanic lake from lake monitoring data using a non-linear Kalman Smoother. Our method accounts...

Volcanic ashfall forecasts are highly dependent on eruption parameters and synoptic weather conditions at the time and location of the eruption. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, MetService and GNS Science have been jointly developing an ashfall forecast system that incorporates 4D high-resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP) and eruption parameters...

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems’ performance is driven by the trade-off between the need for a rapid alert and the accuracy of each solution. A challenge for many EEW systems has been the magnitude saturation for large events (Mw>7) and the resulting underestimation of seismic moment magnitude. In this study, we test the performance of high-...

We present the earthquake early warning display (EEWD), a European effort to build a free and open- source software to display earthquake early warning (EEW) information. The EEWD is a client-side soft- ware that: (a) supports alerts generated by the main EEW algorithms used in Europe, starting with VS (www.seiscomp3.org/doc/jakarta/current/apps/vs...

Based on our experience in the project REAKT, we present a methodological framework to evaluate the potential benefits and costs of using earthquake early warning (EEW) and operational earthquake forecasting (OEF) for real-time mitigation of seismic risk at nuclear facilities. We focus on evaluating the reliability, significance and usefulness of t...

We will provide an analysis of the scope for Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) in Nicaragua and the Central American region based on 1) The existing seismic network, data sharing and communications practice, data processing and 2) The existing network with assumed improved communications and EEW algorithms that may become available. This work is part...

We present the earthquake early warning display (EEWD), an effort to build a free and open‐source software to display earthquake early warning (EEW) information. The EEWD design and development builds on the experience of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich in running the ShakeAlert UserDisplay developed by Caltech in California. The EEWD...

The feasibility of earthquake early warning (EEW) is now widely recognized. However, EEW systems that are in operation or under evaluation worldwide have significant variations and are usually operated independently of routine earthquake monitoring. We introduce a software that allows testing and evaluation of a well‐known EEW algorithm directly wi...

Nicaragua, like much of Central America, suffers from frequent damaging earthquakes (6 M7+ earthquakes occurred in the last 100 years). Thrust events occur at the Middle America Trench where the Cocos plate subducts by 72-81 mm/yr eastward beneath the Caribbean plate. Shallow crustal events occur on-shore, with potential extensive damage as demonst...

During 2014, 817 earthquakes and 180 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. An additional 160 earthquakes with M-L a parts per thousand currency sign 1.0 were located using supplementary analysis techniques. The number of located earthquakes in 2014 was the largest since the installation of a seismic network in S...

During 2014, 817 earthquakes and 180 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. An additional 160 earthquakes with ML ≤ 1.0 were located using supplementary analysis techniques. The number of located earthquakes in 2014 was the largest since the installation of a seismic network in Switzerland in 1975. This unusually...

The seismic monitoring and alert group at the Swiss Seismological Service (SED; http://www.seismo.ethz.ch) is tasked with monitoring the seismicity of Switzerland and its adjacent areas, rapid notification of the authorities and the public to significant felt seismicity, and providing reliable data and metadata for seismological and engineering res...

Within the framework of the EC-funded project REAKT (Strategies and Tools for Real Time Earthquake Risk Reduction, FP7, contract no. 282862, 2011-2014, www.reaktproject.eu), a task concerns feasibility study and initial implementation of Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) and time dependent seismic hazard analyses aimed at mitigating seismic risk at nu...

Selectively presented in this contribution are the main activities carried out and results obtained within a research initiative devoted to a feasibility study and initial implementation efforts of Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) and time-dependent seismic hazard analyses aimed at mitigating seismic risk at nuclear power plants (NPP) in Switzerland....

Spurred by the research activities being carried out within the EC-funded project REAKT (Strategies and Tools for Real Time Earthquake Risk Reduction, FP7, contract no. 282862, 2011-2014, www.reaktproject.eu), we present herein the key elements to understanding the potential benefits of routinely using Earthquake Early Warning and Operational Earth...

The Virtual Seismologist (VS) method is a Bayesian approach to regional network-based earthquake early warning (EEW) originally formulated by Cua and Heaton (2007). Implementation of VS into real-time EEW codes has been an on-going effort of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich since 2006, with support from ETH Zürich, various European pro...

[1] This paper presents the first continental-scale study of the crust and upper mantle shear velocity (Vs) structure of Canada and adjacent regions using ambient noise tomography. Continuous waveform data recorded between 2003 and 2009 with 788 broadband seismograph stations in Canada and adjacent regions were used in the analysis. The higher prim...

The Virtual Seismologist (VS) method is a Bayesian approach to regional network-based earthquake early warning (EEW) originally formulated by Cua and Heaton (2007). Implementation of VS into real-time EEW codes has been an on-going effort of the Swiss Seismological Service at ETH Zürich since 2006, with support from ETH Zürich, various European pro...

a b s t r a c t We show that interferometric theory allows recordings on a large variety of sensor types to be both spatially and temporally redatumed. Recordings of an energy source can thus be obtained at times before, during or after the period during which the sensor was physically installed. As a consequence, sensors in acoustic, elastic, elec...

The now commonly used method of Inter-Receiver Interferometry allows us to produce seismogram approximations as though a given receiver had instead been a source that was recorded by another receiver. Applying reciprocity to the underlying theory produces the method of Inter-Source Interferometry which produces the seismogram as though a given sour...

Recent studies employing ambient seismic noise as an energy source have extended our knowledge of crustal and upper mantle structures and of time-variable geological processes. It has further been demonstrated that the combination of earthquake and ambient seismic noise signals can potentially overcome restrictions inherent to traditional event-bas...

The use of ambient seismic noise as a pervasive energy source has now become an established strand of seismology. It requires relatively short instrument deployment times and no artificial sources, thereby providing an economical and low-impact way of gaining new insights into crustal and upper mantle structure. The tectonics of the central North I...

Using ambient seismic noise as a pervasive energy source has become an established strand of seismology during the last few years. The approach requires relatively short instrument deployment times and no artificial sources, thereby providing an economical and low-impact way of gaining new insights into crustal and upper mantle structure. The Taupo...

1] Ambient noise correlation has been successfully applied in several cases to regions with dense seismic networks whose geometries are well suited to tomographic imaging. The utility of ambient noise correlation‐based methods of seismic imaging where either network or noise field characteristics are less ideal has yet to be fully demonstrated. In...

We present 2D Love and Rayleigh wave phase velocity maps for New Zealand, inferred from ambient noise cross correlations. In order to increase the path-coverage, we merge seismic data from four temporary deployments with data from 51 permanent stations. We calculate ambient noise cross-correlations for all three components between each possible sta...

The use of microseismic interferometry methods to construct tomographic models requires an understanding of the spatio-temporal characteristics of the noise field, particularly in regions such as New Zealand, where multiple potential sources exist. Directional variations in noise levels compatible with large-scale differences in sea state have prev...

Ambient noise tomography has been shown to yield good results in both continental and oceanic environments. We extend Lin et al.'s pilot study of ambient noise tomography in New Zealand by increasing the number of stations and extending the timespan of the dataset. In particular, we incorporate data acquired during several temporary deployments inc...

We are developing web services that facilitate rapid access to New Zealand's seismographic data via the high-speed Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (KAREN) to facilitate research and teaching in New Zealand and internationally. Currently, approximately 3.5 GB of continuous broad-band seismographic data --- as well as strong-motion recor...

Indonesia is repeatedly unsettled by severe volcano- and earthquake-related disasters, which are geologically coupled to the 5–7 cm/a tectonic convergence of the Australian plate beneath the Sunda Plate. On Saturday, 26 May 2006, the southern coast of central Java was struck by an earthquake at 2254 UTC in the Sultanate Yogyakarta. Although the mag...

When the region south of Mount Merapi volcano in central Java, Indonesia, was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, the city of Yogyakarta and its suburbs were partly devastated. The event caused severe damage to the densely inhabited area, leaving about 6000 people dead, 50,000 injured, and between 500,000 and 1 million homeless. With over 155,000...