Earthquake detection is no new technology. In fact, the first known seisometer was built in 132 CE by a Chinese astronomer by the name of Zhang Heng (1). However, simply detecting an earthquake is not enough to fully inform response teams, local leadership, and citizens. In real-time analysis of earthquake sequences, it is not currently possible to differentiate aftershocks from foreshocks-sequences that prelude larger events. However, Gulia and Wiemer have introduced a new technique that can differentiate these sequences in real time (2). This relys on data gathered from 58 other sequences, and testing these against one another (2). What results is a 95% confidence classification (2) that can help local leadership and first responders save lives.
(1) Rigg, J. (2019, August 8). The ancient earthquake detector that puzzled modern historians. Retrieved October 15, 2019, from https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/backlog-zhang-heng-seismoscope/?gucc....
(2) Gulia, L., & Wiemer, S. (2019). Real-time discrimination of earthquake foreshocks and aftershocks. Nature, 574(7777), 193–199. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1606-4
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