Why do modern Earthquake Early Warning systems use specific magnitude thresholds?
Answer
To prevent alert fatigue from harmless tremors
Modern seismometers are incredibly sensitive and detect countless small, harmless seismic tremors on a daily basis. If every single detection triggered a public alert, individuals would quickly become desensitized to the warnings, a phenomenon known as alert fatigue. Programming these systems with strict magnitude and acceleration thresholds, such as a minimum ground motion of 0.5% g, ensures that the public is only notified during events that are significant and potentially dangerous.
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