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from the satellite images. In the Baltic Sea area, operational algorithms utilizing
satellite-borne C-band Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) instruments (Radarsat-1,
Envisat, Radarsat-2) are being developed for oil-spill detection.
6.3.2
Chemical and Nuclear Accidents
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) network of Regional Specialized
Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) provides support during the response phase after
chemical and nuclear accidents by making available key information, such as pre-
dictions of the movement of contaminants in the atmosphere.
The Inter-Agency Committee on the Response to Nuclear Accidents (IACRNA)
of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinates the international
response to nuclear and radiological emergencies. The support is provided through:
the Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC), a 24-h service for initial rapid assessment
and for triggering response operations if needed; the Emergency Notifi cation and
Assistance Convention (ENAC) website for the exchange of information on nuclear
accidents or radiological emergencies; and the Nuclear Event Web-based System
(NEWS) for providing information on all signifi cant events in nuclear power plants,
research reactors, and nuclear fuel cycle facilities and occurrences involving radia-
tion sources or the transport of radioactive material.
The World Health Organization (WHO), with its Global Chemical Incident Alert
and Response System of the International Programme on Chemical Safety, collects
information to monitor disease outbreaks from chemical releases and provides tech-
nical assistance to its member states for the response to these emergencies.
6.3.3
Geological Hazards
6.3.3.1
Earthquakes
Effective EWSs for earthquakes are much more challenging than for other natural
hazards because warning times usually range from only a few seconds in the epicen-
tral area to a minute or so, in areas that are further away from the epicenter (Heaton
1985 ; Allen and Kanamori 2003 ; Kanamori 2005 ).
These systems are able to rapidly estimate seismic parameters (such as magni-
tude and location associated with a seismic event) based on the fi rst seconds of
seismic data registered at the epicenter. This information is then used to predict
ground motion parameters at the location of interest (i.e., school, government build-
ing, nuclear plant, etc.) and then trigger security measures if this predicted value
exceeds a predefi ned threshold.
Several earthquake EWSs are currently operational in Mexico, Japan, Romania,
Taiwan, and Turkey (Espinosa Aranda et al. 1995 ; Wu et al. 1998 ; Wu and Teng 2002 ;
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