New Study Suggests That GPS Satellites Can Detect Much Faster Tsunami Than Seismic Sensors | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel

File photo: Tsunami waves hit the coast of Minamisuma in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on March 11, 2011.

(Sadatsugu Tomizawa CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / NASA)

A study has found that Earth-orbiting GPS satellites may be more effective at detecting tidal waves and much faster than seismic sensors.

Researchers at University College London, UK, said this method could serve as an effective warning system for countries around the world.

Tsunamis are low in deep water but can travel at the speed of a jet, up to 800 kilometers per hour in the deep sea, and when they enter shallow water, they slow down and grow in height.

Although the waves are usually a few centimeters high, they cause turbulence in Earth’s upper atmosphere by pushing air up and creating a sound wave that amplifies as it rises.

This sound wave can reach a height of 300 km in the ionosphere in about seven minutes. The researchers found that the drop in electron density that occurs as a result can be detected by satellite signals within 10 to 15 minutes.

The team explained that due to the low density of electrons in the region, they affect the radio signals sent by GPS satellites to GPS receivers on Earth, delaying or accelerating different parts of the signal, or changing the direction of the signal, depending on the frequency. The paper is published in the Journal of Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

While some tsunamis reach coasts in less than 10 minutes, the researchers noted that this method can also be used to predict second or third waves, helping to determine whether a tsunami warning should be canceled or maintained after the first wave.

“Our study demonstrates a new method for low-cost tsunami detection, as it builds on existing GPS networks, can be implemented worldwide, and complements other methods for tsunami detection and improving the accuracy of warning systems,” said Professor Serge Guillas. Statistical Sciences University of California, Los Angeles.

For the study, researchers from UCL and universities in Japan looked at GPS data during the devastating 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami.

They found that a tsunami warning could have been issued with confidence within 15 minutes of the earthquake, at least 10 minutes before the first tsunami wave to hit Japan’s east coast.

They also found that a warning could have been issued using data from just 5 percent of Japan’s 1,200 GPS receivers — meaning the method could be used in countries with less GPS than Japan.

The team said the next step in the research will be to investigate this to see if the method can be used to get more accurate predictions of the size and extent of the tsunami.

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The above article was posted from a wired source with minimal modifications to the title and text.

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