Earthquake early warning system gets a “landmark” technological addition

(TND) – West Coast residents can now benefit from satellite data in an earthquake early warning system.

The USGS announced this week that ShakeAlert now leverages GPS data.

ShakeAlert launched to the public in California in late 2019 and to people in Oregon and Washington in 2021. The system includes more than 1,500 seismic sensors on the ground in and near those three states.

There are two waves radiating from the epicenter. The initial shock wave is not strong, but it is what triggers the sensors of the early warning system.

People can get alerts on their phones, usually just seconds before the strongest shaking begins. But the goal is to give people time to take shelter.

ShakeAlert can also activate actions in the event of an earthquake, such as slowing trains to prevent them from derailing or opening firehouse doors so they don't malfunction.

Adding satellite data to the ShakeAlert system is big, Robert De Groot, USGS ShakeAlert operations team leader, said Thursday.

“This is an important milestone, because what it represents is that we are now incorporating new technology that is going to be a game-changer in terms of being able to send alerts more accurately and faster to the people who need them,” De Groot said.

He said the new GPS data will be particularly useful in assessing large earthquakes.

“GPS data tells us how far the Earth has moved, and when it comes to really big earthquakes, that's important,” he said.

Brendan Crowell, a geophysicist at the University of Washington, helped make this progress possible.

Crowell's research was funded by ShakeAlert. Its G-FAST algorithm is at the heart of the system's newly integrated GPS component.

This technological advance had been running in test mode for years before officials flipped the switch to bring it into ShakeAlert in the real world two months ago, he said.

“The main problem with seismic data is that it records accelerations, and accelerations are not really diagnostic of the full magnitude of an earthquake,” Crowell said. “For example, you could have a significant acceleration of magnitude 6 or magnitude 9. And so, it goes through what's called volumetric saturation, where it will just say it's magnitude 7, even if it's magnitude 9. And that's really where GPS comes in.” It's trying to determine, is this really number 7 or is this number 9 or 8 really where the big improvement is?

De Groot said ShakeAlert will know the magnitude of the earthquake faster and more accurately using the new GPS data.

“What this translates to the real world for people is that they may get their alerts sooner, because we will know sooner,” he said.

ShakeAlert is always looking for ways to reduce latency or innovate, De Groot said.

It may also expand beyond California, Oregon and Washington.

They have explored expansion into Alaska, and De Groot said Nevada makes sense as a candidate for expansion.

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