Tsunamis can be, and often are, devastating forces of nature. The faster and more accurately scientists can detect a tsunami, the better everyone?s chances are for survival. Much like tornados and hurricanes, when communities are provided enough warning that a tsunami is coming, they have a chance to protect themselves by heading for shelter, or higher ground. By chance, researchers have stumbled on a new and improved method of detecting and measuring tsunami?s before they hit shore with GPS technology.
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A UH research ship happened to be traveling from Hawaii to Guam when the 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Maule, Chile in February of 2010. The ship was equipped with GPS technology, and the researchers found that the GPS data recorded the changes in sea-surface height as the resulting tsunami made its way to land. ?Our discovery indicates that the vast fleet of commercial ships traveling the ocean each day could become a network of accurate tsunami sensors,? said James Foster, Assistant Researcher and lead author at the UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.
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In the deep ocean, tsunamis are much smaller than their size by the time they reach land, making the process of detecting them quite difficult. The current method used to detect tsunamis is based on seismic data and deep ocean pressure sensors, which are incredibly expensive and difficult to maintain. With this latest discovery, existing GPS technology on sea vessels could potentially save thousands of lives by providing immediate and accurate tsunami warnings. ?If we could equip some fraction of the shipping fleet with high-accuracy GPS and satellite communications, we could construct a dense, low-cost tsunami sensing network that would improve our detection and predictions of tsunamis ? saving lives and money,? Foster said.
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