HR: 13:45h
AN: S43C-01 [Abstracts]
TI: Detecting Tsunami Genesis and Scales Directly from Coastal GPS Stations
AU: * Song, Y
EM: Tony.Song@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, United States
AB:
Different from the conventional approach to tsunami warnings that rely on earthquake magnitude estimates, we
have found that coastal GPS stations are able to detect continental slope displacements of faulting due to big
earthquakes, and that the detected seafloor displacements are able to determine tsunami source energy and
scales instantaneously. This method has successfully replicated three historical tsunamis caused by the 2004
Sumatra earthquake, the 2005 Nias earthquake, and the 1964 Alaska earthquake, respectively, and has been
compared favorably with the conventional seismic solutions that usually take hours or days to get through
inverting seismographs. Because many coastal GPS stations are already in operation for measuring ground
motions in real time as often as once every few seconds, this study suggests a practical way of identifying
tsunamigenic earthquakes for early warnings and reducing false alarms.
DE: 0468 Natural hazards
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling (0545, 0560)
DE: 4263 Ocean predictability and prediction (3238)
DE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting