NASA Tests GPS Monitoring System for Big U.S. Quakes

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Alan Buis 818-354-0474
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Steve Cole 202-358-0918
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News release: 2012-113 April 24, 2012

NASA Tests GPS Monitoring System for Big U.S. Quakes

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-113&cid=release_2012-113

PASADENA, Calif. – The space-based technology that lets GPS-equipped motorists constantly
update their precise location will undergo a major test of its ability to rapidly pinpoint the location
and magnitude of strong earthquakes across the western United States. Results from the new Real-
time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network soon could be used to assist
prompt disaster response and more accurate tsunami warnings.

The new research network builds on decades of technology development supported by the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The network uses real-time GPS measurements from nearly 500 stations throughout California,
Oregon and Washington. When a large earthquake is detected, GPS data are used to automatically
calculate its vital characteristics, including location, magnitude and details about the fault rupture.

"With the READI network, we are enabling continued development of real-time GPS technologies to
advance national and international early warning disaster systems," said Craig Dobson, natural
hazards program manager in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This
prototype system is a significant step towards realizing the goal of providing Pacific basin-wide
natural hazards capability around the Pacific 'Ring of Fire.'"

Accurate and rapid identification of earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and stronger is critical for disaster
response and mitigation efforts, especially for tsunamis. Calculating the strength of a tsunami
requires detailed knowledge of the size of the earthquake and associated ground movements.
Acquiring this type of data for very large earthquakes is a challenge for traditional seismological
instruments that measure ground shaking.

High-precision, second-by-second measurements of ground displacements using GPS have been
shown to reduce the time needed to characterize large earthquakes and to increase the accuracy of
subsequent tsunami predictions. After the capabilities of the network have been fully demonstrated, it
is intended for use by appropriate natural hazard monitoring agencies. The USGS and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are responsible for detecting and issuing warnings on
earthquakes and tsunamis, respectively.

"By using GPS to measure ground deformation from large earthquakes, we can reduce the time
needed to locate and characterize the damage from large seismic events to several minutes," said
Yehuda Bock, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Orbit and Permanent Array
Center in La Jolla, Calif. "We now are poised to fully test the prototype system this year."

The READI network is a collaboration of many institutions, including Scripps at the University of
California in San Diego; Central Washington University in Ellensburg; the University of Nevada in
Reno; California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena; UNAVCO in
Boulder, Colo.; and the University of California at Berkeley.

NASA, NSF, USGS and other federal, state and local partners support the GPS stations in the
network, including the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory, the Pacific Northwest Geodetic
Array, the Bay Area Regional Deformation Array and the California Real-Time Network.

"The relatively small investments in GPS-based natural hazards systems have revolutionized the way
we view Earth and allowed us to develop this prototype system with great potential benefits for the
infrastructure and population in earthquake-prone states in the western United States," said Frank
Webb, Earth Science Advanced Mission Concepts program manager at JPL.

The READI network is the outgrowth of nearly 25 years of U.S. government research efforts to
develop the capabilities and applications of GPS technology. The GPS satellite system was created by
the Department of Defense for military and ultimately civil positioning needs. NASA leveraged this
investment by supporting development of a global GPS signal receiving network to improve the
accuracy and utility of GPS positioning information. Today that capability provides real-time,
pinpoint positioning and timing for a wide variety of uses, from agriculture to Earth exploration.

"Conventional seismic networks have consistently struggled to rapidly identify the true size of great
earthquakes during the last decade," said Timothy Melbourne, director of the Central Washington
University's Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array. "This GPS system is more likely to provide accurate
and rapid estimates of the location and amount of fault slip to fire, utility, medical and other first-
response teams."

The GPS earthquake detection capability was first demonstrated by NASA-supported research on a
major 2004 Sumatra quake, conducted by Geoffrey Blewitt and colleagues at the University of
Nevada in Reno.

For more information about NASA programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov .

Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

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