A “GPS shield” that works in real time could save lives by quickly warning of potential tsunamis.
The is being developed by a team led by Jörn Lauterjung of the National Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany. Unlike a GPS method proposed last year, which detects seismic waves transmitted through the Earth’s crust to distant receivers, the new ground-based system takes real-time measurements of vertical ground motion – the type of fault movement more likely to produce tsunamis (Journal of Geophysical Research, ).
To protect the Indian Ocean region, the proposed shield would include an array of 18 GPS stations.
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