GPS and Satellites Map Earthquakes in Real-Time

Scientists are learning a bit more about earthquakes with the help of satellites. GPS and satellite data can be used in a real-time, coordinated effort to fully characterize a fault line within 24 hours of an earthquake, ensuring that aid is delivered faster and more accurately than ever before.

In this latest study, the researchers used GPS and satellite measurements from the magnitude 6.0 South Napa, California earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014 in order to create a 3D map of how the ground surface moved in response to the earthquake. The map was actually made without using traditional rapid response instruments, such as seismometers, which may not afford the same level of detail for similar events around the globe.

"By having the 3D knowledge of the earthquake itself, we can make predictions of the ground shaking, without instruments to record that ground shaking, and then can make estimates of what the human and infrastructure impacts will be-in terms of both fatalities and dollars," said William Barnhart, one of the researchers, in a news release.

Although information about an earthquake's impact may be immediately known in an area like southern California, this new technique will be most useful in the developing world. For example, the method would have been extremely useful in the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010.

There is currently a push to create an earthquake early-warning system. In fact, one is already being tested internally by the USGS. While researchers, first responders and other officials are the only ones that received the early warning message, it did work in testing for the Bay Area during the Napa earthquake.

"That's why this is so important," said Barnhart. "It really was the chance to test all these tools that have been put into place. It happened in a perfect place, because now we're much more equipped for a bigger earthquake."

The findings are published in the journal Seismological Research Letters.

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