Free-floating GPS sensor network for tsunami detection

Tsunamis can trigger atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) to induce electron density perturbation in the ionosphere. A complete model is proposed to simulate observable ionospheric response 20 minutes after a tsunami is generated. A novel approach is proposed to monitor the ionosphere above ocean in order to dectect possible tsunamis at early stage. A computerized tomography (CT) technique is used to generate a three-dimentional image of electron density perturbation in the ionosphere based on the total electron content (TEC) data measured at multiple GPS receivers. Simulation results show that by using this scheme, circular patterns of electron density perturbation in the ionosphere can be detected in less than half an hour from the outbreak of a tsunami.