NASA tests a system that can predict the next tsunami and warns which regions are at risk
With the power of AI, NASA is testing a system that could mark a before and after in tsunami prediction. Through Guardian, the space agency ensures that it is possible to anticipate and issue alerts for high-risk regions in the Pacific and beyond.
A system to gain crucial minutes
The system uses radio signals from navigation satellites and GPS, processed by the JPL’s Global Differential GPS Network. It improves positional accuracy to 10 centimeters and analyzes how pressure waves generated by a tsunami distort the ionosphere, an effect detectable by scientific ground stations distributed worldwide.
According to Léo Martire, a scientist at JPL and member of the UN’s International GNSS Committee, “instead of correcting the disturbance as an error, we use it as data that can save lives.” Although the system is still in development, it is the most advanced of its kind to date.
Threatened areas according to NASA data
Among the countries at risk are Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, and Canada, as well as several Central American nations. In Asia and Oceania, territories like Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand are among the most vulnerable.
The list also includes Pacific islands such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and the Mariana Islands, revealing the global reach of potential impacts. With this information, NASA aims to give authorities extra time to activate evacuation protocols and reduce the number of victims in the event of a significant tsunami.
