Ship-based GNSS Tsunami Detection: Pilot Network Demonstration

Ship-based GNSS Tsunami Detection: Pilot Network Demonstration | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 10 April 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Ship-based GNSS Tsunami Detection: Pilot Network Demonstration Authors : James H. Foster 0000-0003-2052-5798 [email protected] , Todd L. Ericksen , Bruce Enki Oscar Thomas 0000-0002-8950-3207 , and Jon Avery Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177585053.35832588/v1 45 views 51 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract We demonstrate the potential for ship-based GNSS systems to contribute to tsunami warning. We built a pilot network of 10 ships – 8 commercial and 2 research vessels - equipped with a tsunami detection package consisting of a geodetic-grade GNSS antenna and receiver, and satellite internet communications. The ships we instrumented operated throughout the Pacific, and transmitted real-time precise positions to our onshore server from 2015-2018. We examine this data set to determine the potential performance of an operational GNSS system for tsunami detection. The accuracy for our real-time vertical position solutions is 5.6 cm, in line with the advertised accuracy of the positioning service we employed, indicating it is reasonable to expect to observe the sea surface perturbations of a potentially dangerous 8+ cm amplitude tsunami. Although some long period (10s of minutes) non-tsunami excursions appear in the data we find that the likelihood that these excursions might lead to a false corroboration of a possible tsunami event when using ship GNSS data is very small for a single ship, and negligible when 2 ships are involved. The density of commercial ships in the open oceans is shown to be well matched to the source regions of historical fatal tsunamis, with tsunamis from most historical sources encountering at least 10 ships within 30 minutes and at least 100 within 90 minutes. As ships effectively act as tide-gauges, providing a well-understood data type, this approach would provide valuable data from currently uninstrumented regions to augment tsunami warning efforts. Supplementary Material File (1062233_0_merged_1768312932.pdf) Download 11.39 MB File (cargoship_tsunami_jgr_oceans_14aug2025_clean.docx) Download 11.87 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 10 April 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords geodesy geophysics oceanography Authors Affiliations James H. Foster 0000-0003-2052-5798 [email protected] University of Stuttgart View all articles by this author Todd L. Ericksen U. S. Geological Survey View all articles by this author Bruce Enki Oscar Thomas 0000-0002-8950-3207 Institute of Geodesy, University of Stuttgart View all articles by this author Jon Avery University of Hawaii View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 45 views 51 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation James H. Foster, Todd L. Ericksen, Bruce Enki Oscar Thomas, et al. Ship-based GNSS Tsunami Detection: Pilot Network Demonstration. Authorea . 10 April 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.177585053.35832588/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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