Citation

Kamogawa M, Orihara Y, Tsurudome C, Tomida Y, Kanaya T, Ikeda D, Gusman AR, Kakinami Y, Liu JY, Toyoda A. Sci. Rep. 2016; 6: e37989.

Affiliation

Nuclear Safety Research and Development Center, Chubu Electric Power Co., Omaezaki, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/srep37989

PMID

27905487

Abstract

Ionospheric plasma disturbances after a large tsunami can be detected by measurement of the total electron content (TEC) between a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite and its ground-based receivers. TEC depression lasting for a few minutes to tens of minutes termed as tsunami ionospheric hole (TIH) is formed above the tsunami source area. Here we describe the quantitative relationship between initial tsunami height and the TEC depression rate caused by a TIH from seven tsunamigenic earthquakes in Japan and Chile. We found that the percentage of TEC depression and initial tsunami height are correlated and the largest TEC depressions appear 10 to 20 minutes after the main shocks. Our findings imply that Ionospheric TEC measurement using the existing ground receiver networks could be used in an early warning system for near-field tsunamis that take more than 20 minutes to arrive in coastal areas.

Language: en