Looking for cheap insurance companies and got sidetracked…

Tsunamis occur when rock and water collide. Outer space would seem like the last place to use an instrument to detect a tsunami…or would it?

Tsunamis produce “internal gravity waves” in the atmosphere. These waves of energy ripple up through the sky. Above the Earth in the ionosphere these waves jostle electrons and charged particles in a pattern that GPS satellites can detect.

A large group of GPS satellites hover over the Pacific. Researchers believe they’ve found a useful new way to issue tsunami warnings. Current systems include mid-ocean buoys and sea floor pressure gauges. These systems do a very good job of identifying whether a wave has been generated, and how big it is. Using GPS satellites can improve warnings.