资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

For the Cascadia subduction zone, M-w similar to 8 megathrust earthquake hazard is of particular interest because uncertainties in the predicted tsunami size affect evacuation alerts. To reduce these uncertainties, we examine how augmenting the current Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) network in Cascadia with offshore stations improves static slip inversions for M-w similar to 8 megathrust earthquakes at different rupture depths. We test two offshore coseismic data types: vertical-only bottom pressure sensors and pressure sensors combined with GNSS-Acoustic aided horizontal positions. We find that amphibious networks best constrain slip for a shallow earthquake compared to onshore-only networks when offshore stations are located above the rupture. However, inversions using vertical-only offshore data underestimate shallow slip and tsunami impact. Including offshore horizontal observations improves slip estimates, particularly maximum slip. This suggests that while real-time GNSS-Acoustic sensors may have a long development timeline, they will have more impact for static inversion-based tsunami early warning systems than bottom pressure sensors.

Plain Language Summary The Cascadia subduction zone is the region of highest tsunami hazard within the contiguous United States. This region has experienced many tsunamis over the last 10,000years that were generated by earthquakes of magnitude 8 to 9. Magnitude 8 earthquakes in the subduction zone can be tricky for tsunami early warning systems because it is difficult to determine the depth of the earthquake rupture, which strongly affects the anticipated tsunami size. This can make the difference between an evacuation order being issued or not. This study tests how estimating total slip on the earthquake fault during rupture and the resulting tsunami wave height for magnitude 8 earthquakes can be improved when combining the current land-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems monitoring network in the Pacific Northwest with offshore seafloor networks. We test hypothetical arrangements of offshore stations that measure the vertical seafloor motion with ocean bottom pressure sensors. We also test networks that measure motion in all three directions by including Global Navigation Satellite Systems measurements at the sea surface linked by acoustic communication to measurement points on the seafloor. This work can help plan where best to put new offshore instruments as they are developed for future tsunami early warning systems.