Advanced tsunami detection and forecasting by radar on unconventional airborne observing platforms

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Oceanography
• Aerospace Engineering

Background:

• Global tsunami forecasting systems face challenges in accuracy, timeliness, and cost-effective maintenance.
• Existing geophysical monitoring networks are difficult to expand and expensive to sustain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, complementary approach for tsunami monitoring using existing airborne platforms.
• To assess the feasibility of an airborne tsunami observation system for improved forecasting.

Main Methods:

• Integration of radar altimeters, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers, and communication links on aircraft.
• Development of a data assimilation module coupled with a deterministic tsunami model.
• Utilizing twin-data experiments for system validation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed airborne system for tsunami forecasting in the Nankai Trough, Japan.
• Validated the potential of proxy observations from airborne platforms through numerical experiments.
• Highlighted the advantage of wide-area coverage without new infrastructure.

Conclusions:

• Airborne tsunami observation presents a viable future technology for enhancing global tsunami detection and forecasting.
• Multi-purpose observations using existing platforms offer a practical solution for sustainable observational networks.
• Regulatory challenges need to be addressed for widespread implementation.