NASA tests GPS tsunami prediction system

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - NASA says a research team has demonstrated a prototype for an improved tsunami prediction system.

The agency said Monday that the team, led by a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, successfully predicted the size of the tsunami triggered by the Feb. 27 magnitude-8.8 Chilean earthquake.

The system, using NASA's Global Differential GPS network, predicted a moderate tsunami unlikely to cause significant destruction in the Pacific.

Team leader Y. Tony Song says the system could allow emergency agencies to issue better warnings and reduce false alarms.

The GPS network used in the system combines global and regional real-time data from hundreds of GPS sites to estimate their positions every second, detecting ground motions as small as a few centimeters.