Virtual Quake and Tsunami Squares: Scenario Earthquake and Tsunami Simulations for a Pacific Rim GNSS Tsunami Early Warning System

Plans for the first operational prototype for a Pacific Rim Tsunami Early Warning (TEW) system utilizing real-time data from the Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) are now gaining momentum. The proposed Pacific Rim TEW prototype may resemble the Japanese Meteorological Society's early warning algorithms and use earthquake parameters rapidly determined from GPS data to select the most similar earthquake and tsunami scenario from a database of precomputed scenarios to guide alerts and disaster response. To facilitate the development of this Pacific Rim TEW system, we have integrated tsunami modeling capabilities into the earthquake simulator Virtual Quake (formerly Virtual California). We will present the first results from coupling the earthquake simulator output (seafloor displacements) with the tsunami modeling method called Tsunami Squares. Combining Virtual Quake and Tsunami Squares provides a highly scalable and flexible platform for producing catalogs of tsunami scenarios for a wide range of simulated subduction zone earthquakes.