Incorporating Real-Time GNSS Data into the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System

• Collaborator(s): USGS Menlo Park, UC Berkeley, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN)
• UNAVCO Staff: NOTA Regional Managers, NOTA GNSS Ops Manager, the NOTA RT-GNSS team, and NOTA Engineers in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest regions
• Dates: August 2017 to August 2019
• Location: 54 NOTA GNSS sites in California, Oregon, Washington
• Funding Source: US Geological Survey

Written by Doerte Mann
8 March 2019

UNAVCO is actively participating in the testing and implementation of the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system for the United States west coast that is operated by the US Geological Survey.

At the core of UNAVCO’s involvement are 54 existing GNSS sites in California, Oregon and Washington, installed as part of the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory and now operated as part of the National Science Foundation-funded Network of the Americas (NOTA). UNAVCO engineers are currently upgrading these sites to harden their power systems, improve telemetry, and install multi-constellation GNSS receivers and antennas. In collaboration with the USGS in Menlo Park, UC Berkeley, and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, seismic instrumentation ranging from strong motion to broadband sensors will be collocated at these sites. Once all equipment is installed, a 1 Hz GNSS real-time stream will be made available from the GNSS receiver directly to a ShakeAlert data center, to be ingested into the ShakeAlert system.