GPS Derived Seismic Signals for Far Field Earthquake Epicenter Location Estimation

Abstract

A reliable epicenter estimation method is proposed for Global Positioning System (GPS) derived seismic signal for far-field regional earthquake. The main contribution is the use of time-frequency analysis to estimate the time of arrival (TOA) using multilateration technique. The data from the 2004 Sumatra Andaman earthquake captured from four GPS continuously operating reference stations (GPS CORS) were used in the analysis. To validate the accuracy of the proposed method, the estimated epicenter location was compared with the data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The estimated location shows an error of about 0.0572 degrees in latitude and 0.2848 degrees in longitude. The proposed analysis method could complement existing seismometer measurements, improve in understanding of geo-seismic phenomena, and plan future infrastructure development.

Keywords

• seismic signal
• gps
• epicenter locating
• multilateration