GUARDIAN Warns Hawaii Early of Incoming Kamchatka Tsunami (Vertical version)

  • Released Wednesday, March 25, 2026
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GUARDIAN with time slider overlay (vertical version)

GUARDIAN (GPS/GNSS Unified Algorithm for Real-time Disaster Identification and Notification) is a near-real-time (NRT) ionospheric monitoring software system designed to support natural hazards early warning systems (EWS). By leveraging multi-GNSS NRT total electron content (TEC) time series, GUARDIAN enables users to explore ionospheric perturbations resulting from natural and anthropogenic events and characterize potential natural hazards over the Pacific region. Currently, GUARDIAN is the only software capable of providing this capability to both the general public and the scientific community.

GUARDIAN Scout, an AI-powered extension of the GUARDIAN system, automates the detection of earthquake and tsunami-like ionospheric perturbations following significant seismic events. Utilizing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) trained on Sine-Gaussian wave packets generated by tsunamis and N-waves resembling atmospheric waves launched near earthquake epicenters, GUARDIAN Scout reduces the data review burden on ionospheric subject matter experts. The system is triggered automatically for earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater and represents a continuously improving research tool.

The operational value of GUARDIAN was demonstrated on July 29, 2025, when a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near the Kamchatka Peninsula. GUARDIAN stations G027 and QSPP detected early tsunami signatures just 8 minutes after the seismic event, at 13:32 HST. The incoming tsunami wave was subsequently detected by GUARDIAN station KOKB at 18:50 HST — 32 minutes before the earliest tidal gauge detection at 19:22 HST. This 32-minute early warning advantage over traditional tidal gauge systems underscores the critical role GUARDIAN can play in supplementing existing hazard warning infrastructure and potentially saving lives in tsunami-threatened coastal communities.

Time slider overlay (vertical version)

Vertical time slider

Vertical time slider to be used as an overlay for GUARDIAN data visualization

GUARDIAN warning system (vertical version)

GUARDIAN vertical version

Vertically rendered data visualization of the GUARDIAN system

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
This page was last updated on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 9:02 AM EDT.