World's Most Innovative GPS Network to Monitor Southern California's Earthquake Faults Southern California may soon be the best-surveyed area on the planet, thanks to powerful tools used by scientists seeking to understand the region's earthquake potential. GPS makes it possible to locate geophysical monuments with extraordinary precision. Such monuments, located at specific key points on the Earth's surface, are equipped with special electronic units to receive signals, around the clock, from the 24 GPS satellites orbiting the earth. These movements give scientists indications of how fast strain is building up, where it's concentrated, and where earthquakes might occur in the near future. GPS technology is particularly valuable for studying hidden faults, like the one that caused the Northridge earthquake, according to Henyey.
Faults located far underground are more difficult to study by other methods.
According to Henyey, SCEC is rapidly expanding a current network of 40 monument receiver stations. Each station will be monitored daily. Funding for the project comes from NSF and the W.M. Keck Foundation.