Will GPS Systems Be Affected by Japan's Earthquake? | Global Positioning System | Navigation, Geolocation, Timing | LiveScience
CREDIT: NASA
Apart from the horror of the recent earthquakes and tsunami waves that devastated Japan is a sense of awe over geophysical changes wrought by the event. Northeastern parts of Honshu, Japan's main island, moved eastward about 13 feet (4 meters) and dropped about 2 feet (0.6 meter), while the Earth's figure axis shifted by about 6.5 inches (16.5 centimeters).
As dramatic as those alterations seem, however — and despite Internet rumors to the contrary — the worldwide Global Positioning System (GPS) has not been affected by the disaster in Japan, experts say.
"The northern Honshu displacements are large and significant, and yet this warping of the Earth's crust is something that can be readily compensated for," said Ken Hudnut, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey. [...]
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