I O C Tsunami Programme

1
I O C Tsunami Programme

• Dr. François Schindelé, Chairman
• International Coordination Group for the Tsunami
  Warning System in the Pacific

2
BACKGROUND

• UNESCO/IOC formed ICG/ITSU - 1965
• International Coordination
• Group for the Tsunami
• Warning System in the
• Pacific (TWSP)
• Recommend Coordinate
• tsunami programs, incl
• timely international
• tsunami warnings
• RHH PTWC
• TWSP Operational Center
• IOC formed ITIC
• Supports ITSU and TWSP
• Hosted by USA

3
BACKGROUND - IGC/ITSU

• 25 member States
• Australia, Canada, Chile, China,
• Colombia, Cook Islands,
• Costa Rica, Democratic
• People's Republic of Korea,
• Ecuador, Fiji, France, Guatemala,
• Indonesia, Japan, Mexico,
• New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru,
• Philippines, Republic of Korea,
• Russian Federation, Singapore,
• Thailand, United States, Samoa.
• Successful international scientific program
• Direct humanitarian aim
• Mitigate tsunami effects - save lives/property
• Pacific Basin monitoring of seisimicity and sea
  levels

4
TSUNAMIS
5
TSUNAMIS
1946 Tsunami Destruction in Hilo, Hawaii
6
TSUNAMIS
April 1, 1946 Tsunami at Hilo, Hawaii
7
TSUNAMIS
8
1960 Chilean tsunami at Onagawa, Japan tide-gauge
record
May 23 Noon
6 p.m.
Midnight
6 a.m.
6
6
3
WATER LEVEL (m)
3
WATER LEVEL, IN METERS
0
0

• Long duration
• Variable wave heights

9
PTWC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF SEISMIC DATA
• COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF WATER LEVEL DATA
• DECISION MAKING
• DISSEMINATION OF MESSAGE PRODUCTS

10
TSUNAMI PHENOMENA

• SERIES of OCEAN WAVES
• MOST generated by EARTHQUAKES
• 4 to 60 MINUTES BETWEEN WAVE CRESTS
• SPEED DEPENDS on WATER DEPTH
• MORE THAN 800 km/h in deep ocean
• WAVE HEIGHTS SMALL in DEEP OCEAN but GROW NEAR
  SHORE

11
WHY IS A TSUNAMI A HAZARD ?

• WAVE HEIGHTS GROW in SHALLOW WATER
• BEST CASE - QUICKLY RISING TIDE
• WORST CASE - WALL of TURBULENT WATER WITH ROCKS
  and DEBRIS
• RUNUPS OF 30 meters or more
• DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS
• HIGH FATALITY HAZARD

12
TWO TSUNAMI THREATS

• LOCAL / REGIONAL TSUNAMI
• GENERATED NEARBY
• STRIKE SHORE QUICKLY
• MAY BE NO TIME FOR OFFICIAL WARNING
• HIGHEST RUNUPS
• DISTANT TSUNAMI
• GENERATED BY EARTHQUAKE FAR AWAY
• MORE TIME AVAILABLE FOR WARNING
• WIDESPREAD DAMAGE

13
PTWC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• COLLECTION and ANALYSIS of SEISMIC DATA

14
PTWC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

• COLLECTION and ANALYSIS of WATER LEVEL DATA

15
PTWC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
CPPT
16
ITIC MISSION

• Monitor international tsunami warning activities
  in Pacific

17
ITIC ACTIVITIESARCHIVE and FACILITATE DATA
EXCHANGE

• Tsunami Data
• Event Data (seismic, tsunami), with WDC (Tsunami)
• Post-Tsunami Surveys
• HTDB Pacific Database, 2002

18
ITIC ACTIVITIESARCHIVE and FACILITATE DATA
EXCHANGE

• Tsunami Data
• Event Data (seismic, tsunami),
• with WDC
• Post-Tsunami Surveys

19
TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION

• Warning - Alert communities of imminent danger
• Robust and extensive communication system
• Response must be
• Rapid (as soon as possible)
• Accurate (minimize false warning)
• Reliable (continuous operation)
• Pacific-wide (PTWC) w/i 30-40 min
• Regional (USA (ATWC), Japan,
• Russia, France, Chile) w/i 10-15 min
• Local (USA, Japan, Chile) w/i 5 min
• Real-time satellite/radio data
  transmission

20
TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION

• Warning - Alert communities of imminent danger
• Seismic data for rapid 1st warning, then
• water level monitoring for confirmation
  /cancellation
• Seismic, Water Level -
• Global, multi-national networks
• with real-time transmission
• (Radio, microwave, landline/
• satellite phone, satellite, Internet)
• Deep-Ocean, Real-Time Tsunami
• Detection (DART system)
• Multi-sensor instruments
• (sensor, electronics, comms)
• NOAA/PMEL DART buoy

21
ITSU PROGRAMME NEEDS

• Improve communication channels for real time data
  transmission and warning dissemination
• TWS Communication Plan operating manual
• Improve seismic and water level data collection,
  processing equipment, techniques
• Real-time data streams
• New data stations, esp in critical, remote
  areas
• Partnerships in
• installation training
• and station maintenance
• Dec 12, 1992, Indonesia, 700
  deaths
• Total destruction
  leaving white sand beach

22
PERU TSUNAMI 23 JUN 2001 2033 UTC 16.2S 73.4W
Mw8.4
Arica, Chile
Hilo, Hawaii
23
ITSU PROGRAMME

• Improve existing, Establish new tsunami warning
  centers (technology transfer, training)
• Far-East Tsunami Warning System
• Central America Pacific coast Tsunami Warning
  System
• South West Pacific Tsunami Warning System

24
PTWS WARNING IMPROVEMENT

• SPEED
• INITIAL WARNING FOR TSUNAMIS GENERATED 20-60
  MIN
• RECEIPT OF ENOUGH WATER LEVEL DATA to EVALUATE
  TSUNAMI 1-5 HR
• ACCURACY
• SAMPLING lt 2 MIN
• RELIABILITY
• EFFECTIVENESS

25
PTWC NEEDS FROM GLOSS

• IMPROVEMENT of WATER LEVEL DATA

26
PTWC NEEDS from GLOSS

• IMPROVEMENT of WATER LEVEL DATA
• Central America
• Mexico (2)
• Costa Rica
• Panama
• Colombia (2)

27
PTWC NEEDS FROM GLOSS

• IMPROVEMENT of WATER LEVEL DATA
• South West Pacific
• Australia
• Cook Island
• New Zealand

28
TSUNAMI PROGRAMME NEEDS

• Improve event detection, characterization,
• evaluation (seismic, water level)
• Improve real-time data density (seismic, water)
• Improve telecommunications bandwidth and speed
• Improve historical database
• Improve numerical modeling and forecasting

29

• Recommendation ITSU-XVIII.1 
• SEA LEVEL ENHANCEMENTS
•  
• The International Co-ordination Group for the
  Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
• Noting that to be useful to PTWC for tsunami
  warning and forecasting, the sea level data
  should
•         Be unaliased with a sampling rate no
  less frequent than one sample every two minutes
  and ideally one or more samples per minute, and
•  
•         Transmit data no less frequently than
  once per hour and ideally in real-time
  continuously or triggered by the tsunami into
  continuous transmission.
•   
• Urges Member States to add or upgrade gauges as
  necessary to achieve a gauge spacing of at least
  one gauge every 500km along the coast or where
  possible,
•  
• Encourages Member States to consider multi-use of
  existing gauges, such as for national tidal
  networks and for research on long-term sea level
  change (e.g., GOOS, the IOCs Global Ocean
  Observing System) to help ensure the necessary
  long-term support and maintenance of the gauges.