Tsunami Warning System Complete
Last Two Dart II Buoys Launched to Protect Ocean Coasts
NOAA has completed construction of U.S. Tsunami Warning System through deployment of two DART II buoys in the South Pacific.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced the final deployment of two tsunami detection buoys in the South Pacific required to complete the tsunami warning system operated by the United States. This network incorporates 39 stations designed to protect coastal residents along the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico seaboards.
In the agency's announcement, NOAA Administrator Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D states, "Completing the U.S. Tsunami Warning System is truly a monumental triumph that includes the advancement of the science, the development and testing of cutting edge technology, and the large scale project management skills that brought it all together on a global scale. As a young scientist who researched tsunamis and built early models of their effects, I never imagined that we could come so far in our ability to understand, to detect, to model and to warn on such a scale as we have just achieved."
Deep or Open Ocean Tsunami - Tsunami come in two main varieties, those generated out to sea and locally occurring waves. A tsunami occurring in the open ocean can often be detected by the warning buoy system and communities alerted to the approaching waves. Tsunami generated by earthquakes in deep water are characterized by long periods (distance) between crests and minimal increases in height. These tsunami are not a single wave, but rather a train or continuous series of waves. They can travel at speeds of 800 kilometers per hour (500 miles per hour) until they slow and grow in height in more shallow coastal waters.
Tsunami Warning Buoys - NOAA uses what are termed deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunami or DART buoy stations to warn of approaching tsunami from the open ocean. These wave sensors provide real time data on tsunami that could impact our coastal communities. Newer DART II buoy components include:
- A bottom pressure sensor anchored to the sea floor
- A companion surface buoy moored to an anchor
- Iridium and GPS Transponders
- Acoustic Transducers
United States Tsunami Warning System Components - The warning system is divided into hazard assessment and preparedness/response responsibilities. Components of the hazard assessment component include:
- Tide Gauges
- Seismic Stations
- DART Buoy Network
- TsunamiReady Community System
- Inundation Mapping and Forecast Modeling Program
- Bathymetry and Coastal Mapping
TsunamiReady Program - NOAA sponsors a community resilience and harard preparedness program called TsunamiReady. Through the National Weather Service, communities are encouraged to participate in the program and learn to become better prepared to handle a tsunami event. Parts of this effort include improved warning systems, community inundation maps, tsunami run up modeling, establishment of evacuation routes and public education.
NOAA is working to improve tsunami event safety for United States coastal communities. The agency is additionally working closely with world partners to improve the tsunami detection system for the Indian Ocean.
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