Network of Tsunami Detection Buoys
Developed
by NOAA Researchers Now in Place
ESRL Polarimetric X-Band Radar located at Blue Canyon, CA. (Larger image) (Credit: NOAA)
Current deployed DART locations from the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (Larger image) (Credit: NOAA National Data Buoy Center)
NOAA recently deployed the final two tsunami detection buoys developed by NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle, WA, to complete a network aimed at bolstering the U.S. tsunami warning system. This vast network of 39 stations provides coastal communities in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico with faster and more accurate tsunami warnings. NOAA is a world leader in tsunami research.
These final two deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunami (DART) stations, deployed off the Solomon Islands, give NOAA forecasters real-time data about tsunamis that could potentially impact the U.S. Pacific coast, Hawaii and U.S. Pacific territories. Tsunami sensors are now positioned between Hawaii and every seismic zone that could generate a tsunami that would impact the state and beyond, including the U.S. West Coast. Buoys already in the western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean have been keeping watch over the U.S East and Gulf coasts.
As of February 6, 2008, there are 52 TsunamiReady™ Sites in 10 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. The TsunamiReady program sets minimum guidelines for communities to follow for adequate tsunami readiness.
The next generation forecast tools for tsunami warning and mitigation are being developed in close collaboration with Tsunami Warning Centers and academia. The SIFT (Short-term Inundation Forecasting for Tsunamis) system is under development for operational use in National Weather Service Tsunami Warning Centers. Forecast products include estimates of tsunami amplitudes, flow velocities and arrival times for offshore, coastal and inundation areas.
March 12, 2008