The most powerful earthquake of 2009 was a magnitude 8 earthquake in the South Pacific. It triggered a tsunami – a series of giant waves. Within minutes, scientists were assessing the tsunami’s potential impact throughout the Pacific. That’s according to Vasily Titov, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Tsunami Research.
Vasily Titov: When we know that a tsunami is already generated, we’re trying to forecast tsunami impacts on all coastlines.
Titov said NOAA’s tsunami forecasting system has steadily improved since the devastating tsunami of 2004, which killed almost 200,000 people. He explained that, today, as soon as an earthquake hits the Pacific, scientists collect data from tsunami detectors sitting at the bottom of the ocean. This information gets plugged into computer models.
Vasily Titov: And the models can predict how high the tsunami is going to be all over the ocean.
In the case of the tsunami of 2009, scientists accurately forecast that it would hit the island of Samoa some 15 minutes after the earthquake, with waves up to 20 feet high.
Vasily Titov: The problem is how to give people the forecast in a way they would understand.
The death toll for the 2009 tsunami, which mostly affected Samoa, was under 200 people. Titov believes long-term tsunami education efforts played a central role in keeping that number low; most people on the island knew to get to higher ground right after they felt the quake.
Vasily Titov spoke at the 2009 American Geophysical Union meeting about the role of the tsunami forecasting system during the 2009 tsunami in Samoa.
He told EarthSky that the biggest challenge of forecasting tsunamis is that no one knows when an earthquake will happen. So the forecast relies on a system of instruments designed to measure tsunamis.
Vasily Titov: That’s why we have all these deep ocean tsunameters, or tsunami detectors. These detectors help us forecast wave impacts with high precisions. So when we get this information from tsunameters, we can put them into models, and the models can predict how high the tsunami is going to be all over the ocean.
He said there are about 40 tsunameters sitting at the bottom of Earth’s oceans, placed near the subduction zones where earthquakes are likely to occur. You can see the tsunami forecast models for Samoa here. Titov said the forecast was effectively used to warn people in Hawaii and the West Coast of the US.
Titov added that a tsunami forecast is only useful if combined with education and efficient communication about the tsunami.
Vasily Titov: The warning system is a combination of different components, and the forecast is only one of them. It’s an important one, but it is only one. The communication is very important during the forecast and warning. Training and education are extremely important. Only when you combine all these components can an efficient tsunami system be built.
I am very interested in this sort of research. We have a lot to learn yet. One thing we know is that all earthquakes do not produce giant waves. There must be a large displacement of water. the seabed must be thrust up or drop down to cause a dmaging wave or set of waves. There are several very dangerous places with potential to create very destructive waves in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Both our coasts are at risk. The danger is not just in the South Pacific and Indian oceans.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/27/asamoa.tsunami.warningsystem/index.html
Sadly, the loss of life in American Samoa WAS Preventable !
See the above URL for a story not reported on most News shows.
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The tsunami that struck in Indonesia is so devastating and it claims thousands of lives. This research on detecting tsunami will help a lot of people especially those who are living in the coastline.
I have written a term paper about what happened to Indonesia when it was stuck by the tsunami. My term paper can be access in an online essay storage for student to use as an essay example.
Thank you for spreading the word, was not aware of it at all.
chris
Tsunamis are nature’s way of showing its fury on us and once it’ll strike, we can do nothing to prevent it but we sure can prepare for it. Enter tsunami foerecasting which will help us a lot to save lives and livelihood. Early warning is the key to save lives and livelihood and the advances in tsunami forecasting will let us do just that.
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The two terms have important different meanings. When authorities issue a tsunami watch, it means that a tsunami is possible, but no one has reported seeing one or a sighting hasn’t been verified yet. A watch may include estimates for when and where a tsunami may strike.
When they issue a tsunami warning, it means that a tsunami has been reported and confirmed. By the time they issue the warning, the tsunami could be close. The warning will also let you know where to expect it to strike and when.
I am very interested in this sort of research. We have a lot to learn yet. One thing we know is that all earthquakes do not produce giant waves. There must be a large displacement of water. the seabed must be thrust up or drop down to cause a dmaging wave or set of waves. There are several very dangerous places with potential to create very destructive waves in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Both our coasts are at risk. The danger is not just in the South Pacific and Indian oceans. iphone headphones
Very informative, thank you for the share.
I can only hope that we continue to improve our ability to predict these storms. Too many people die every year, and not enough of them are bad people.
It was a very unfortunately event that happened to mankind. Catastrophe keeps on happening during the past year. Earthquake after earthquake and now even tsunami, like it wasn’t already bad enough.
John
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The Tsunami Hazard Program was developed so that fewer people would be killed by tsunami waves, and so that there would be fewer false tsunami warnings.
Forecasting tsunamis requires adequate understanding of the phenomenon, good and expeditious collection of earthquake and sea level data, and accurate assessment and interpretation of this data.
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