Tsunami Warning System

What is the root of this pathetic disaster?

1) Undersea earth quakes.
2) Volcanic eruptions.
3) Land slides.

Undersea earth quakes:

The earths outer surface is broken in to pieces called tectonic plates. Earth quakes
usually occur in regions of the earth along tectonic plate boundaries called faults,
where different tectonic plates meet. The chances of occurring of earth quakes are
very high in these regions due to the collision of these plates as these plates are
constantly moving past each other.Due to this collision a large amount of stress is
released.Infact80% of all recorded earth quakes occur around the edge of The pacific
plate, including New Zealand, Papua, New Guinea,Japan, Canada, USA and South
Africa. Those Tsunamis are
Powerful that occurs at a depth shallower than 50Kms with an epicenter near or on the
ocean floor. If the sea floor Movement is horizontal, a tsunami is not generated.
The Generation of these tsunami waves depends on the nature and degree of the
displacements of the sea water column. It is only the vertical displacement of sea
water due to abrupt, jerky movement of fault blocks on the seabed that invite the
wrath of nature and gives birth to powerful tsunamis.
Volcanic eruption:The tsunami can be actually generated by any disturbance that displaces a large mass of
sea water from its equilibrium position. Violent volcanic eruptions, which causes sudden
displacement of a large volume of sea water, can also give Rise to destructive tsunami
waves. One of the largest and most destructive tsunamis ever recorded was generated
on august 26, 1983 after the explosion of the volcano of krakatoa in Indonesia.

Landslides:Tsunami waves are also generated due to displacement of sea water resulting from rock
falls, icefalls and sudden land slides. For example in 1980s construction work of
an air port runs way along the cost of Southern France,triggered an under water land
slide, which generated destructive tsunami waves in the harbor of Thebes.
Similarly, when massive earth quakes occur, there are high chances of the occurrence of
under water landslides that may contribute to tsunami generation. These waves
rapidly travel away from the source due to dissipation of energy, and create havoc in the
near by coast lines.
How we can predict it?
For people living near the coast, the shaking of the ground is sufficient
warning for an impending tsunami. A noticeable rapid raise or fall in coastal waters is
also a sign that a tsunami is approaching. Some tribals in Andaman like Centenaries,
Shanghais, Ongeys, Jaravas can predict these tsunamis by hearing different sounds made
by the birds.
With advances in technology, it is possible to predict the occurrence of tsunamis.
With computer technology it can be known in advance how high tsunami waves will be
along the coast for different kinds of earth quakes. When put on maps, these predictions
can guide people to evacuate the areas to be hit by tsunamis.
Our international cooperative efforts to mitigate the tsunami disaster started over
25 years ago, long before the Decade was proclaimed, and that tsunami is probably the
only disaster that has been dealt so effectively on an international scale. This has been
made possible through the leadership of IOC in forming the ITSU group.
An area where international cooperation will prove to be most valuable will be in the
further development of tsunami evaluation and prediction capability using current
technology of satellite data telemetry and communications, and use of microcomputers.
Adequate state of the art seismic and water level instrumentation, rapid telemetry and
telecommunications are needed, both for data acquisition and for warning dissemination.
These are the most important components for an effective national or regional Tsunami
Warning System. The Pacific Tsunami Warning System presently makes use of an
extensive seismic and water level instrumentation network that has been made possible
through the generous support of member nations of ITSU, through cooperative programs
between many agencies and national governments, and through programs such as the
International Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Sea Level Program
What is the warning system?
The key element to tsunami hazard mitigation is a tsunami warning system. But
regardless of how sophisticated a warning system may be all it can do is issue a warning.
The effectiveness of the system is judged by what Civil Defense Agencies do with a
warning. These agencies must have an effective Operational and Emergency
Preparedness Plan to act on the warning and disseminate it rapidly and effectively to the
public. This can be done only if there is an established operating plan designating

infrastructural communications and responsibilities. This system monitors sea movements

and can e used to map the path of Tsunamis and estimates the rate of approach. This
comprises hundreds of seismic monitoring stations world wide as well as coastal tide
gauges, besides sophisticated deep ocean assessment and reporting of tsunamis (DART)
buoys in the pacific basin capable of detecting even a centimeters difference in the ocean
height. Such warning system saved many lives in Honolulu in 1952 when an approaching
Tsunami was detected. Supported by 54 countries the European communication and 34
international organizations, a global earth observational system is being developed, which
over the next decade will revolutionize the understanding of earth. One of the major areas
of focus of this US-led initiative would be weather forecasting and reducing damage
caused by national disasters.
India is al set to install a similar tsunami warning centre in the Indian Ocean called the
Deep Ocean assessment and reporting system (DOASRS)
How a warning system works?
A Tsunami warning system comprises a network of seismometers tide gauges
with proper communication systems. The seismographs will estimate the strength and
location of an earthquake whereas tide gauges near the epicenter of an earth quake.

This system comprises of a seafloor bottom pressure recording (BPR) system capable of
detecting Tsunamis as small as 1cm, which sends signals to a surface buoy anchored to it.
This device basically senses pressure differences caused due to the movement of Tsunami
waves. Normal wind waves which have much shorter period than Tsunamis are filtered
out. If a tsunami is detected data is uploaded from an onboard computer chip, via sound
signals to a hydrophone that is attached to the surface buoy. The buoy further sends the

data to the geo stationary operational environmental satellite, orbiting our planet. The
information is then down loaded to ground based computers, which demodulate the
signals for immediate dissemination to NAOAAs Tsunami warning centers. India is al set
to install a similar Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean called the Deep Ocean
Assessment and Reporting system (DOASRS).

What and where these centres located?

As part of an international cooperative effort to save lives and protect property, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service
operates two tsunami warning centers. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (ATWC) in
Palmer, Alaska, serves as the regional Tsunami Warning Center for Alaska, British
Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, serves as the regional
Tsunami Warning Center for Hawaii and as a national/international warning center for
tsunamis that pose a Pacific-wide threat.
Conclusion: If India already implanted the warning center Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting
System(DOASRS) for the pathetic disaters especially like this Tsunami,we can avoid
the distruction befor hand.
References:1)Science reporter ,Feb2005.
2)www.frontlineonnet.com
3)www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami
4)www.web.ask.com/redir
5)www.science.sakhalin.org