Scientists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of
Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) are using commercial ships
operating in the North Pacific Ocean to construct a network of low-cost tsunami
sensors to augment existing detection systems.
The researchers, funded by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said Dec. 16 that they’re partnering with
Matson, Maersk Line and the World Ocean Council to equip 10 ships with
real-time geodetic GPS systems and satellite communications.
The newly built pilot network of GPS-equipped ships enables
each vessel to act as an open-ocean tide gauge. Data from the new tsunami
sensors are streamed, via satellite, to a land-based data center where they are
processed and analyzed for tsunami signals.
“Our approach offers a new, cost-effective way of acquiring
many more observations to augment the current detection networks,” said SOEST
assistant specialist and co-investigator Todd Ericksen.
The researchers are working with the NOAA Tsunami Warning
Centers to ensure that the network provides the most useful data products to
help them with their predictions. They also plan to work with their industry
collaborators to develop a new version of the shipboard package that can be
deployed on a much greater number of ships.
“Our new ship-based detection network is the first step towards
the creation of the dense global observing network needed to support the
efforts of tsunami warning centers to provide the best possible predictions of
tsunami hazard to coastal communities,” said James Foster, a SOEST
associate researcher and the project’s lead investigator.
