Existing infrastructure could enhance the current tsunami warning system
Posted 01.22.2010 at 2:45 pm
7 Comments
Tsunami Incoming
The 2004 tsunami as seen in Ao Nang, Krabi Province, Thailand.
Wikimedia Commons/David Rydevik
Monstrous tsunami waves, like the one that killed over 200,000 people in the Indian Ocean in 2004, create an electric field as they form. This field could possibly be sensed by a network of underwater sensors. Such a network would be extremely valuable but also prohibitively expensive to build. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) propose, however, that the existing large network of undersea communication cables could be used instead. That finding could lead to early warnings that may complement existing tsunami warning systems.
Salty seawater conducts electricity and generates an electric field as it sloshes through Earth's geomagnetic field. NOAA used computer models to estimate the size of the electric field created by the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as it moved over major submarine cables. The 2004 incident killed 140,000 people around Indonesia's region of Banda Aceh alone.
"We estimate that the 2004 tsunami-induced voltages of about 500 millivolts (mV) in the cables," Nair said. "This is very small compared to a 9-volt battery, but still large enough to be distinguished from background noise on a magnetically quiet day."
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Technology, Disasters, monster waves, noaa, submarine cables, Tsunami, undersea cables, wavesTsunamis can travel at the speed of jetliners, and have resulted in the past from landslides, volcanic eruptions and even meteors that may have wiped out the dinosaurs. Scientists currently rely upon a global seismometer network to detect earthquakes that might trigger tsunamis, but only deep-ocean pressure sensors and coastal tide gauges can sense an actual tsunami wave.
Such rare but potentially catastrophic events have garnered plenty of attention in the U.S. and elsewhere, and so here's hoping that NOAA can figure out how to effectively identify the monster wave's signal from background noise.
[NOAA]
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Is such an expensive network necessary? Why not just use a simpler buoy system with some kind of altimeter alarm on it? At changes in average height greater than 30 feet it fires an alarm to a local weather station or whatever organization provides alerts to the area. This of course assuming a Tsunami travels significant distance before landfall.
If not an altimeter, perhaps a cable system with an auto-tensioner that measures the amount of cable being let out of a spool.
Still, not a cheap system, but more expensive than laying out cables across the ocean floor to measure millivolts?
Redenbacher09,
You would think that would be a good way of doing things. But in deep water the wave may only be a few inches to a few feet high. Once they hit land or shallow water is when you really notice the size of the wave.
"Tsunamis can travel at the speed of jetliners"
There are thousands of kinds of jetliner, with cruising speeds ranging from 720 (or less) to 965km/h (or more), but they all definitely travel "at the speed of jetliners".
More science, less popular might help! Speeds relative to the earth's surface are most commonly given in km/h. There is no known unit of velocity named "the speed of a jetliner" - only a wide range of unknown ones! If there was such, it would (obviously) be abbreviated to SJ or something. That lack of an abbreviation is a big clue to the uselessness of the term.
If they have a fiber Optic cable that goes down in the area, it would be possible to give out a decently reliable warning.
Oh I do hope that there is some firm solutions for these natural and devastating disasters, I have lived with people from Thailand and oh some families are still recovering or rather will never recover from the destruction this has caused to their families.
Any sort of working detection system can save thousands of lives and I really do hope this is possible but I am wondering how accurate can the readings from these undersea cables be when everyone knows a tsunami will have no effect across open oceans until they reach the shore?
Regards,
Simon
http://www.saboey.com
For those whove lived through this and other natural disasters will without question demand some improvements to monitoring change in earth movements, and potentialsafety diversion for those countries at high risk is a fantastic development. I just hope there is little or no political debacle that delays the completion of such an important project.
Regards,
Simon
www.saboey.com/