Exploratory Workshop on Sensor Based Infrastructure for Early Tsunami Detection

Maui, Hawaii, February 9-10, 2005
S-CITI Project

View details on the upcoming workshop in Berkeley, CA

Organizers:

Daniel Mosse, Taieb Znati, and Louise Comfort
University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA 15260, USA

Sponsored by: National Science Foundation, Washington , DC , USA

The Challenge

Linking the scientific information regarding tsunami detection to the organizational networks of disaster mitigation, response, and recovery presents a continuing challenge to nations that are exposed to seismic and tsunami risk. While many scientific organizations are addressing the problem of tsunami detection and many governmental organizations are exploring methods of mobilizing effective response to tsunamis and other hazards, the tasks of designing, validating, and implementing cost-effective means of monitoring and transmitting scientific information regarding tsunami risk to action agencies need continuous review. The objective of this workshop is to identify and examine the issues related to the development of a fully integrated socio-technical approach to early tsunami detection and transmission of critical information for the South Asian region. It is anticipated that this approach would also be applicable to other regions of the world exposed to seismic and tsunami risk.

Workshop Objectives

This workshop has three objectives. It will, first, assemble a key group of leaders, managers, and scientists who are actively involved in the problem of tsunami detection and mitigation, including hazard assessment, preparedness, warning, and management. This group will:

  • Identify the short-term and long-term technical challenges to effective tsunami warning systems and regulations currently proposed or in operation;
  • Identify the operational limitations of the present and proposed tsunami warning systems, including their linkages to the operational agencies at different governmental levels of authority, with a specific focus on the areas that require improvement;
  • Specify the major requirements for the development of a feasible and cost-effective tsunami detection system that links the scientific information to the operational agencies in an easily comprehensible manner.

Expected Outcomes

The findings from this workshop will be used to review the current technological advances in tsunami detection and timely transmission of findings to the organizational networks of action agencies responsible for protection of communities exposed to seismic and tsunami risk. The goal is to develop a socio-technical framework that will enable communities to take self-organizing action to reduce risk from tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, and other hazards.