Workshop on Socio-Technical Aspects of Cost Effective,

Sensor-Based Infrastructure for Tsunami Monitoring and Detection

Berkeley, California, November 16-17, 2006

S-CITI Project

University Times
April 13, 2006
Volume 38, No. 15

New wave of tsunami detection

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the deadliest disasters in human history, largely because it struck without warning. No detection or alert system existed in the region at that time.

Pitt researchers are forming an international team of experts to find an early and accurate way of detecting tsunamis and mobilizing a response to the threat. Funded by a $199,214 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the study will be the first to propose a comprehensive, socio-technical framework that extends from detecting a tsunami to warning the population at risk.

Daniel Mossé and Taieb Znati of computer science and Louise Comfort of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs have teamed up with an international group of experts from the computer science, seismology, information technology, public policy and disaster management communities.

“The innovative part of the detection system that we're proposing is the linkage of information from a network of sensors at sea, to a network of organizational action on land,” said Comfort.

The Pitt team hosted a conference in Maui in February to examine the limitations of present tsunami warning systems and discuss areas for improvement. Among the issues is the frequency of false alarms that diminish the effectiveness of tsunami warnings because the public may begin to disregard them. In the current warning system in the Pacific, three out of four warnings are false alarms.

The team proposed that by having a large number of cost-effective sensors, the systems will be better equipped to determine when a tsunami is a real threat.

“The more economical the detection devices are, the more devices can be used. Not only would this ensure the safety of poorer populations, but the more devices we have, the less critical it is if some of the devices should fail,” Mossé said.
Future talks will discuss the technical challenges to building a complete socio-technical tsunami warning system.

Ultimately, the results of this research can create a framework for disaster detection and response that is general enough that it can be applied not just to tsunamis, but to other rapid-onset incidents such as earthquakes, landslides and mudslides.

The project is not the first of its kind for Moss é and his colleagues. A few years ago, the team was also awarded an NSF grant for creation of a Secure Critical Information Technology Infrastructure (S-CITI) for Emergency Management. S-CITI, funded by a $2.8 million grant from the NSF, focuses on allowing emergency managers in Allegheny County to make timely and better-planned responses to emergencies and disasters. Much like a tsunami warning system, S-CITI integrates incoming real-time data from cameras and sensors, and signals when data deviates from normal activity.

The project was funded by the NSF small grants for exploratory research program.