NOAA TIDE STATIONS UPGRADED TO BETTER DETECT TSUNAMIS
Stations Come Online to Join National Tsunami Program

Dec. 4, 2006 — NOAA upgraded 33 tide stations in an effort to detect tsunamis quicker as part of the National Water Level Observation Network. Network tide stations normally equipped to record tidal data once every hour can now collect tidal data every six minutes, and can transmit that data through the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental satellites, or GOES. (Click NOAA image for larger view of tsunami tide station in Christiansted, Virgin Islands. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The upgraded tide gauges also collect one minute averaged tide data that are available to the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. This enhances the tsunami detection and confirmation capability of the centers, allowing forecasters to view real-time data of any station in the network.

"Tsunami detection and confirmation can be vital in preventing the loss of human life," said John H. Dunnigan, assistant administrator of the NOAA Ocean Service. "Efficient data collection is an essential tool to coastal managers for rapid forecasting and the issuance of critical warnings that can help save lives of people in the tsunami's path."

Using special data collection platforms, water level observations from these tide gauges allow NOAA tidal stations to become an integral part of the Pacific tsunami detection and warning network. Tidal data, matched with data from the NOAA Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis, or DART, network of buoys, will allow the NOAA National Weather Service tsunami warning centers to confirm a tsunami and forecast the magnitude, direction and speed of a tsunami wave more accurately.

"We have upgraded equipment at the 33 water level stations and have added 15 new stations in Alaska, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and on the West Coast," said Mike Szabados, director of the NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. "Near the end of 2007, NOAA will incorporate all tide gauges on the West, East and Gulf coasts to create an unprecedented array of more than 150 stations."

As part of the Ocean Action Plan, NOAA is upgrading all of its National Water Level Observation Network stations to provide real-time data recording and transmission capability, enabling all coastal gauges to detect and transmit tsunami data in real time so that warnings can be issued in a timely manner. (Click NOAA image for larger view of tsunami tide station in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves created by a sudden displacement of seawater. A local tsunami is the result of an earthquake or other water-displacing event occurring just offshore. People in affected areas may only have minutes to act. Tele-tsunamis are waves that travel from the source across the open ocean. These may take several hours to reach affected populations. There can be five to 60 minutes between the wave crests, and the first wave may not be the largest. The second wave is often deadlier, as it carries more debris. As tsunamis near the coast, tide gauges can detect their signal and help support local warnings. In addition, as successive tide stations detect a tsunami, that information can be used to improve forecasts of what other coastal locations may be affected.

The NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, or CO-OPS, collects and distributes oceanographic observations and predictions to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound maritime commerce. The center provides water level and coastal current oceanographic products, measures and predicts tides throughout the nation, and is responsible for disseminating this information to the public.

Using technology and innovation to utilize existing observing systems like the NWLON for new applications is a hallmark of the Integrated Ocean Observing System. In addition to supporting the tsunami warning and mitigation program, NWLON data supports safe and efficient navigation, storm surge warnings, hazmat emergency response efforts, marine boundaries, habitat restoration, long term sea level trends and other important applications.

In 2007 NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. Starting with the establishment of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. The agency is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Tsunami Portal

NOAA CO-OPS Tide Stations

NOAA Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART)

NOAA Ocean Service

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Media Contact:
Daniel Parry, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066 ext. 191
(Photos courtesy of the NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, or CO-OPS, photo library.)