FIRST DART BUOY STATION DEPLOYED IN INDIAN OCEAN;
ESSENTIAL STEP TOWARD REGIONAL HAZARD WARNING SYSTEM

December 1, 2006 — The launch of the first Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoy station in the Indian Ocean in early December 2006 marked an important milestone toward the goal of protecting the world from the threat of the deadly waves. (Click NOAA image for larger view of map showing DART buoy locations. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Launched just a few weeks short of the second anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia — one of the most shocking natural disasters of modern history — the DART II buoy station brings important tsunami wave data to the region. One of the realities of the 2004 event was that the lack of real-time data made it very difficult to detect and warn of such an event.

Tsunamis are the result of sudden displacement of massive amounts of seawater, usually caused by a large magnitude undersea earthquake, although underwater landslides and volcanic eruptions can also cause tsunamis. Like the ripples resulting from a stone thrown into a pond, the waves emanate in all directions from the source, sometimes with destructive results. (Click NOAA image for larger view of DART buoys being readied for deployment at the NOAA National Data Buoy Center at the Stennis Space Center, Miss. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Coastal sea level (tide) gauges and DART stations located near potential source zones provide real-time data that helps scientists at NOAA and international tsunami warning centers determine whether a potentially destructive tsunami has been formed by an earthquake or other undersea event.

The DART system was developed by the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, in Seattle, Wash. The stations consist of a bottom pressure sensor that is anchored to the seafloor and a companion moored surface buoy. An acoustic link transmits data from the bottom pressure sensor to the surface buoy. Then satellite links relay the data to ground stations. The result is tsunami detection that is communicated to forecasters in real-time.

DART prototyping began in 1995, and the first prototype stations were deployed in 2000. In 2001, the DART system transitioned from its research and development phase into an operational network. The NOAA National Data Buoy Center began to build, deploy and maintain DART stations. (Click NOAA image for larger view of moored DART II system. Please credit “NOAA.”)

At the time of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the United States had a network of six DART stations in the Pacific. That number has now increased to 19, and the geographic coverage also expanded to include the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean.

In the U.S. tsunami warning system, DART, seismic, tide station and other data are transmitted to two NOAA tsunami warning systems — the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, in Palmer, Alaska. The centers are responsible for issuing tsunami advisories, watches, warnings and information messages to emergency management officials and the public in the United States, Virgin Islands and parts of Canada.

Immediately following the December 2004 event, the United States accelerated its efforts to increase tsunami research and operational capabilities. NOAA developed additional tsunami models for at-risk communities, staffed its warning centers around the clock, deployed additional DART buoy stations, installed and/or upgraded sea level gauges, and expanded community education through its TsunamiReady program.

United States Lends a Hand
Internationally, NOAA is providing technical expertise to empower Indian Ocean countries in establishing their tsunami warning capabilities as part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) $16.5 million project. NOAA is the lead technical agency in the project with contributions from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The establishment of the first DART station in the Indian Ocean is an important first step towards the development of a comprehensive regional hazard warning system. (Click NOAA image for larger view of a DART buoy deployment. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, in partnership with the Japan Meteorological Agency, is providing tsunami advisory and watch alerts to 20 Indian Ocean countries on an interim basis until regional warning centers can be established.

In doing so, the center follows a protocol agreed upon by UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Indian Ocean countries. These nations expressed their desire to maintain authority over issuing the official warnings for their respective countries and asked that the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the Japanese Meteorological Agency refrain from communicating directly with their public. Under this protocol, NOAA can issue tsunami watches and bulletins and notify the proper national authorities. It is up to individual countries to determine if and how they issue a warning to their publics.

“This new DART station will equip Indian Ocean countries with additional information to determine if and when to issue tsunami warnings,” states David Green, Ph.D., NOAA tsunami program manager. “It fills a large data gap that benefits the Indian Ocean and the entire globe through the Global Earth Observation System of System.”

The Indian Ocean DART was built by NOAA and donated by the United States. Thailand is responsible for the deployment and long-term maintenance as per a recently signed Memorandum of Agreement with NOAA. President Bush recently announced that a second buoy will be donated by the United States and installed in the spring of 2007. This second buoy will be operated and maintained by Indonesia.

There are 22 DART stations planned for the Indian Ocean region as part of an end-to-end tsunami warning mitigation system that includes tide gauges, communications upgrades, modeling, dissemination systems, and programs to establish coastal community resilience.

“The deployment is an important milestone in building a comprehensive warning and mitigation system in the Indian Ocean, but there is still much work to do,” said Green. “We will continue to support the region in expanding their capabilities.”

The selected deployment sites of the two NOAA buoys will provide most Indian Ocean countries with a goal of at least one hour of warning time, according to Curt Barrett, NOAA project manager for the Indian Ocean Warning System effort.

NOAA is also providing the region with technical leadership in building an end-to-end system by improving communications systems, establishing modeling and forecasting capabilities, building resilient communities, providing expertise in building regional and national operations centers, and training technical officials on various aspects of tsunami and multi-hazard warning operations.

Two additional important agreements were signed in November outlining the technical support the United States will provide for the Indian Ocean system. The first is a Memorandum of Understanding for scientific and technical cooperation between the United States and Indonesia in building a multi-hazard system. This MOU accelerates the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System and includes other natural hazards such as earthquakes, mudslides and volcanic eruptions.

The second document is an Implementing Agreement between the NOAA National Weather Service and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It outlines technical collaborations in tsunami detection, analysis, forecast and warning technologies, and methods and approaches. The agreement will contribute to Australia’s national tsunami warning system, the existing Pacific Tsunami Warning System and the development of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. (Click NOAA image for larger view of a DART II buoy. Please credit “NOAA.”)

All three agreements contribute to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.

“Through these formal agreements, we are leveraging our resources and our expertise to advance hazard mitigation programs on a global scale,” said Green. “The immediate need is to protect lives and property from tsunamis. The long-term application is improved forecasts for all hazards.”

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Tsunami Web site

NOAA National Weather Service Tsunami Centers

USAID Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Project

NOAA Tsunami Portal

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

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Media Contact:
NOAA National Weather Service Public Affairs, (301) 713-0622
(Second photo courtesy of Stuart Hayes of the NOAA National Data Buoy Center.)