Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Review of the Tsunami Warning and
Forecast System and Overview
of the Nation's Tsunami Preparedness
STATEMENT OF TASK
The committee will review progress toward tsunami preparedness in response to “Tsunami
Risk Reduction for the United States” (National Science and Technology Council, December
2005) and the Tsunami Warning and Education Act (P.L. 109-424, December 2006). The National
Science and Technology Policy report, spurred by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, called for
a broad range of federal, state, and local efforts to reduce future losses from tsunamis in the
United States. P.L. 109-424 authorized improvements to tsunami warning systems, commu-
nity-based hazard mitigation programs, public education, scientiic research, and international
coordination. The committee's task is divided into two parts as described below.
In the irst part, the committee will produce an interim report to fulill the congressional
request in P.L. 109-424. The committee will review the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Tsunami Program to assess progress and improvements made since
2005 to strengthen the existing U.S. tsunami detection, forecast, and warning system. The com-
mittee will examine the effectiveness of this system for both near- and far-ield tsunamigenic
events, including:
•
Modeling of tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation
•
Forecast accuracy, warning notiication, and dissemination
•
Reliability of observing and monitoring networks
•
Strategies to ensure long-term operational reliability and sustainability
•
Data quality control, management, archiving, and dissemination
•
Data acquisition, processing, and assessment for warning generation
•
Further modernization and geographic coverage needs
•
Probabilistic assessments of tsunami hazard that include data on the sizes and recur-
rence intervals of submarine earthquakes and landslides near U.S. shores
•
Level of coordination and integration with:
o
State and local level tsunami programs for facilitating mitigation
o
U.S. ocean and coastal observation systems, including the Integrated Ocean
Observing System
