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The NTHMP Tsunameter Network

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Abstract

A tsunameter (soo-NAHM-etter) network has been established in the Pacific by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Named by analogy with seismometers, the NOAA tsunameters provide early detection and real-time measurements of deep-ocean tsunamis as they propagate toward coastal communities, enabling the rapid assessment of their destructive potential. Development and maintenance of this network supports a State-driven, high-priority goal of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program to improve the speed and reliability of tsunami warnings. The network is now operational, with excellent reliability and data quality, and has proven its worth to warning center decision-makers during potentially tsunamigenic earthquake events; the data have helped avoid issuance of a tsunami warning or have led to cancellation of a tsunami warning, thus averting potentially costly and hazardous evacuations. Optimizing the operational value of the network requires implementation of real-time tsunami forecasting capabilities that integrate tsunameter data with numerical modeling technology. Expansion to a global tsunameter network is needed to accelerate advances in tsunami research and hazard mitigation, and will require a cooperative and coordinated international effort.

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Abbreviations

BPR:

bottom pressure recorder

DART:

Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis

NDBC:

National Data Buoy Center

NOAA:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NTHMP:

National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program

PMEL:

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

PTWC:

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

SIFT:

Short-term Inundation Forecast for Tsunamis

SASZ:

South American Subduction Zone

TAO:

Tropical Atmosphere and Ocean array

USGS:

U.S. Geological Survey

WC/ATWC:

West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Frank I. González, Eddie N. Bernard, Christian Meinig, Marie C. Eble, Harold O. Mofjeld & Scott Stalin

Authors
  1. Frank I. González
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  2. Eddie N. Bernard
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  3. Christian Meinig
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  4. Marie C. Eble
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  5. Harold O. Mofjeld
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  6. Scott Stalin
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Correspondence to Frank I. González.

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González, F.I., Bernard, E.N., Meinig, C. et al. The NTHMP Tsunameter Network. Nat Hazards 35, 25–39 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-004-2402-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-004-2402-4

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