Tsunami Buoys via Satellite

 

 Leave it to the folks at SAIC to commercialize a system for tsunami warnings developed by NOAA. They just announced a big sale to the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services:

The SAIC Tsunami Buoy systems will be deployed at locations in the Bay of Bengal and off the northwest coast of India near the Makran subduction zone. These systems represent a part of a larger network of tsunami buoy systems that will provide the entire region with critical data to assess the magnitude of tsunamis generated in the Indian Ocean. The eastern Bay of Bengal, one of the most seismically active regions in the world, is near the origin of the Boxing Day mega-tsunami that claimed over 220,000 lives in 2004. 

"The deployment of these STBs will provide the Indian regional tsunami forecast center with a foundation of reliable and technologically sound deep-water tsunami assessment systems," said Tom Baybrook, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "SAIC looks forward to a long term relationship with INCOIS supporting their extensive tsunami assessment network."

The STB system consists of three subsystems: a surface communications buoy, a buoy mooring, and a bottom pressure recorder. The bottom pressure recorder includes a highly accurate sea floor pressure sensor which can detect earthquakes and sea level changes. Acoustic communications transmits the pressure data to the surface buoy which then relays the data by satellite communications to oceanographic forecast centers for analysis. Once processed, the data can provide real-time assessments of the characteristics of the tsunami in deep water. This data is then used with forecast models to predict the height of the wave and inundation when it arrives at a particular coastal location.

How does it work? Check out NOAA’s DART specs.

 

Satcom saves lives. More power to them!

 

 


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