Five key outcomes were achieved in this final Project Year 6 for Hazard SEES:

Intellectual Merit

1. Hazard SEES successfully validated a prototype network of undersea sensors and cables for early tsunami detection and warning in the Mentawai Sea, Indonesia.  The prototype includes three basic components: 1) an undersea node anchored to the ocean floor that includes a bottom pressure sensor for detecting change in the water column due to undersea earthquakes or landslides, a communications sensor, software programs, and batteries to operate the instruments; 2) a cabled receiver located approximately 7 km from shore to receive data transmitted acoustically from the undersea node and relay it to a shore station; and 3) a solar-powered shore station constructed on Siberut Island to receive data from the undersea node and transmit it via satellite to BMKG, the scientific agency in Jakarta that officially issues tsunami warnings. All three components were implemented and the connections among them were tested successfully at sea.  The communications process among the three components worked clearly and timely. Yet, the cable laying process fell short approximately 2 km from shore, hindered by use of small ship without the sophisticated equipment and software to monitor carefully the rate of release of the cable in deep water. This gap will be met by splicing an additional 2 km of cable to the existing cable and completing the connection to the shore station for a fully operational, working prototype.

2. Successful transmission of data via acoustic communication over a distance of 25 km. under water documented the scientific principle of the thermocline layer of warm equatorial waters that extends the range of sonar communication.  This principle had been demonstrated in an underwater experiment in March 2016, but the more complete, rigorous testing of the instruments, software, batteries, and design of the undersea prototype validated this outcome with systematic evidence in Project Year 6. The ocean bottom unit, initially programmed to report data every hour, is reset to report data every day, unless triggered by severe underground shaking that signals disruption of the ocean floor. Validation of the principle of extended sonar communication in an ocean environment represents an innovative, transformative change in the design, policy, and practice of early tsunami detection and warning.

Broader Social Impact

3. The validated prototype for early detection and acoustic transmission of data will be considered by the relevant scientific and operational agencies of Indonesia for official adoption into the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (INATEWS). This innovative change in early tsunami detection and warning will have a fundamental impact on detection and warning systems developed for coastal hazards. This discovery will enable developing countries like Indonesia to implement early tsunami detection and warning systems that provide reliable early warning of tsunamis at a fraction of the cost of undersea cabled systems.  This discovery will have a substantive impact on the design of ocean engineering systems for reduction of coastal hazards and potentially save thousands of lives in coastal cities vulnerable to tsunamis.

4. The preparation and submission of a proposal for an edited book, Hazardous Seas: A Sociotechnical Approach to Early Tsunami Detection and Warning, to Island Press, led to a signed book contract to publish the book in 2020. The book will document the design, testing, and deployment of the undersea network conducted in PY6.  It will also present the design, models, tests, and evidence from research conducted in Project Years 1-5 to develop a neighborhood network of electronic devices to facilitate interactive communication among community residents in disaster-degraded neighborhoods. The neighborhood network is designed to facilitate interactive communication among local government emergency personnel and local residents to inform evacuation strategies after receiving a tsunami warning. Such a network will have a major impact on local preparedness actions at the neighborhood level which has least access to timely, valid information in urgent tsunami events, resulting in greatest loss of life and property damage.

5. The Swiss Re Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland, invited a proposal for partial support of the production costs of the book, Hazardous Seas, and organization of a one-day workshop to introduce the book to policy makers and practicing managers in conjunction with a regional biennial preparedness exercise conducted by the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) in 2020. The book is under contract to Island Press, and copies will be distributed to exercise participants from 24 nations that rim the Indian Ocean as an introduction to this innovative method of early tsunami detection and warning. Models, tested designs, and evidence presented in the book will substantially influence disaster preparedness and training programs and contribute to a new science of coastal hazard reduction that integrates concepts and methods from ocean engineering, computer science, seismology, public policy, urban planning, and information sciences.   

Last Modified: 01/09/2020
Modified by: Louise K Comfort