This volume, derived from the 1999 International Tsunami Symposium, presents a unique look at the state of tsunami research at the end of the 20th century. It displays recent progress both in data recovery and reconstructions of historical tsunamis and in detail examination of recent disasters. It shows the tsunami community using both traditional methods of data gathering - searching archives and attempting to simulate past events - and integrating modern technologies - side-scan sonar, GPS, global communications, supercomputers - in the quest to understand tsunamis and improve mankind's ability to mitigate the disastrous consequences of these unpredictable and unstoppable events. It chronicles recent advances in mitigation efforts while illuminating the continuing need for increased efforts. The papers range from descriptive texts for the non-specialists to fairly technical discussions for those familiar with tsunami research. Audience: This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students involved in natural hazards research, physical oceanography, seismology, environmental impact assessment and risk assessment.

Tsunamis are water waves triggered by impulsive geologic events such as sea floor deformation, landslides, slumps, subsidence, volcanic eruptions and bolide impacts. Tsunamis can inflict significant damage and casualties both nearfield and after evolving over long propagation distances and impacting distant coastlines. Tsunamis can also effect geomorphologic changes along the coast. Understanding tsunami generation and evolution is of paramount importance for protecting coastal population at risk, coastal structures and the natural environment. Accurately and reliably predicting the initial waveform and the associated coastal effects of tsunamis remains one of the most vexing problems in geophysics, and -with few exceptions- has resisted routine numerical computation or data collection solutions. While ten years ago, it was believed that the generation problem was adequately understood for useful predictions, it is now clear that it is not, especially nearfield. By contrast, the runup problem earlier believed intractable is now well understood for all but the most extreme breaking wave events.

Many coastal areas of the United States are at risk for tsunamis. After the catastrophic 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, legislation was passed to expand U.S. tsunami warning capabilities. Since then, the nation has made progress in several related areas on both the federal and state levels. At the federal level, NOAA has improved the ability to detect and forecast tsunamis by expanding the sensor network. Other federal and state activities to increase tsunami safety include: improvements to tsunami hazard and evacuation maps for many coastal communities; vulnerability assessments of some coastal populations in several states; and new efforts to increase public awareness of the hazard and how to respond. Tsunami Warning and Preparedness explores the advances made in tsunami detection and preparedness, and identifies the challenges that still remain. The book describes areas of research and development that would improve tsunami education, preparation, and detection, especially with tsunamis that arrive less than an hour after the triggering event. It asserts that seamless coordination between the two Tsunami Warning Centers and clear communications to local officials and the public could create a timely and effective response to coastal communities facing a pending tsuanami. According to Tsunami Warning and Preparedness, minimizing future losses to the nation from tsunamis requires persistent progress across the broad spectrum of efforts including: risk assessment, public education, government coordination, detection and forecasting, and warning-center operations. The book also suggests designing effective interagency exercises, using professional emergency-management standards to prepare communities, and prioritizing funding based on tsunami risk.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was triggered by a 9. 15 magnitude earthquake (MELTZNER et al. , 2006; CHLIEH et al. , 2007) that occurred at 0:58:53 GMT, 7:58:53 LT (USGS) (t ). The epicenter was located at 3. 3 N, 95. 8 E (Fig. 1) with a focal depth of EQ approximately 30 km. The earthquake was responsible for a sudden fault slip estimated on average from 12–15 m (SYNOLAKIS et al. , 2005; LAY et al. , 2005) to 20 m (FU and SUN, 30 2006). The seismic moment estimate (Mo = 1. 3 5 9 10 dyne-cm), based on the Figure 1 Locations of video recordings, recovered clocks, and reliable eyewitness observations. 1: Coastal plains ?ooded by the tsunami; 2: non-?ooded coastal plains; 3: uplands. Insert 3D-map showing the Sumatra Island, the studied area, and the epicenter of the 26/12/2004 earthquake. The video taken at Uteuen Badeue, on the eastern edge of the Banda Aceh Bay, was recorded by the chief of the Fishery Regional Of?ce from the top of a cliff. The movie that was shot near the Baiturrahman mosque in downtown Banda Aceh has been shown worldwide on TV. The one at Peukan Bada has been recorded during a wedding party. The last two movies were analyzed in detail in order to calculate the tsunami velocity (FRITZ et al. , 2006). Vol.

In the wake of the disastrous tsunami which struck Papua New Guinea in 1998, this volume presents 20 state-of-the-art contributions on landslide tsunamis, including earthquake characteristics and ground motions, modeling of landslides in geotechnical engineering, field surveys on land and at sea, simulations of past, present, and potential future tsunamis, and theoretical studies of tsunami generation by landslides.

"This book will be of interest to seismologists, oceanographers, volcanologists, coastal engineers, members of the IUGG Tsunami Commission, and staff of operational tsunami warning centers."--BOOK JACKET.