Coastal Oceanography
Areas of Research
- Estuaries research
- Tsunami forecasts and warnings
- Tsunami hazard assessment
Coastal Oceanography within JISAO and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) is dominated by tsunami research. The 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean illustrated the devastating impacts that a major tsunami can have and the need for early warning to prevent loss of life.
The NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR) at PMEL leads the effort to develop an improved Tsunami Warning System. The focus is on developing forecast models for population centers along the US coastlines and creating a more effective and efficient forecast system. Additional work continues on the development and deployment of DART buoys to measure the initial stages of a tsunami and supply data for the modeling efforts.
Tsunami Science and Preparedness
JISAO developed and implemented a certificate program in Tsunami Science and Preparedness. In 2007, the certificate program was held on the University of Washington campus and, in 2008, at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok. Participants came from countries devastated by the Indian Ocean Tsunami: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and the Maldives, as well as the Philippines and Canada.