Tsunami Warning Systems describes the processes involved in anticipating, detecting, and warning for a tsunami by summarizing data collection, modeling, analysis, and alert procedures used at NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers. A simulated event and past tsunami occurrences are used to highlight warning system processes for determining the tsunami threat based on seismic and sea level data and tsunami ... Full description.

A general introduction to tsunamis including information about the mechanisms of tsunami generation and propagation, the impact of tsunamis on humankind, and the Tsunami Warning System. Sections include information on what tsunami means, how earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and meteorites generate tsunamis, and what happens when a tsunami approaches and encounters land. Also included is ... Full description.

This module is designed to help emergency managers prepare their communities for tsunamis. Lessons include basic tsunami science, hazards produced by tsunamis, the tsunami warning system, the importance of public education activities, and how to craft good emergency messages and develop tsunami response plans. The module also contains links to extensive Reference and Resources sections. Full description.

This radio broadcast covers two topics- the massive undersea earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal communities in much of Asia on December 26, 2004, and an update on the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The tsunami segment discusses how tsunamis are created, what their effects are, and whether an effective system can be created to provide warning of these killer waves in the Indian Ocean, ... Full description.

This program of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory seeks to mitigate tsunami hazards in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Research and development activities focus on an integrated approach to improving tsunami warning and mitigation. The website contains realtime and modeled data from several monitoring stations in the Pacific Ocean. Animated simulations illustrate the ... Full description.

Tsunamis are the result of processes that shape the Earth's surface: earthquakes, volcanic events, and landslides. People cannot control the dynamic forces that drive tectonic events; however, they can reduce the number of lives lost to tsunamis by using technology to assess hazards, develop warning systems, and educate the public. This report discusses what it will take to implement an effective ... Full description.

This Why Files article looks at tsunamis in the wake of the July 17, 1998 disaster in Papua New Guinea that killed over a thousand people. Topics covered are: the causes of tsunamis, tsunami movement across the ocean, the history of some killer tsunamis of the last few hundred years, and ways to reduce human vulnerability to tsunamis. Readers can download a movie about how investigators think the ... Full description.

This radio broadcast explores some ideas about the cause of a 1946 tsunami which swept from Alaska through the Pacific and killed more than 150 people. The tsunami was one of the worst of the 20th Century. Scientists today still cannot agree on just what caused it. They think it was an earthquake, an undersea landslide, or possibly both. The answer may change how scientists study tsunamis and how ... Full description.

This portal, published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), provides links to an extensive set of resources on tsunamis, both worldwide and in the United States. There are links to basic information, news articles, information on the Sumatran tsunami of December 26, 2004, and to a section on the role of NOAA in tsunami forecasting and preparedness. Other links access information ... Full description.

This data tip describes the science behind the tsunamis caused by the great earthquake of December 26, 2004, which caused catastrophic damage and loss of life throughout the Indian Ocean basin. The discussion centers on how tsunamis are generated and how great quakes and resulting tsunamis occur at subducting plate boundaries. Links to more detailed information are embedded in the text. An exercise ... Full description.