Tsunami Warning Systems (TSU 410) Syllabus
July 25–29 2007
Instructor
- Paul Whitmore , Director, West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, National weather Service, NOAA.
Intended Audience
The course's intended audience includes professionals responsible for establishing, maintaining and developing multi-hazard warning and preparedness systems at national and sub-national levels. Included are planners, policy makers, emergency managers, scientists, engineers, and other professionals in both public and private sectors whose overriding goal is to develop and maintain tsunami-resilient societies.
Course Objectives
This course focuses on the technology used to detect, monitor and forecasst tsunami behavior and to transmit warnings to emergency managers at all levels of government as well as to the general public. Upon successful completion of the course, participants are prepared to explain the activities that take place in a tsunami warning system before, during and after a tsunami event, such as:
- Accessing historical and GIS databases to obtain data relavant to their region of interest
- Recognizing the hardware required for detecting and monitoring a tsunami
- Describing the general operation of a tsunami warning center
- Interpreting tsunami warning communications and assessing the appropriate response to the warnings
- Discussing the considerations for effective warning communication to the public
Individuals working in the context of country teams will complete the warning system component of a Tsunami Resilient Community Plan Exercise.
Course content
This is the second course in the three-course Tsunami Certificate Program, Tsunami Science and Preparedness – Creating Tsunami Resilient Communities. Participants examine the components of a tsunami warning system including the detection, forecasting, monitoring and warning communications that occur during a tsunami event. Beginning with the history of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, particpants learn about the instruments and activities involved including:
- Data streams and sensing hardware
- Data processing techniques
- Real-time forecast models
- Regional and local warning communication systems.
Participants complete individual and team exercises in class to reinforce the concepts presented in lectures and course materials.
Schedule
- 1:15–5:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 25, 2007
- 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:15–5:00 p.m., Saturday, July 28, 2007
- 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Sunday, July 29, 2007
Location
Fourth Floor of Smith Hall, UW Seattle campus, Rooms: Classroom 405, GIS Laboratory 401, Geography Collaboratory 415C
Textbook and readings:
The required textbook will be mailed to participants prior to their arrival in Seattle. This text is being provided to participants as a courtesy from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The text is:
- Bernard, E.N. (Ed.), Developing Tsunami-Resilient Communities:
The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, Reprinted from
Natural Hazards, 35:1 (2005) 2005, VI, 186 p., ISBN: 978-1-4020-3353-7
Prerequisites:
Prior to attending the first course in the Tsunami Certificate Program, participants should complete the following activities:
- Successfully complete Course 1-Tsunami Hazard Certificate Program (TSU 400)
- Read pages 25–88 in the text Developing Developing Tsunami-Resilient Communities: The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. This text will be mailed out to program participants prior to the July 21 start date
Criteria for completion of certificate
The requirements for successful completion of this course are:
- Attendance and satisfactory participation
- Satisfactory completion of required work, including exercises, demonstrations, and the sections of the Tsunami Resilient Community Plan Exercise assigned during this course
Course evaluation links
- Evaluation of UWE TSP Program Course 2 Day 1
- Evaluation of UWE TSP Program Course 2 Day 2
- Evaluation of UWE TSP Program Course 2 Day 3
Jump to:
[ TSU 410 Syllabus ]
[ Day 1 (25
and 26 July): Participant
Seminar | Overview | TRC
Plan/Warning Centers |
Tour of UW Seismic
Lab | Field Trip ]
[ TSU
410 Day 1 Course Evaluation ]
[ Day 2 (28
July): Sea-Level
Data Acquisition |
Detection of Tsunamis | Tsunami
Forecasting | Participant
Seminar |
Tsunami Warning Data
Processing | TWC
Response Sim |
TRC Plan Exercise ]
[ TSU
410 Day 2 Course Evaluation ]
[ Day 3 (29
July): Warning
Messages | Warning
Dissemination | Summary ]
[ TSU
410 Day 3 Course Evaluation ]