Skip to main content
Ocean Networks Canada

Ocean Networks Canada

Search form

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Menu

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Jobs & Opportunities
    • Events & Workshops
    • Contact Us
    • Support Us
    • Annual Report 2020-2021
    • Organization
      • Leadership
      • Staff
      • Boards
      • Committees
    • Funders, Associate Members & Partners
      • Funders
      • Associate Members
      • Partners
  • Science
    • Science
    • Active Research
    • Highlights
    • Science Plan
      • Summary
      • Science Themes
    • Publications
      • General Interest
      • Academic
    • Getting Involved
      • Proposals
  • Innovation Centre
    • Innovation Centre
    • About the Innovation Centre
    • Success Stories
    • Contact Us
    • Smart Ocean™ Systems
      • Sensors and Instruments
      • Technology Demos
      • Ocean Observing Systems
      • Earthquake Early Warning
    • Partners & Networks
      • Industry Network
      • Global Partnerships
      • R&D Support
      • Students in Industry
    • Atlantic Partners
  • Learning
    • Learning
    • Learning Highlights
    • Learning Events
    • Partnerships
    • Contact Us
    • Ocean Sense
      • Community Observatories
        • Cambridge Bay
        • Campbell River
        • Kitamaat Village
        • Prince Rupert
      • Teacher Info
      • Student Info
      • Resources & Lessons
    • Get Involved
      • For Students
        • For Undergrads & Grads
      • For Educators
        • Educator Opportunities
      • For Communities
      • Ship2Shore
      • Citizen Science
        • Coastbuster
        • Digital Fishers
      • Youth Science Ambassador
    • Resources
      • Learning at Home
      • Educator Resources
      • Ocean Alive!
      • Glossary of Terms
      • Research Ideas
  • Observatories
    • Observatories
    • Arctic
    • Atlantic
    • Pacific
    • Mobile Platforms
    • Infrastructure
      • Data Facilities
      • Platforms
      • Devices & Sensors
      • Cables & Connectors
    • Expeditions
      • Wiring the Abyss
      • Expedition Logs
      • Maintenance Processes
    • Notices
      • Information for Mariners
      • Alerts and System Status
  • Data & Tools
    • Data & Tools
    • Highlights
    • Data Quality
    • Preview & Download
      • Preview & Visualize
      • Data Download Tools
      • State of the Ocean Plots
      • Ocean Report Card
    • Apps & Services
      • Mobile Apps
      • OPeNDAP Web Services
      • Related Sources
      • Earthquake Data Dashboard
    • Data Help
      • Data Policy
      • Tutorials & Help Pages
      • Request Help
  • Sights & Sounds
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Terms of Use
    • Video
      • Live Video
      • Video Highlights
      • Video Archives
    • Images
      • Maps
    • Audio
      • Audio Highlights
      • Audio Archive
  • News
    • News
    • Stories
    • Newsletters
    • Calendar
    • Media Relations
      • Backgrounders
      • Downloads
      • In the News
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts

About Us

You are here

  1. Home
Jan 19, 2022

Real-time tsunami data from the Tonga volcano

Distance was no barrier to Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) capacity to provide real-time critical data about the tsunami risk following an underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday, 15 January 2022. Nine thousand kilometres from the volcano, the ONC offshore sensors gathered a variety of data, informing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center alerts that go out to countries and territories in the Pacific and Caribbean regions.

This map of ONC's offshore NEPTUNE cabled networks shows arrival times of the tsunami waves caused by the Tonga volcano. Tsunami waves travel at ~800 kilometres per hour, the speed of a jet plane.

The tsunami’s eastward progress across the Pacific Ocean was tracked in real time by ONC’s bottom pressure recorders, using our sophisticated data management portal Oceans 2.0. This timely data provides critical ocean intelligence about wave heights, and informs official tsunami alerts to the public. Additional real-time wave height, ocean surface current and wind direction data are provided by high resolution coastal radars, including a state-of the art WERA over the horizon radar system in Tofino. These #knowtheocean data not only allow emergency services to activate safety protocols ahead of tsunami impacts, they also support future tsunami modelling and research.

Bottom pressure recorder data from ONC’s offshore NEPTUNE sensors show tsunami wave arrival times on Saturday, 15 January 2022.

“Tsunamis generated from undersea volcanos are rare, and measurements of the waves generated are even rarer,” says Kate Moran, president and CEO of ONC. “These data will be used to understand the risk of these types of ocean events.”

While the volcanic eruption in Tonga was not caused by an earthquake, the vibration registered the equivalent of an M5.8 quake on our seismic sensors.

Air pressure changes

Tonga's Hunga Tonga volcano just had one of the most violent volcano eruptions ever captured on satellite. pic.twitter.com/M2D2j52gNn

— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) January 15, 2022

The shockwave caused by the violent Tonga volcano travelled around the globe three times and was reported around the world—as far away as the UK—producing changes in the barometric pressure for several minutes.

The volcano’s shockwave was recorded by ONC community observatories’ weather stations on the British Columbia coast. Notice the coincident blip shortly after 12.00.00 UTC at all locations.

Tsunami inundation studies

In addition to real-time monitoring, ONC supports tsunami resilience in at-risk coastal communities by integrating high resolution data and detailed geographic mapping into models for public safety.

This high-resolution land-river-sea digital elevation map (DEM) of the cross-border Salish Sea region reveals the complex geographic features that influence the behaviour of tsunami waves and currents as they move towards and impact the densely populated Vancouver lower mainland.

Since 2016, ONC has been involved with tsunami inundation and sea level rise studies for at-risk communities along the coast, including Port Alberni, Tofino, the Salish Sea, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii, and the Strathcona Regional District. In collaboration with government agencies, First Nations communities, and engineering companies, these projects inform local emergency planning efforts. Cutting edge science and engineering principles are coupled with Indigenous community engagement, seeking input from the local population and gathering historical knowledge of past tsunami events.

"We are grateful that our Strathcona Regional District coastlines did not experience any direct impacts of the Tonga tsunami, but it highlighted the critical value and urgency of the tsunami inundation project that is currently underway by Ocean Networks Canada and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants", comments Shaun Koopman, Strathcona Regional District Protective Services Coordinator.

This computer simulation of a local tsunami generated by a M9.0 Cascadia subduction zone megathrust earthquake shows the propagation of tsunami waves in Strathcona Regional District’s Esperanza Inlet and Nootka Sound on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island.

Like many regions on British Columbia’s coast, the Strathcona Regional District is considered highly vulnerable to tsunami events originating either from a large earthquake triggered in the Cascadia subduction zone offshore Vancouver Island, or one from the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone to the north. ONC is currently working in partnership with local coastal engineering firm Northwest Hydraulic Consultants to support regional government, First Nations

“These tsunami inundation projects are a collaborative effort to understand which areas are most at risk, how soon the waves will impact the coast after an event, how high those waves may be and how fast we expect them to be moving,” says Gord Rees, ONC associate director, applied science solutions. “This information is crucial for identifying where the safety boundaries are, allowing emergency planners to work with their communities to ensure that appropriate emergency response plans are in place.”

Be tsunami prepared

Tsunamis are most often caused by undersea earthquakes that cause large waves. It may take hours for waves to reach the shore if an earthquake happens far away. Strong earthquakes near land could generate a tsunami that arrives onshore in less than 20 minutes.

A few sites for further information:

  • Emergency Management British Columbia
  • Capital Regional District
  • Strathcona Regional District – Tsunami Resources & Maps
  • Port Alberni Regional District
  • Tofino
  • British Columbia Tsunami Notification Zones
  • Understand what the alerts mean: Watch, Advisory or Warning?

RELATED

Listen to ONC President and CEO Kate Moran talk to CBC On the Island about the tsunami

Tsunami monitoring and public safety for at-risk communities

Tonga | tsunami | BPR | Bottom Pressure Recorder

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

Related Stories

Tsunami Monitoring and Public Safety for At-Risk Coastal Communities
Nov 4, 2020

Resilience through preparedness: remembering the 1964 ‘Good Friday’ tsunami
Apr 8, 2020

Hazards Beneath the Surface
Jun 6, 2018

Be Tsunami Prepared
Mar 27, 2018

Data from Alaska’s Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake and Tsunami
Jan 23, 2018

Real-time radar data spurs international gathering
Jul 26, 2017

Canadian scientist awarded for exceptional contribution to Earth science!
Aug 23, 2016

Calendar of Events

March 2022

  • « Prev  
  •   Next »
S M T W T F S
27
28
1
2
3
4
5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Newsletter

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter:

 

Tweets Follow @Ocean_Networks

 

 

Highlights

  • Audio
  • Data
  • Learning
  • Science
  • Video

Reading Room

  • Active Research
  • Backgrounders
  • FAQs
  • Glossary
  • News Briefs
  • News Stories
  • Newsletters
  • Publications

Cool Stuff

  • Apps
  • Digital Fishers
  • iBooks & e-Pubs
  • Live Video
  • Maps
  • Images
  • State of the Ocean

Data & Tools

  • Apps
  • Data Plots
  • Data Search
  • Data Policy
  • Data Help
  • OPeNDAP Web Services

Opportunities

  • Calendar
  • Educator Opportunities
  • Global Partnerships
  • Industry Network
  • Jobs
  • Staff List
  • Technology Services

Sites & Instruments

  • Arctic Sites
  • Northeast Pacific Sites
  • Salish Sea Sites
  • Notice to Mariners

Follow Us

Facebook iconTwitter iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconFlickr iconInstagram icon

Sign up for our newsletter

Feedback

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

                              

About Us | Contact Us | Media Relations | Legal Notices

©   Ocean Networks Canada. All rights reserved.  2474 Arbutus Road, Victoria, BC, V8N 1V8 | 1.250.472.5400