Ocean Networks Canada - tsunami

Real-time tsunami data from the Tonga volcano

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:29:04 +0000

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:

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

Tsunami Monitoring and Public Safety for At-Risk Coastal Communities

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 23:36:53 +0000

For an uncomfortable couple of hours on Monday, 19 October—following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off the coast of Alaska—British Columbia coastal communities held their breath awaiting confirmation of a possible tsunami. Fortunately, the strike-slip earthquake caused little damage and the resulting wave was minimal, but the episode served as a poignant reminder of the need to prepare for tsunamis.

Figure 1. One of thousands of sensors connected to Ocean Networks Canada’s internet-connected ocean observatory, this bottom pressure recorder gathers continuous real-time data about wave height and volume (depth 2195 metres).

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) supports tsunami resilience in at-risk coastal communities by integrating high tech monitoring, real-time data and detailed geographic mapping into models for public safety.

ONC and Natural Resources Canada’s deep-sea and land-based sensors and oceanographic radars provide real-time observations of earthquake shaking and tsunami events. While seismometers measure an earthquake’s magnitude and inform British Columbia’s earthquake early warning system, wave heights are measured using bottom pressure recorders (Figure 1), which inform official tsunami alerts issued by Alaska’s National Tsunami Warning Center. 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 system in Tofino.

The data from these monitoring systems combined with digital elevation models (DEM) of the coastline—both below and above water—provide important details on the behaviour of the tsunami waves as they move toward and impact densely populated coastlines.

Since 2016, ONC has been working with at-risk coastal communities—including Port Alberni, Tofino, Prince Rupert and Semiahmoo First Nation—to improve their understanding of the impact that a large tsunami wave could have on their unique coastline, community and infrastructure. High resolution DEMs are essential tools in tsunami forecasting and water level inundation modelling, contributing to tsunami preparedness, response, resilience and recovery.

In 2019 ONC collaborated with national and international partners to develop the first high-resolution DEM of a region surrounding the Semiahmoo First Nation on British Columbia’s lower mainland (Figure 2). This cross-border model integrates 40 distinct sources of land, river, and sea elevation and bathymetric data and covers an area 92 kilometres by 83 kilometres, revealing the complex geographic features that influence the behaviour of tsunami waves and currents as they move towards and impact the densely populated Salish Sea coastline.

Figure 2. The first high-resolution and seamless land-river-sea DEM of the cross-border Salish Sea region includes Vancouver, White Rock, Surrey and Whatcom County, Washington. Made up of ~40 distinct sources of data obtained from a wide variety of sources, project charter members include Natural Resources Canada, Defence Research and Development Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, University of Victoria, Province of British Columbia, Indigenous Services of Canada and ONC.

“Using science to improve our understanding of tsunami risks in our community will support improved emergency planning, risk awareness and development decisions,” says Paul Gadbois, Emergency Program Coordinator for Semiahmoo First Nation in British Columbia.

This Salish Sea DEM—which includes the most detailed understanding to date of the marine environment—supports public safety for at least 2.5 million residents in Greater Vancouver, a region that could experience strong currents and wave impacts in the event of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake and resulting tsunami. Led by Natural Resources Canada, this DEM was collaboratively developed (Figure 3) as the first case study of the Canadian Safety and Security Program’s Coastal Flood Mitigation project, a nation-wide initiative to better understand Canada’s coastal flood risks launched in 2018.

Figure 3. The Salish Sea DEM was developed during a workshop in December 2019, thanks to expertise from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Twenty-five U.S. and Canadian participants included representatives from Natural Resources Canada, Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Capital Regional District, District of Oak Bay, City of Victoria, District of Sooke, Township of Esquimalt, City of Surrey, City of White Rock, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants and NOAA Center for Tsunami Research.

A Canadian first: DEMs for Port Alberni

In 2016, ONC was instrumental in bringing DEM expertise to Canada by hosting the country’s first DEM training workshop with experts from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Figure 4. This tsunami inundation model shows the simulation of a buried rupture earthquake triggering a tsunami at Barkley Sound, including time of arrival, wave height and inundation maps. It was developed in 2016 by ONC, Emergency Management British Columbia, University of Rhode Island and the City of Port Alberni using earthquake source scenarios from Natural Resources Canada.

This ground-breaking workshop resulted in a Port Alberni region DEM—covering an area 32 kilometres by 7 kilometres—along with animated tsunami inundation model results (Figure 4). In 1964 this at-risk community was devasted by a tsunami following a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the coast of Alaska (read more). These tsunami models were integrated into Emergency Management British Columbia’s first ever full-scale earthquake and tsunami response exercise in 2016.

Tofino

In 2015, ONC installed a high-frequency oceanographic WERA radar at Tofino’s Long Beach Airport to deliver real-time, continuous ocean wave height data (Figure 5). The system is capable of detecting large events, storm surges and tsunamis up to 80 kilometres from shore. These data could provide detailed local observations of incoming waves to support situational awareness, as well as beach closure and evacuation decisions. This WERA radar provided real-time data in 2016 when Typhoon Songda triggered a meteo-tsunami (read more).

“Real-time data from an instrument like the WERA radar supports critical and lifesaving decision making for coastal communities,” commented Keith Orchiston, Tofino’s Emergency Program Coordinator.

Figure 5. ONC’s high frequency WERA radar system was installed at Tofino Airport in 2015. This shore-based remote sensing system includes four transmitting and 12 receiving antennas that monitor ocean current speed in real-time.

Prince Rupert

In 2018, Prince Rupert worked with Northwest Hydraulic Consultants and ONC to better understand the port city’s tsunami risk and support their emergency response, public education and preparedness and long-term development planning (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Two planning scenarios were modelled for Prince Rupert using the Alaska 1964 and Cascadia 1700 earthquakes, as well as two sea-level rise scenarios, to model future conditions. Model outputs showed that the Alaska earthquake scenario would have more impact in the area than a Cascadia earthquake, with a maximum wave height of approximately 1.5 metres.

“The tsunami study that was completed in 2018 tested the different risk factors for our local area and helped us update our emergency plans,” said Chad Cooper, Prince Rupert Deputy Fire Chief. “We’ve been able to use the modelling in our outreach to waterfront industries and the community at large, and has really helped support better understanding of how different types of tsunamis might impact Prince Rupert.”

How can ONC help your community?

With several successful collaborations now under our belt, ONC is excited to continue working with coastal communities, including a new project with the Strathcona Regional District to develop a DEM for an area approximately 184km by 46km in 2022 to support a tsunami risk assessment for northwest Vancouver Island.

“We collaborate with local, national and international partners to help communities assess and understand the potential risks in their unique location, and to be better prepared in the event of a tsunami,” says Teron Moore, ONC’s Public Safety Program Manager. “We are excited to continue to support critical public safety programs by leveraging ONC’s deep scientific resources and sophisticated tsunami models to help protect lives and property from coast to coast to coast.”

ONC is available to support your community in assessing tsunami risk and developing emergency plans. For more information, contact Gordon Rees, ONC's Associate Director, Applied Science Solutions: gordrees@uvic.ca.

Watch Teron Moore's recent webinar "Shake Out, Don't Freak Out: Earthquake Preparedness, Risk and Response".

Resilience through preparedness: remembering the 1964 ‘Good Friday’ tsunami

duncanlowrie@uvic.ca — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 21:15:41 +0000

56 years ago, the ‘Good Friday’ earthquake rocked the Gulf of Alaska, causing a major tsunami to roll across the Pacific Ring of Fire on the evening of 27 March 1964. Few in Tofino were aware of the magnitude 9.2 earthquake or the alerts being sent by the US tsunami warning centre. Three and a half hours after the shaking, a series of tsunami waves swept over beaches and strong currents scoured the Pacific northwest coastline (Figure 1). Being early springtime and late at night in a sparsely populated Tofino, the area suffered no fatalities or injuries and only minor damage was reported. The event was a wake-up call for a risk that was not well understood nor well prepared for.

Figure 1. The 1964 earthquake off the coast of Alaska caused multiple tsunami waves to funnel up the narrow Port Alberni Inlet. There were no casualties, but the disaster damaged buildings, downed phone and power lines, and had a lasting impact on the community. Photo credit: Charles Tebby, Alberni Valley Museum.

Today Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is helping to build resilience in Tofino—and elsewhere in British Columbia—by integrating the latest science and technology into tsunami planning efforts and improving awareness of the risk. Local leaders are partnering with scientists, engineers and tsunami experts to integrate local hazard models, community risk assessments, and tsunami mitigation best practices, to prepare for the next big one. Tofino’s Tsunami Mitigation Plan outlines actionable strategies for decreasing the risks associated with this threat. As a direct result, Tofino has improved understanding of the tsunami risk and what to do to better prepare (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Left: As part of Tofino’s Tsunami Mitigation Plan, the remote Pacific Rim municipality has developed a Tsunami Evacuation Route (left), with a map and information about emergency preparedness for residents and visitors. Right: Installed at Tofino airport in 2015, ONC’s WERA (WavE RAdar) high frequency oceanographic radar array is a shore-based remote sensing system that includes four transmitting and 12 receiving antennas that monitor ocean current speed in real-time.

The future is in real-time. In our highly connected world, tsunami information can be rapidly disseminated across a broad range of communication technologies. For example, technological advances include using high frequency radar to continuously monitor ocean surface levels. Coastal radar, including the WERA radar located at Tofino’s Long Beach Airport, delivers real-time ocean wave height data that can be used for tsunami response decisions and situational awareness (Figure 3).

Figure 3. In October 2016, ONC’s high frequency oceanography WERA radar system provided Tofino with real-time data when Typhoon Songda triggered a tsunami alert. “Real-time data from an instrument like the WERA radar supports critical and lifesaving decision making for coastal communities,” commented Keith Orchiston, Tofino’s Emergency Program Coordinator at that time.

On a broad scale, ONC uses real-time observations of earthquake shaking and tsunami wave heights to support official tsunami alerts and better monitor the tsunami threat. ONC’s Applied Science team uses detailed digital elevation maps and runs tsunami models on high powered computers which inform plans for future tsunamis. Public education on the science of tsunami and public safety best practices support an awareness of the risk and helps people take action to decrease their level of risk. Together, we are moving resilience forward.

Taking appropriate action is key, which is why ONC supports earthquake and tsunami preparedness education and training such as the High Ground Hike tsunami preparedness initiative, Masters of Disasters education program and Great BC ShakeOut earthquake drill.

In a disaster, we’re all in it together. What we do today will influence the outcomes of our next major tsunami event. At ONC, we are doing our part to help coastal communities prepare and become more resilient.

Hazards Beneath the Surface

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 17:19:51 +0000

Underwater landslides, also known as submarine landslides, are mass movements of sediment that pose a threat to coastal regions and can have extreme consequences. In May, 100 scientists from over 20 different countries gathered in Victoria, British Columbia, to discuss the latest developments in the science behind these potentially devastating events.

A major submarine event occurred in Kitimat Inlet, located on the coast of British Columbia on 27 April, 1975. The slide started at the fjord sidewall continuing down the slope to the centre of the deep inlet (Figure 1). Debris travelled 5 kilometres down the inlet, displacing enough water to cause a local tsunami with waves 8 – 10 metres high, damaging the harbour area.

Martin Scherwath, is a geophysical staff scientist at Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), who answered a few questions about underwater landslides and the potential impact on residents of coastal communities.

Q: In simple terms, what is a submarine landslide?

A: Similar to landslides onshore, underwater slides are typically sediments moving down a slope, which will eventually run out and settle down. Offshore, the sediments replace water as they move, sometimes washing out coastal infrastructure or causing destructive tsunamis.

Q: How are submarine landslides caused?

A: Unstable conditions trigger slides. There are many possible causes, such as fresh, additional sediment deposits from rivers (like the Fraser River near Vancouver) or an over-steepening of the seafloor from seafloor uplift. Other triggers include disappearing gas hydrates that initially stabilized the seafloor, sea-level change, construction in the area or even earthquake shaking.

Q: How do underwater slides generate tsunamis?

A: If the moving sediment masses are large enough, they replace so much water that a tsunami wave is generated. This wave can be small and not necessarily devastating, but it can also be huge, depending on the volume of water that is replaced.

Q: How does ocean science contribute to our understanding on this geohazard? What is ONC’s role?

A: Detailed mapping of the seafloor can help us understand the risks. When scars or deposits from underwater landslides are clearly visible the size and impact can be calculated. Sampling of the sediment can even produce an estimated time of occurrence.

Ocean Network Canada helps marine geoscientists, like Gwyn Lintern from Natural Resources Canada, to place instruments on the seafloor where we know these mass movements are occurring, to monitor the sediments and their speed during the event. Theoretical studies and modelling help to estimate the hazard potential.

Q: How else are underwater landslides being studied and monitored?

A: There is some scientific overlap with land-based equivalents, such as rock slides, volcanic mud flows or snow avalanches. Experts in these fields are often part of the submarine landslide discussions.

Q: What are some of the most well-known submarine landslides?

A: A famous underwater landslide example from the end of the last ice age¬—about 8,000 years ago—happened in the North Sea off Norway. The Storegga slide put thousands of cubic kilometers of sediment in motion, triggering a gigantic tsunami. Traces have been found 80 kilometres inland, and it is believed to have wiped out Britain’s first civilization, the Mesolithic people.

In 1958, an earthquake triggered a landslide in Alaska’s Lituya Bay, causing a tsunami splash than ran over 500 m uphill. Canada’s East Coast is also prone to this hazard; for instance, in 1929 a large underwater landslide broke 12 undersea cables, and then up to 8 metres high tsunami wave caused 28 fatalities in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

Q: Are we vulnerable to slides on the British Columbia coast?

A: Yes, British Columbia has some unstable coastal areas, in particular its fjords, with a history of damaging underwater failures. For example, the Douglas Channel is currently being investigated by Natural Resources Canada to assess the exact hazard potential for coastal development planning purposes. The Strait of Georgia hazard is less clear, as the known underwater mass movements have been small and have not yet caused tsunamis.

Q: What is the most important takeaway for coastal residents?

A: It is important to know that these potentially hazardous events occur on our coasts. Slides can be integrated into plans when designing coastal infrastructure. Also, people should know what to do, especially if a tsunami is generated. Moving to high ground is the best advice when a tsunami is suspected. For example, people should take precautions after a large earthquake or if the tide recedes suddenly, which can be a first sign of an incoming tsunami.

Q: Tell us about the 8th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences.

A: Scientists from as far as Papua New Guinea and New Zealand came to Victoria to discuss topics ranging from past events, regional hazard assessment, and building large databases to collect global data to improve statistical analysis.

As part of this symposium, over 40 scientific papers were written especially for this meeting and published by the Journal of the Geological Society of London. Highlights were two keynote presentations, one on the complex northern New Zealand east coast margin, and one on new methods and technologies for marine observations.

We are looking forward to the next International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences and further understanding hazards beneath the surface.

Be Tsunami Prepared

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 19:32:31 +0000

Deadly tsunamis may be rare, but if you live in a coastal community it’s important to be informed and prepared. On 27 March 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the coast of Alaska generated a series of seismic waves down the west coast of North America, causing multiple tsunami waves to funnel up the narrow Port Alberni Inlet. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but the disaster damaged buildings, downed phone and power lines, and had a lasting impact on the community.

Over the last few years, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has been working with provincial, national and international partners to develop innovative tsunami modelling, measuring, monitoring and reporting methods that supports the creation of more accurate tsunami detection and inundation maps. Partners include Emergency Management British Columbia, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA, Canadian Hydrographic Service, GeoBC, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Natural Resources Canada, University of Victoria, IBM, Compute Canada and Westgrid.

A recent collaboration between ONC and the University of Victoria’s Coady Laboratory has led to the development of a virtual reality game prototype (see video below) that simulates science-based tsunami events in the City of Port Alberni. This interactive game involves both cooperative and competitive elements to engage youth and young adults, and will be featured at the Royal BC Museum’s new student learning centre. This project has been made possible with the support of IBM, NSERC, Compute Canada, and Westgrid.

"In this project, University of Victoria undergraduate students have the opportunity to work with researchers at ONC on an exciting project that promises to change the way we teach kids about their world,” says Dr. Derek Jacoby, the University of Victoria researcher leading the virtual reality team (Figure 1). “Using detailed mapping data and accurate simulations, virtual worlds are being created that show the effects of a tsunami and the results of different ways of preparing for it."

Figure 1. University of Victoria researcher Derek Jacoby and ONC’s ocean analytics program manager Tania Insua are developing a science-based virtual reality game as an education tool to engage young people in tsunami preparedness.

In British Columbia, Tsunami Preparedness Week takes place 8-14 April 2018, which is a great opportunity to attend an information session or high-ground hike in your local area. Included below are a few events in which ONC will be participating.

5 April - Victoria PMI and EGBC dinner presentation. The Victoria Chapters of the Project Management Institute and Engineers and Geoscientists BC are jointly hosting a Professional Development event with guest speaker Dr. Tania Insua, ONC’s ocean analytics program manager. Virtual reality modeling developed at ONC will be featured.
9 April - Victoria City of Victoria Be Tsunami Smart Info Session
10-11 April - Port Alberni. Earthquake and tsunami science and technology: recent advances for Port Alberni (see poster below).

16-17 April Vancouver - Understanding Risk British Columbia – ONC will be presenting on a tsunami panel at this event.
14-16 May Vancouver - BC Tech Summit. Experience the virtual reality game at ONC and University of Victoria booths. Attend the presentation “Data and Disasters: Industrial IoT for Response and Prevention” on 16 May at 3.15pm.
10-15 June Victoria – ASLO Summer Meeting, Dr. Derek Jacoby (Coady Laboratory) will be presenting the virtual reality project, Jay Hoeberechts (University of Victoria School of Earth and Ocean Sciences) will be presenting his research on tsunami detection, and ONC will be presenting a poster on radar technology.
12-16 August Vancouver – Siggraph, an annual conference on computer graphics attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals.

“I am looking forward to sharing the latest tsunami research in a way that is easy to understand and relate to locally,” says Tania Insua, ONC’s ocean analytics program manager. “We all learn in different ways, so generating various tools that help to understand earthquakes and tsunamis helps all of us to be prepared.”

Data from Alaska’s Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake and Tsunami

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 19:23:39 +0000

On 23 January 2018, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in the Gulf of Alaska at 1:35 am PT. A tsunami warning was issued for the west coast of Canada and the United States. The tsunami warning was cancelled at 4:40 am PT.

Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) real-time sensors detected the earthquake and the subsequent small tsunami that rippled out across the northeast Pacific (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The relative timing of the magnitude 7.9 Alaskan earthquake and the subsequent small tsunami as detected by ONC real-time sensors.

The resulting tsunami wave was relatively small because this was a strike-slip earthquake characterized by side-to-side motion, which displaces less water than the vertical motion of a subduction zone earthquake.

This morning's 7.9 earthquake occurred along a strike-slip fault. The horizontal movement of the two plates in a strike-slip fault, typically limits the threat of tsunami's pic.twitter.com/o7kgwNHqxS
— Greg Diamond (@gdimeweather) January 23, 2018

the Alaska earthquake generated a small tsunami detected by @Ocean_Networks sensors off Canada's westcoast #tsunami pic.twitter.com/MK0K0SLOi8
— Kate Moran (@katemoran) January 23, 2018

Alaska #tsunami just passed @Ocean_Networks bottom pressure station at Clayoquot Slope: 3-cm sea level drop; not big but there.https://t.co/b27CdUo3as pic.twitter.com/T6A8FT2SdT
— Martin Scherwath (@mscherwath) January 23, 2018

Friday 26 January is the anniversary of the last big Cascadia subduction zone earthquake that occurred in 1700, with an estimated magnitude of 8.7-9.2, which caused a widespread tsunami that devastated coastal Japan (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Modeled tsunami caused by the 26 January 1700 megathrust earthquake. Image courtesy of Kenji Satake.

This close call presents a perfect opportunity for British Columbians to become better prepared. Know the risks, have a plan, get a kit - these are the three major components of preparedness. Get started with help from Prepared BC (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Are you prepared for an emergency?

ONC’s earthquake and tsunami technology, research, data, modelling, and alert systems are being developed in collaboration with partners from government, science, academia, and industry in Canada, the United States, and around the world.

Real-time radar data spurs international gathering

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 18:24:15 +0000

In June 2017 Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) hosted a WERA high frequency oceanographic radar workshop to discuss “first ever” real-time data that detected tsunami waves when Typhoon Songda hit the west coast of Canada in October 2016, triggering a tsunami alert on the WERA system.

The storm caused Tofino’s Emergency Program Coordinator Keith Orchiston to close beaches in the famous surfing location. “It is always a hard decision to close beaches, but that day we decided to play it safe. Real-time data from an instrument like the WERA radar (Figure 1) would support critical and lifesaving decision making for coastal communities.”

Figure 1. Tsunami algorithm detection plots from ONC's WERA high frequency oceanographic radar software showing the probability of a tsunami during the 14 October 2016 storm.

Installed at Tofino airport in 2015, the WERA (WavE RAdar) high frequency oceanographic radar array (Figure 2) is a shore-based remote sensing system that includes four transmitting and 12 receiving antennas that monitor ocean current speed in real-time.

The system is capable of detecting large events, storm surges and tsunamis up to 80 kilometres from shore, which could provide up to 20 minutes of advanced warning of an incoming tsunami.

Figure 2. ONC’s high frequency oceanographic WERA array at Tofino airport.

Bringing together participants from across the globe, the workshop focused on the capabilities of this technology and the different data that can be analyzed for public and marine safety. Participating institutions included the University of Hamburg in Germany, NOAA’s National Weather Service, Memorial University, Maine Sciences Institute of Rimouski, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Institute of Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria. Presentations of the data and algorithms, on the system capabilities and potential uses, and ONC’s growing infrastructure and facilities resulted informative and productive discussions.

A new real-time tsunami detection algorithm was also evaluated by tsunamis experts at the University of Rhode Island, USA and University of Toulouse, France. Combining tsunami physics with radar measurements this algorithm provides a solution adapted for this critical west coast site. The use of two algorithms simultaneously provide redundancy and improves the robustness of the detection.

As a result of this workshop, a working group was formed to study WERA high frequency data from these types of events. The working group will meet at the International Summer School on Radio-oceanography in France, August 2017 and again at the International Radiowave Oceanography Workshop in Germany, September 2017. Additional planned collaboration will also take place with researchers from Japan, Philippines, Chile, and the Netherlands, who have previously detected tsunami signals using WERA radar.

“Real-time detection of hazards with instruments such as the WERA can provide alerts to coastal community when minutes count. Alerts based on these systems can provide valuable advice for safe navigation in the area and save lives in event such as Meteotsunamis”, says Tania Insua, ONC’s ocean analytics program manager.

Figure 4. WERA high frequency radar in Tofino, British Columbia. This innovative remote sensing device is developed in collaboration between ONC, Helzel Messtechnik (Germany) and Canadian companies Northern Radar Inc. (St. John’s) and ASL Environmental Sciences (Victoria, BC)..

ONC’s Tofino WERA array (Figure 4) is just one of several other kinds of oceanographic radars⎯such as coastal oceanic dynamics applications radar (CODAR) and WaMoS (Wave Monitoring System)⎯installed in the Strait of Georgia and along the British Columbia coast (Figure 5). These land–based detection systems form part of ONC’s Smart Ocean™ Systems, a program that provides technology solutions for marine and public safety as well as environmental monitoring in real-time. The program is designed to provide alerts and preparedness tools to government agencies and municipalities for public and marine safety.

Figure 5. Map showing ONC’s Southern British Columbia infrastructure including oceanographic radar locations.

Presentations from the June workshop are listed below.

PDF File:

ONC Tsunami Project: Updates and Recent Models, by Tania L. Insua

Introduction of the Ocean Radar, by Thomas Helzel & Anna Dzvonkovskaya

ASL Environmental Sciences introduction, by Jan Buermans

Northern Radar, by Noah Hansen

WERA Ocean Radar Capability of Real-Time Tsunami Detection, by Dr. Anna Dzvonkovskaya

Sea level oscillations on the coast of British Columbia during typhoon Songda, by A. Rabinovich, R. E. Thomson, I. V. Fine

Tsunami detection with the Time-Correlation Algorithm and application to the Tofino HF radar, Part II, by Charles-Antoine Guerin

Tsunami detection with the Time-Correlation Algorithm and application to the Tofino HF radar, Part I, by Stephan Grilli

HF radars WERA and CODAR in the St. Lawrence estuary, by Cedric Chavanne

Surface Wind Speed Estimation from HF Radar Data for Fetch-Limited Seas, by W.Wang, E. Gill, W. Huang

The ONC Strait of Georgia CODAR array, by M. Halverson, R. Pawlowicz, C. Chavanne

Waves in the Salish Sea, by Richard Dewey

West Coast Wave Initiative, by Dr. Bryson Robertson

Canadian scientist awarded for exceptional contribution to Earth science!

linzhill@uvic.ca — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 21:22:25 +0000

Congratulations to Dr. Kelin Wang for being elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an international organization dedicated to advancing Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity. Becoming a fellow of AGU is an honour provided to only 0.1% of AGU’s 62,000 plus members from over 140 countries.

Kelin and his students are studying the geodynamics of subduction zones, especially processes related to the generation of large earthquakes and tsunamis around the world. His models for earthquakes inform building codes, risk assessments, and tsunami preparedness along the Pacific coast of North America. This work is relevant to the tsunami research being done at Ocean Networks Canada (ONC).

Dr. Kelin Wang, senior scientist with Natural Resources Canada and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria

ONC recently collaborated with Kelin and his student, Dawei Gao, whose research on rupture scenarios along the Cascasdia fault, together with ONC’s work on Digital Elevation Models, will provide the necessary pieces to develop tsunami inundation maps and tools for preparedness for British Columbia coastal communities.

ONC’s tsunami research will continue to advance with instrument development and more detailed propagation models in collaboration with world-class scientists and organizations such as IBM Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Collaborative Research and Development Grant, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Emergency Management BC, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, NOAA, and GeoBC.

Kelin Wang is a senior scientist with Natural Resources Canada and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria who has published more than 200 publications and nearly 10,000 citations.

Some of his recent publications linked to ONC include:

Nykolaishen, L., H. Dragert, K. Wang, T. S. James, and M. Schmidt (2015), GPS Observations of Crustal Deformation Associated with the 2012 Mw 7.8 Haida Gwaii Earthquake, Bull Seismol Soc Am, 0120140177–, doi:10.1785/0120140177.

Obana, K., M. Scherwath, Y. Yamamoto, S. Kodaira, K. Wang, G. Spence, M. Riedel, and H. Kao (2015), Earthquake Activity in Northern Cascadia Subduction Zone Off Vancouver Island Revealed by Ocean-Bottom Seismograph Observations, Bull Seismol Soc Am, 0120140095–, doi:10.1785/0120140095.

Insua, T. L. et al. (2015), Advancing Tsunami Detection: The Ocean Networks Canada Tsunami Project, in 11th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Canadian Association for Earthquake Engineering, Victoria.

Insua, T. L. et al. (2015), Preliminary tsunami hazard assessment in British Columbia, Canada, in Fall Meeting, AGU, American Geophysical Union, San Francisco.

Gao, D., K. Wang, M. Riedel, T. Sun, T. L. Insua, C. Goldfinger, and G. R. Priest (2015), On the Possibility of Slip-to-trench Rupture in Cascadia Megathrust Earthquakes, in Fall Meeting, AGU, American Geophysical Union, San Francisco.

Tsunami Models Used for Preparedness Exercise in Port Alberni

dwowens@uvic.ca — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 21:40:13 +0000

Ocean Networks Canada’s preliminary tsunami models for Barkley Sound and the City of Port Alberni were integrated into Emergency Management BC’s first ever full-scale earthquake and tsunami response exercise: Exercise Coastal Response in Port Alberni June 7 - 10.

Ocean Networks Canada in collaboration with University of Rhode Island has been developing new tsunami wave models for the area of Barkley Sound and the City of Port Alberni. New fault rupture models have been developed by Natural Resources Canada and University of Victoria personnel. Digital elevation models that reflect the morphology of these two areas have been developed in collaboration with NOAA-NCEI, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, GeoBC and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. Together, the Digital elevation models and the rupture models allowed Ocean Networks Canada to generate tsunami models with the support from Emergency Management BC . Support from Compute Canada, Westgrid and researchers from University of Paris-Est and University of Alaska-Fairbanks has also been instrumental in this effort.

These preliminary models provide time of arrival, wave height and inundation maps that are crucial tools for tsunami preparedness. These models, together with ONC’s observatories sensors and the new warning system under development will detect and forecast tsunamis for coastal and First Nations communities in British Columbia. Read the Immediate Response Plan (PDF) in preparation for a real event.

Model Animations

Port Alberni

Barkley Sound

West Coast

More information:

A Canadian First: NOAA brings tsunami Digital Elevation Model training to Victoria, BC

mkasprzik@oceannetworks.ca — Tue, 10 May 2016 18:41:47 +0000

When Kelly Carignan, University of Colorado scientist, visited Victoria, British Columbia for the first time in April 2016, she was surprised that no tsunami evacuation routes were posted in this coastal city. “In northern California you see a lot of tsunami hazard zone signs,” says Kelly.

Fortunately for Victoria, Kelly was in town to lead a ground-breaking workshop that will contribute to improved emergency preparedness efforts in Canada’s coastal communities.

Kelly Carignan (left) and Matthew Love (right) with his wife (middle) have developed global tsunami
DEM standards through their work with NOAA/NCEI.

For the last decade, Kelly and her colleague, Matthew Love, have been working with National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) at the National Ocean & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM) of US coastal regions (see map below). DEMs are a vital tool in tsunami forecasting and water level inundation modelling and NCEI has defined the global standards being used by tsunami planning and warning centres.

In addition to developing tsunami DEMs in the US (locations shown above in red), the NOAA/NCEI team has worked with emergency preparedness teams in tsunami-prone areas such as Myanmar, Seychelles, southern India, and Sri Lanka. Click here to find out more about the international DEM train program.

With support from Emergency Management BC (EMBC), Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) invited Kelly and Matthew to bring their DEM expertise to British Columbia to lead a workshop from 18 – 22 April 2016 at the University of Victoria (UVic). This DEM training session brought together ten participants from ONC, UVic, GeoBC, Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD). These key members of the local DEM community learned the painstaking process involved in developing a tsunami DEM using a variety of data sources, software and rigorous methodologies.

DEM Workshop participants. From left to right: top row: Neil Dangerfield (CHS), Peter Wills (CHS), Tania Insua (ONC), Matthew Love (NCEI/NOAA), Kelly Carignan (NCEI/NOAA). Second row: Nazma Panjwani (UVic), Karen Douglas (ONC), Aaron McMillan (GeoBC), Azadeh Ramesh (GeoBC), Anne Balantyne (CHS), Lori Wilson (ACRD). Front row: Kim Tenhunen (UVic).

Unlike other DEMs for land or sea, tsunami modelling presents a unique challenge; tracking powerful, landward-moving waves involves a sophisticated integration of both land-based topographic data (elevation) and ocean-based bathymetric data (water depth) into one seamless data set. As the workshop participants discovered, this task is extremely complex, detailed, and time-consuming. It involves gathering, editing and integrating multiple data formats from a variety of sources to create the single high-resolution data set needed for a tsunami DEM. All these datasets also need to be referenced to the same tidal reference (datum), which varies along British Columbia’s coast.

An effective DEM is dependent on sourcing good quality data, which in itself is no simple task. High resolution data are not always available, and the data that do exist may be in different formats, different resolutions or missing altogether. While developing a detailed DEM of the Port Alberni area (as seen below), workshop participants identified a lack of high-resolution data for a waterfront campground on the edge of the city. The importance of understanding how a tsunami would affect an area at the head of a deep-water ocean inlet identified the need to source higher resolution data for this particular location.

DEM of Barkley Sound and Port Alberni. These DEMs are one of the required inputs to be able to model tsunami inundation for the City of Port Alberni.

“I always knew the process for DEM was complex, but I now understand the level of effort that it takes to combine all the data,” says workshop host, Tania Insua. Tania is ONC’s Ocean Analytics Program Manager and regularly runs tsunami wave propagation models.

By bringing together a variety of international and local collaborators, this workshop created an important opportunity for DEM workshop participants to connect, for the first time, to learn from the NOAA experts, and to share data sources. Each organization brings a vital piece of the puzzle: GeoBC and ACDR have topographic data; CHS and ONC have bathymetric data; and ONC and UVic are running tsunami inundation models. Additionally, NOAA’s National Tsunami Warning Center provides tsunami alerts to EMBC. As a result of this group’s efforts, the creation of DEM and tsunami inundation models for Canada’s coastal areas will improve the preparedness of the at-risk areas, and inform and strengthen the collaboration with the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centre and EMBC. “It is impossible to get British Columbia coastal communities tsunami ready in isolation; to be effective, it is vital for all the agencies to collaborate,” cautions Tania.

“Environmental issues don’t recognize borders,” comments Matthew Love. “Data collaboration is important, so we can all work together to mitigate hazards.”

This shared learning experience has opened the door for international communication and collaboration to improve tsunami preparedness in British Columbia and the rest of the Canada. It is a first step, but an important one that will enable other communities to prepare.

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Model Animations

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West Coast

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