Tsunameters and DART®

Tsunameters are instruments for the early detection, measurement, and real-time reporting of tsunamis in the open ocean.  NOAA's Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART®), and cable deep-ocean pressor sensors are examples of tsunameters.

NOAA’s early warning system for tsunamis, DART®, is a network of dozens of ultrasensitive ocean bottom pressure recorders strategically located along high-risk regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The pressure sensors can measure changes in sea surface height as small as 1 millimeter in water depth of 6000 meters (a change of 0.00002%). The data is continuously recorded and transmitted to a surface buoy. The surface buoy then transfers the data by satellite to the tsunami warning centers.

In the last decade, several other tsunameters have been developed o by Mediterraneo Senales Maritimas (MSM) and deployed off South America by Colombia and Ecuador.

Sensitive real-time field measurements are essential for early warning systems. Field data integrated with numerical modeling techniques provides the most effective tsunami forecasting system. However, neither technology can do the job alone. Observational networks are limited in their coverage because the ocean is so vast. Establishing and maintaining monitoring stations is costly and difficult, especially in deep water. On the other hand, numerical models can simulate the propagation and height of tsunami waves across great distances. However, their accuracy is limited by the resolution of bathymetry and topography and uncertainties in the location of the incident generating the tsunami. Together, DART® measurements and modeling techniques can provide reliable tsunami forecasts. (1)

Additional Information

• Tsunameter real time observations (view, download)
• DART® System Components
• Interpreting Data from DART®
• DART® Resources