Rapid analysis of offshore earthquakes and tsunami in the Southwest Pacific (Research Aim 1.2)

Aotearoa is a high risk area for tsunamis generated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Taitokerau is especially vulnerable to tsunami due to its orientation relative to seismically active submarine areas. This research aim is working to collect more data than previously available and to develop and refine new data processing methods so that emergency managers have more complete data, faster about if a tsunami is approaching Aotearoa's shores.

To do this, we are installing new seismometers in Taitokerau. This will decrease the distance between where we are getting data and allow us to pinpoint earthquake source locations more precisely. The new instruments will also be complemented by additional instrumentation being installed by other countries around the southwest Pacific Ocean. 

New Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys are also being installed off the Aotearoa coast. Together, these data sources open up new types of data processing. When paired together, our ability to forecast tsunamis not only improves substantially in terms of how accurate our predictions are (e.g., how high the waves may be) but also in terms of how quickly we can predict tsunamis. This means that emergency managers will have longer to make more informed decisions and enact them.