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| Deepocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Deepocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis |
| Abbreviation | DART |
| Established | 1990s |
| Developer | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Purpose | Tsunami detection and warning |
| Components | Sea-floor pressure sensor; surface buoy; satellite link |
Deepocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) Deepocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) is an oceanic tsunami detection system used for real-time monitoring of sea-level changes. It informs hazard assessment and warning systems operated by agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Geological Survey, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and regional centers in the Indian Ocean and North Pacific Ocean. The system integrates deep-sea instrumentation with satellite communications to provide data to institutions including Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, and academic partners worldwide.
DART consists of seabed pressure recorders linked to surface buoys that relay observations to entities such as Japan Meteorological Agency, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, National Institute of Oceanography (India), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and research universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego, and University of Tokyo. It augments coastal tide gauges operated by National Oceanography Centre (United Kingdom), Instituto Nacional de Hidrografía (Mexico), Instituto Geográfico Nacional (Spain), and Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Agencies including Federal Emergency Management Agency, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, European Commission disaster units, and regional bodies such as ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance use DART-derived data for situational awareness.
Early development in the 1990s involved collaborations among NOAA, University of Hawaii, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Naval Research Laboratory. Funding and programmatic direction included input from National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Department of Energy, and international partners such as JICA and the World Bank for regional networks. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami prompted expansion and upgrades similar to initiatives by United Nations agencies and bilateral programs between United States and Japan. Technical evolution drew on research at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, GEOMAR, Ifremer, and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
A DART station pairs a bottom pressure recorder developed from designs at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography with a moored surface buoy using satellite links like GOES, Iridium, or Inmarsat. The seabed sensor measures pressure variations informed by studies at NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and University of Washington; signal conditioning and telemetry use electronics from contractors including Teledyne Technologies and Lockheed Martin. Power and telemetry solutions reference standards from IEEE and testing protocols from American National Standards Institute facilities. Deployments use research vessels such as R/V Knorr, R/V Melville, and R/V Roger Revelle operated by institutions like Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Operational DART networks are managed by centers including NOAA National Data Buoy Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Japan Meteorological Agency, and regional hubs supported by Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. International coordination involves the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and bilateral programs with agencies like National Oceanography Centre (UK), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Instituto Geográfico Nacional (Spain). Networks are sited to monitor subduction zones near Ring of Fire, Aleutian Islands, Kermadec Arc, Peru–Chile Trench, Sumatra, Japan Trench, and the Cascadia subduction zone. Deployment logistics engage institutions such as NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and national navies for installation and maintenance.
Real-time transmission uses satellite systems like GOES, Iridium, and Inmarsat to forward data to processing centers including NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and national tsunami centers. Processing pipelines incorporate inversion methods from USGS seismology, tsunami propagation models such as COMCOT, MOST (Method of Splitting Tsunami), and hydrodynamic codes developed at University of Hawaii and University of Tokyo. Alerting frameworks tie into emergency management systems at Federal Emergency Management Agency, Japan Meteorological Agency, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and regional entities like Pacific Islands Forum and ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance. Data products are shared with academic archives including PANGAEA, World Data Center, and institutional repositories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.
Accuracy of DART derives from sensor calibration practices from National Institute of Standards and Technology and noise studies by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; performance metrics are evaluated against events such as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and historic tsunamis documented by International Tsunami Information Center. Limitations include bandwidth constraints on satellite links from providers like Iridium and Inmarsat, biofouling issues studied at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, seabed geotechnical challenges assessed by British Geological Survey, and maintenance logistics reliant on research vessels and fleets such as United States Coast Guard. False positives and signal discrimination use methods from USGS and waveform analysis techniques refined at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Research leveraging DART data involves groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Purdue University, University of Washington, University of Tokyo, and Tohoku University. Applications span tsunami hazard mapping with tools from USGS, scenario modeling with NOAA, and integration into community resilience programs by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Red Cross. Future enhancements under discussion include densification proposals by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, autonomous servicing using platforms like REMUS and Wave Glider, adaptive sampling informed by European Space Agency missions, machine-learning pipelines developed at Google DeepMind and IBM Research, and international capacity building funded by World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Category:Tsunami warning systems