Agreement for improved tsunami warning system in Indian Ocean

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) has signed an agreement in London with Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, to further upgrade and enhance the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. Under the agreement, Inmarsat will provide Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) transmission service for 50 sea-level stations in the Indian Ocean. BGAN, which delivers broadband data connectivity via communications satellites, will enable transmission of sea level observation every minute, versus the current system that uses meteorological satellites to transmit data every 15 minutes. Time saved by faster transmission represents significant progress; in the eastern and north-eastern Indian Ocean, a tsunami wave can hit the shore in about 30 minutes. Increasing the transmission frequency will provide more time and information for national warning authorities to alert coastal populations at risk. The signing ceremony took place at Immarsat’s headquarters in London, in the presence of Patricio Bernal, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO and IOC Executive Secretary, and Michael Butler, President and Chief Operating Officer of Inmarsat. “Our services were used extensively by aid agencies and government organisations in the aftermath of the tsunami, to bring relief to the many thousands who were affected,” said Michael Butler, Inmarsat. “Today’s agreement with IOC/UNESCO will ensure that our services can deliver benefits before a tsunami strikes, to give a significantly faster warning and potentially save lives.” “We have worked closely with Inmarsat to explore the feasibility of using BGAN, and are delighted that Inmarsat was able to provide transmission airtime for 50 sea level stations.” said Patricio Bernal, IOC/UNESCO. On this occasion he recalled, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Matsuura’s determination to accompany progress on this issue with national preparedness. As Mr Matsuura recently stated: “Without effective national infrastructure, tsunami warnings will not reach people at risk along coastlines. And without practice response exercises, when warnings do reach coastlines, communities and local authorities at the receiving end are unlikely to know the best actions to take.” The agreement was signed just days before the third anniversary of the tsunami that devastated parts of south-east Asia in December 2004. Immediately following the tsunami, the international community mandated the IOC to coordinate the development of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System, similar to the system established in the Pacific in 1965. For the last three years, more than 50 sea-level stations operating in the Indian Ocean have been providing data as part of a network of seismometers, sea-level gauges and deep pressure sensors. These measurements are used to confirm or cancel a tsunami watch alert following a seismic event. The feasibility of using BGAN for transmission of data from sea level gauges was first demonstrated by the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, based in Liverpool, UK. Source: i4d and UNESCO

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