NOAA CONTINUES TO INCREASE U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING CAPABILITY
Three DART Buoy Stations Deployed off the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean

April 2, 2007 � NOAA announced today the deployment of three new Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami, or DART, stations in the Pacific Ocean, located off southern and central Mexico and Costa Rica. These newly installed stations provide added tsunami detection capabilities for Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, America Samoa and countries in the Pacific. (Click NOAA image for larger view of DART buoy deployments as of March 2007. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

"The DARTs are part of an ongoing effort to increase the U.S. tsunami warning capability," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Our detection capabilities also feed into the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, which means our data are part of a shared network that benefits the global community."

This deployment brings the total U.S. network to 28 DART stations. The array is expected to total 39 stations by spring 2008. NOAA also provided a DART station and technical expertise for the Indian Ocean tsunami warning program.

As waves travel across open waters, the DART stations provide real-time tsunami detection to forecasters at the NOAA tsunami warning centers. Each DART station consists of a bottom pressure sensor that is anchored to the seafloor and a companion moored surface buoy. An acoustic link transmits data from the bottom pressure sensor to the surface buoy, and then satellite links relay the data to ground stations.

The DART network complements other parts of the U.S. tsunami warning program, including NOAA's network of tide stations, forecast models for at-risk communities and the TsunamiReady education program.

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Real-time DART Buoy Data

Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART™)

NOAA Tsunami Portal

Media Contact:
Theresa Eisenman, NOAA National Weather Service, (301) 713-0622 ext. 150