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NOAA
2006-R270 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Theresa Eisenman 8/21/06 |
NOAA
News Releases 2006 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
NOAA completed a month-long cruise today aboard the R/V Blue Fin to install deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunami buoy stations in Alaskan waters. The mission also included service and upgrades to two existing DART stations. The DART system provides real-time tsunami detection as waves travel across open waters. This deployment brings the total U.S. network to 19 DART stations. “With a history of tsunami generation in this area, the Alaskan region DART stations are a high priority within our overall effort to expand the U.S. tsunami warning system,” said John McNulty, director of operational systems for NOAA’s National Weather Service. “The DART II is a more robust system designed by NOAA Research to withstand the harsh Alaskan ocean environment.” The DART network serves as the cornerstone to the U.S. tsunami warning system. Other components include NOAA’s network of tide stations, forecast models for at-risk communities and TsunamiReady, a public education program. NOAA received $17.2 million in supplemental funding in fiscal year 2005 and $9.67 million in fiscal year 2006 to expand the U.S. tsunami warning system, of which $8.3 million in fiscal year 2005 and $3.48 million in fiscal year 2006 was used for DART acquisition and deployment. Of the $21.45 million requested for the U.S. tsunami warning program in the fiscal year 2007 budget, $9.37 million will be spent on DART operations, maintenance and deployment costs. In 2007 NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. Starting with the establishment of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. The agency 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 our 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. On the Web: NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov NOAA’s National Weather Service: http://www.nws.noaa.gov Map and real-time DART data: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/dart.shtml Conceptual Plan for DART locations: |
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