03-11-2007, 08:59 AM
[quote=narayanan,Mar 10 2007, 08:56 PM] [quote]1.   Effect of a tsunami-type of event on the project (all scientists are unanimous that a recurrence of tsunamis cannot be ruled out).[/quote]True. Neither can the effect of an asteroid landing 10 km off Kanyakumari, which will probably cause an appreciation in beach-front property values in Coimbatore.
This is vitandaavaadam. Tsunami ain't no asteroid. While forecasting timing of a tsunami may not be possible, the pundis in that discipline seem to agree about the repeated occurrences of tsunami and tsunami-prone regions. Any grandmother will be prudent to be alert and be ready with rational reactions on a tsunami day. Not unlike earthquake precautions in place, say, in San Francisco or tsunami precautions (and protection structures) in place, say, in Japan. There is nothing wrong in learning from others; be prepared, than be sorry (after the event).
Methinks the Ramanathapuram judge made a sage comment about experts getting together without indulging in mud-slinging. The case ain't over yet; it ain't over until the fat lady sings.
Once can see hindu everywhere. How about reading the following recent, three-part essay on the saga of SSCP (Sethusamudram Channel Project) which recounts the issues?
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/060307.htm
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/070307.htm
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/080307.htm These are by someone who knows something, he was an ex-chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust. Don't go off on a tangent discussing persons. The issues flagged matter and should be deliberated upon.
I am in complete agreement with the steps suggested in these reports for re-evaluation of SSCP. I would add that a CBI inquiry is called for on the background of the hurried announcement on 2 July 2005 (within two daysâ after Tuticorin Port Trust puts together a response to PMO queries, all 16 of them). One is amazed at the speed with which PMO is able to evaluate the responses without ever referring to any scientists. After all, some scientists are such a bore and can never agree among themselves. So leave it to Antonia to decide on the fate of coastline of India and people who happen to live there⦠Due process? Who cares? Decision is everything in public policy. How come the official website is silent about public grievances and fears concerning another tsunami? Oh, these scientists; they just scare; after all, they are pundits whose profession is to scare, seeing CIA and sea-pirates everywhere.
Use these and the following note on Tad Murthyâs competence, to frame a list of questions to be posed to Murthy and to Raghupathy. Make it like a CBI inquiry on one question: what competence did the Tuticorin Port Trust have to respond to PMâs 16 queries without even referring the serious queries for response by NEERI and other scientist agencies involved in pre-tsuami evaluations.
Tad Murthy may be asked to confirm. My understanding of his views is this: shift the channel to the north-east side and align the mouth of the channel (on Bay of Bengal side) to the north-west. The best way to judge this is to re-run the computer simulations of probable future tsunami scenarios with alternative alignments. Build structures like walls to protect the coastline peoplesâ lives future tsunamiâs occur.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/2264/422/...India_50_25.pdf
I will certainly sit up and respectfully listen to someone who has studied oceans all his or her life.
Aha, it is quarter wave resonance amplification. It is as simple as that. I wonder why commentators continue to pontificate and question Tad Murthyâs incompetence and indulge in personal attacks on alleged motives. Canât the issue be dealt with as a scientific issue related to wave resonance? What does a flyer know about oceanic wave resonance? I have to trust somebody, I will trust Tad Murthy on this issue of waves. He has been editing a journal on the subject for over 20 years; he should know some and be able to answer his detractors himself without intermediation by self-proclaimed knowledge guruâs and development administrators (even PhDs writing books on Public Admin. In Asia in two volumes).
I happen to feel proud about a bharatiya getting recognized as a tsunami expert. Sâubha kaamanaayen, Murthy ji.
"In the March 28, 1964, Alaska earthquake tsunami, outside of Alaska the largest tsunami amplitude was at the head of the Alberni canal well inland and not at the open coast as everyone expected. Later, I explained this was due to (a phenomenon known as) quarter wave resonance amplification," Murty explained.
http://www.elaw.in/issue/sethu.htm
July 18, 2005
Shortening of route may lead to increasing problems
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:-The Sethusamudra project may have got government approval but a number of organizations are unhappy about its adverse effect on the ecology of the region.
The Project will shorten the shipping route from Indiaâs west coast through Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar to the east coast without touching Sri Lanka. The projectâ s aim was to shorten the 722 nautical mile journey from the southern most tip of India to the eastern side to one of 402 nautical miles. Thirty six hours of journey and a great quantity of fuel would be saved by this project. Plus India will no longer have to pay the additional charges that Indian ships give to Sri Lanka .
â If the Sethusamudram project is implemented with the present masterplan as approved by the Government of Indiaâs shipping ministry, in case of another tsunami, especially in the Bay of Bengal, the high tidal effect will almost swallow southern Kerala ,âwarns Dr Tad Murthi. Dr Tad Murthy is a tsunami expert and oceanography researcher based in Canada and ex editor of the âScience of Tsunami Hazardsâ . According to him if the projected is not shifted a little to the north-eastern side than any sea upsurge of the scale of a tsunami will destroy southern Kerala from the Dhanushkodi coast to Ernakulam coast.
The Sethusamudram Project will give easy accessibility to the ships from Indiaâs southern end to the Bay of Bengal through a shipping canal starting from Thuthukkudi in Tamil Nadu.
At Adam âs Bridge and Palk-Strait, the sea will be dredged to a depth of nearly 12 metres . The width of the canal will be 300 meters and length 152.2 kilometers. The canal is separated into three sections. The southern section that comprises of Adamâs Bridge will be 20 kms long , the Palk Strait section will be 54.2 kms long and the middle section will be of 78 kms length.
The proposal for the Sethusamudram project were made way back in 1860. Since then a number of feasibility studies have been undertaken by the government which finally culminated in 1994 with the appointment of the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services to study the project and give cost estimates which they pegged at Rs 760 crore. In 1999 the government declared that the work on the project would start soon and set aside a budget to study the ecological and environmental impacts of the project.
Thuthukkudy in Tamil Nadu will become a Transhipment Hub like Singapore and Colombo. Thirteen other ports in Tamil Nadu will be upgraded. Total estimate- Rs 1,200 crore.
The feasibility studies on the project are totally silent on the problems faced by the south eastern coasts regularly namely â (i) frequent accumulation of sand (ii)cyclones (iii)dredging sludge. The Sethusamudram Project will in no way be exempt from these problems.
The Palk Strait suffers from accumulation of sand. Due to this the depth of the Ocean in this region is lessening by one centimeter annually. Sands from the rivers of both India and Sri Lanka are depositing here. Also the under-currents from the Bay of Bengal and the southern flow of the Gulf of Mannar bring in large quantity of sand here.
The National Environmental Engineering organization had conducted a study on the accumulation of sand at Adamâs Bridge due to tidal fluctuations . They did not take into account the river sands, 99 per cent of sand accumulation is really from the rivers, it is reported, so the study is incomplete.
Scientists expect a land rout due to sand accumulation at Vedarannyam in between Palk Strait and Jaffna in the near future.
The Sethusamudram project area is also reported to be a cyclone-prone region. There were about 66 cyclones reported at the Tamil Nadu coast. Thirty six of them caused very heavy damages with speeds of nearly 90 kms pre hour. And 26 of these were within the Sethusamudram project area. Dredging will lead to the disappearance of nearly 85 small islands in Sri Lanka.
The reports of the International Oceanic-excavation of 1974 and the geo-scientist reports of 1994 point out that in the Gulf of Mannar, magnetic and gravitational forces are very high.
The region is a âbiosphere-reservoirâ teeming with bio diversity. It is famous for its pearls and gastropod-shells. It has 17 different types of mangroves. There are over 36,000 species of organisms in this region. There are over 117 types of coral reefs. Tortoise, dolphins, sea-cows, sharks, sea-horses and whales are commonly found here The project will not only destroy the bio-diversity but also affect the livelihood and socio-culture life of the region.
âIt is unscientific to have a project like this, without considering the above mentioned issues clamour the scientists.â (Indiadisasters, July 18, 2005)
http://www.tsunamiresponsewatch.org/trw/20...asing-problems/
Tad in this case is not to be mischievously mis-spelt Dr. Ted, but Tadepalli as in Tadepalli Satyanarayanamurthy.
http://www.umassd.edu/indic/newsletter/i...ll2005.pdf
http://www.nio.org/jsp/science_plan.jsp
Tsunami warning system a long process: expert
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 21. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands might have moved by about 1.25 metres towards the south-east and twisted anti-clockwise by several degrees because of the impact of the colossal earthquake and the tsunami in its wake that battered the region and South India on December 26.
Disclosing this, the Surveyor-General of India, P. Nag, said measurements have also shown that while several parts of the region have been uplifted, several others have been sunk. The Survey of India (SOI) has 12 control points in the region to determine its topography, all of which appear to have been disturbed due to the disaster's impact.
Need for remapping
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a Government-organised meeting of experts that looked at the various aspects of putting together a tsunami early warning system, Mr. Nag said there seemed to be a need for remapping the entire region afresh to get a clear picture of its topographical changes .
The Secretary, Department of Ocean Development, Harsh K. Gupta, said the proposed tsunami warning system would also help strengthen the forecast for cyclonic storm surges , and would involve the establishment of a comprehensive ocean observation network comprising sea bottom pressure recorders. It would also be used to develop inundation vulnerability maps for coastal areas.
Tad Murthy, president of the Tsunami Society, Canada, and one of the leading architects of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, said even while there was an urgent need for setting up a tsunami warning system for India and other countries in the Indian Ocean region, it must be realised that it could not be done overnight.
Preliminary work
A lot of preliminary work had to be done before a warning system could be made operational. Hundreds of computer-aided models needed to be developed to take care of different scenarios and kept in readiness so that response to a potentially dangerous earthquake could be fast. For example, on a map, the coastline of Tamil Nadu may seem like a single continuous line, but on the ground there were several gaps in the form of estuaries and other geographical features. All these could influence the impact of a tsunami.
Prof. Murthy said no single country could have a tsunami warming system of its own, since sea bottom pressure recorders and other equipment would have to be deployed in different places in the seas surrounding it for the warning to be timely and correct. In this regard, he suggested the formation of a common system for all countries in the Indian Ocean region under the United Nations. Prof. Murthy rejected the suggestion of India's becoming a part of the Pacific system on the ground that Pacific and Indian Ocean were different basins and since the Pacific system had been designed for detecting tsunamis occurring in that basin, it would not be useful for India.
Inaugurating the meeting, the Union Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal, asked the scientists to explore the possibility of using satellites for the regular monitoring of geological faultlines that could cause massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Apart from creating mechanisms for early warning, there was also a need to streamline the systems for providing disaster relief, he said.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/22/stories/...461100.htm
Dr. Tad Murthy, President of Tsunami Society, Canada who also addressed the gathering, emphasized the need for geospatial map data infrastructure and said that sharing of data is essential to tackle disaster and post disaster management.
Map India â 2005 is the 8th Annual International Conference in the field of GIS, GPS, Remote Sensing, and Aerial Photography etc. with a mission to bring all stakeholders on the geospatial platform.
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=6954
http://beta-blogger.blogspot.com/2004_12...chive.html
Telugu Tad Murty Wins Indo Canada Award
Excerpted from the Toronto Star, June 11 2005
Telugu scientist Tad Murty, originally hailing from Andhra Pradesh, is among ten "superachievers" of Indian origin to be honoured by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce at a special gala in Toronto.
Tsunami expert Tad Murty â who has fielded more than 400 media interview requests from around the globe since the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean catastrophe â will drive from his home in Ottawa to pick up his award.
It was India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who inspired Murty's choice of career. Murty was a boy of 14 when Nehru visited his village in Andhra Pradesh in India, shortly after a cyclone hit Orissa. In a speech, Nehru challenged India's scientists to tackle real-life problems such as natural disasters rather than just write equations only they could decipher.
"It's the first time in my life that I heard the term `natural hazard.' It sort of stuck in my mind," says Murty, 67. He went on to do his PhD in oceanography and meteorology at the University of Chicago and worked for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans for 27 years. He was Canada's representative in the design of the International Tsunami Monitoring System. That led to the creation of a computer modelling system now in place in 185 British Columbia communities, which warns of potential tsunamis.
"I brought science into it so we know much more about the amplitude of the tsunami, how many waves there will be, what the height will be, when it will be safe to return to the shore," as well as data on ocean currents, which are responsible for much of the damage and loss of life as tsunami waves retreat.
Murty's expertise has taken him around the world. After Dec. 26, he was part of the Canadian delegation to India and Thailand to help develop a new warning system in the Indian Ocean. Most recently, he was involved in developing tsunami warning systems for the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. Retired from the federal government, he now teaches at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. In December, when he accepts an award in India for his work, "life will have come full circle, in a sense, because that's where my interest was sparked."
http://www.tlca.com/adults/tadmurthy.html
http://sethusamudram.gov.in/TedArticle.asp
http://www.springerlink.com/index/P568168217325061.pdf
http://www.recoverlanka.net/docs/sethutsunamirev6.pdf
About tsunami which hit and impending tsunami-s:
The last Tsunami in the Arabian Sea occurred in 1945 and the next one is likely to hit the shore before the end of this year.
Tad Murthy said that the first-known major Tsunami occurred in the Bay of Bengal in August 1883 followed by another in November 1945 in the Arabian Sea. The third Tsunami occurred in the Bay of Bengal in December 2004 and the next one is likely to occur in the Arabian Sea.
After an earthquake in the Gulf region on August 26 this year, waves rose five metres consistently for a distance of six kilometers in the Gujarat coastline. So, if a Tsunami occurs, then Mumbai and Gujarat could be the targets, particularly Kandla, Mandvi and Bhavnagar port towns.
Though Mumbai is about two metres above sea level, its low-lying areas may be inundated in case of Tsunami striking the metropolis. While buildings are likely to be spared, the slum areas will be the worst-hit. Mumbai could also be hit if a Tsunami were to strike Karachi coast in Pakistan.
Incidentally, India and Australia are the only two countries out of the 37 countries hit by the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean last year, which are setting up the Tsunami warning system on a war-footing. The earthquake and Tsunami in December 2004 had killed over 200,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries in the region.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_150...01301540000.htm
This is vitandaavaadam. Tsunami ain't no asteroid. While forecasting timing of a tsunami may not be possible, the pundis in that discipline seem to agree about the repeated occurrences of tsunami and tsunami-prone regions. Any grandmother will be prudent to be alert and be ready with rational reactions on a tsunami day. Not unlike earthquake precautions in place, say, in San Francisco or tsunami precautions (and protection structures) in place, say, in Japan. There is nothing wrong in learning from others; be prepared, than be sorry (after the event).
Methinks the Ramanathapuram judge made a sage comment about experts getting together without indulging in mud-slinging. The case ain't over yet; it ain't over until the fat lady sings.
Once can see hindu everywhere. How about reading the following recent, three-part essay on the saga of SSCP (Sethusamudram Channel Project) which recounts the issues?
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/060307.htm
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/070307.htm
http://newstodaynet.com/2007sud/mar07/080307.htm These are by someone who knows something, he was an ex-chairman of Tuticorin Port Trust. Don't go off on a tangent discussing persons. The issues flagged matter and should be deliberated upon.
I am in complete agreement with the steps suggested in these reports for re-evaluation of SSCP. I would add that a CBI inquiry is called for on the background of the hurried announcement on 2 July 2005 (within two daysâ after Tuticorin Port Trust puts together a response to PMO queries, all 16 of them). One is amazed at the speed with which PMO is able to evaluate the responses without ever referring to any scientists. After all, some scientists are such a bore and can never agree among themselves. So leave it to Antonia to decide on the fate of coastline of India and people who happen to live there⦠Due process? Who cares? Decision is everything in public policy. How come the official website is silent about public grievances and fears concerning another tsunami? Oh, these scientists; they just scare; after all, they are pundits whose profession is to scare, seeing CIA and sea-pirates everywhere.
Use these and the following note on Tad Murthyâs competence, to frame a list of questions to be posed to Murthy and to Raghupathy. Make it like a CBI inquiry on one question: what competence did the Tuticorin Port Trust have to respond to PMâs 16 queries without even referring the serious queries for response by NEERI and other scientist agencies involved in pre-tsuami evaluations.
Tad Murthy may be asked to confirm. My understanding of his views is this: shift the channel to the north-east side and align the mouth of the channel (on Bay of Bengal side) to the north-west. The best way to judge this is to re-run the computer simulations of probable future tsunami scenarios with alternative alignments. Build structures like walls to protect the coastline peoplesâ lives future tsunamiâs occur.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/bitstream/2264/422/...India_50_25.pdf
I will certainly sit up and respectfully listen to someone who has studied oceans all his or her life.
Aha, it is quarter wave resonance amplification. It is as simple as that. I wonder why commentators continue to pontificate and question Tad Murthyâs incompetence and indulge in personal attacks on alleged motives. Canât the issue be dealt with as a scientific issue related to wave resonance? What does a flyer know about oceanic wave resonance? I have to trust somebody, I will trust Tad Murthy on this issue of waves. He has been editing a journal on the subject for over 20 years; he should know some and be able to answer his detractors himself without intermediation by self-proclaimed knowledge guruâs and development administrators (even PhDs writing books on Public Admin. In Asia in two volumes).
I happen to feel proud about a bharatiya getting recognized as a tsunami expert. Sâubha kaamanaayen, Murthy ji.
"In the March 28, 1964, Alaska earthquake tsunami, outside of Alaska the largest tsunami amplitude was at the head of the Alberni canal well inland and not at the open coast as everyone expected. Later, I explained this was due to (a phenomenon known as) quarter wave resonance amplification," Murty explained.
http://www.elaw.in/issue/sethu.htm
July 18, 2005
Shortening of route may lead to increasing problems
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:-The Sethusamudra project may have got government approval but a number of organizations are unhappy about its adverse effect on the ecology of the region.
The Project will shorten the shipping route from Indiaâs west coast through Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar to the east coast without touching Sri Lanka. The projectâ s aim was to shorten the 722 nautical mile journey from the southern most tip of India to the eastern side to one of 402 nautical miles. Thirty six hours of journey and a great quantity of fuel would be saved by this project. Plus India will no longer have to pay the additional charges that Indian ships give to Sri Lanka .
â If the Sethusamudram project is implemented with the present masterplan as approved by the Government of Indiaâs shipping ministry, in case of another tsunami, especially in the Bay of Bengal, the high tidal effect will almost swallow southern Kerala ,âwarns Dr Tad Murthi. Dr Tad Murthy is a tsunami expert and oceanography researcher based in Canada and ex editor of the âScience of Tsunami Hazardsâ . According to him if the projected is not shifted a little to the north-eastern side than any sea upsurge of the scale of a tsunami will destroy southern Kerala from the Dhanushkodi coast to Ernakulam coast.
The Sethusamudram Project will give easy accessibility to the ships from Indiaâs southern end to the Bay of Bengal through a shipping canal starting from Thuthukkudi in Tamil Nadu.
At Adam âs Bridge and Palk-Strait, the sea will be dredged to a depth of nearly 12 metres . The width of the canal will be 300 meters and length 152.2 kilometers. The canal is separated into three sections. The southern section that comprises of Adamâs Bridge will be 20 kms long , the Palk Strait section will be 54.2 kms long and the middle section will be of 78 kms length.
The proposal for the Sethusamudram project were made way back in 1860. Since then a number of feasibility studies have been undertaken by the government which finally culminated in 1994 with the appointment of the Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services to study the project and give cost estimates which they pegged at Rs 760 crore. In 1999 the government declared that the work on the project would start soon and set aside a budget to study the ecological and environmental impacts of the project.
Thuthukkudy in Tamil Nadu will become a Transhipment Hub like Singapore and Colombo. Thirteen other ports in Tamil Nadu will be upgraded. Total estimate- Rs 1,200 crore.
The feasibility studies on the project are totally silent on the problems faced by the south eastern coasts regularly namely â (i) frequent accumulation of sand (ii)cyclones (iii)dredging sludge. The Sethusamudram Project will in no way be exempt from these problems.
The Palk Strait suffers from accumulation of sand. Due to this the depth of the Ocean in this region is lessening by one centimeter annually. Sands from the rivers of both India and Sri Lanka are depositing here. Also the under-currents from the Bay of Bengal and the southern flow of the Gulf of Mannar bring in large quantity of sand here.
The National Environmental Engineering organization had conducted a study on the accumulation of sand at Adamâs Bridge due to tidal fluctuations . They did not take into account the river sands, 99 per cent of sand accumulation is really from the rivers, it is reported, so the study is incomplete.
Scientists expect a land rout due to sand accumulation at Vedarannyam in between Palk Strait and Jaffna in the near future.
The Sethusamudram project area is also reported to be a cyclone-prone region. There were about 66 cyclones reported at the Tamil Nadu coast. Thirty six of them caused very heavy damages with speeds of nearly 90 kms pre hour. And 26 of these were within the Sethusamudram project area. Dredging will lead to the disappearance of nearly 85 small islands in Sri Lanka.
The reports of the International Oceanic-excavation of 1974 and the geo-scientist reports of 1994 point out that in the Gulf of Mannar, magnetic and gravitational forces are very high.
The region is a âbiosphere-reservoirâ teeming with bio diversity. It is famous for its pearls and gastropod-shells. It has 17 different types of mangroves. There are over 36,000 species of organisms in this region. There are over 117 types of coral reefs. Tortoise, dolphins, sea-cows, sharks, sea-horses and whales are commonly found here The project will not only destroy the bio-diversity but also affect the livelihood and socio-culture life of the region.
âIt is unscientific to have a project like this, without considering the above mentioned issues clamour the scientists.â (Indiadisasters, July 18, 2005)
http://www.tsunamiresponsewatch.org/trw/20...asing-problems/
Tad in this case is not to be mischievously mis-spelt Dr. Ted, but Tadepalli as in Tadepalli Satyanarayanamurthy.
http://www.umassd.edu/indic/newsletter/i...ll2005.pdf
http://www.nio.org/jsp/science_plan.jsp
Tsunami warning system a long process: expert
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JAN. 21. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands might have moved by about 1.25 metres towards the south-east and twisted anti-clockwise by several degrees because of the impact of the colossal earthquake and the tsunami in its wake that battered the region and South India on December 26.
Disclosing this, the Surveyor-General of India, P. Nag, said measurements have also shown that while several parts of the region have been uplifted, several others have been sunk. The Survey of India (SOI) has 12 control points in the region to determine its topography, all of which appear to have been disturbed due to the disaster's impact.
Need for remapping
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a Government-organised meeting of experts that looked at the various aspects of putting together a tsunami early warning system, Mr. Nag said there seemed to be a need for remapping the entire region afresh to get a clear picture of its topographical changes .
The Secretary, Department of Ocean Development, Harsh K. Gupta, said the proposed tsunami warning system would also help strengthen the forecast for cyclonic storm surges , and would involve the establishment of a comprehensive ocean observation network comprising sea bottom pressure recorders. It would also be used to develop inundation vulnerability maps for coastal areas.
Tad Murthy, president of the Tsunami Society, Canada, and one of the leading architects of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, said even while there was an urgent need for setting up a tsunami warning system for India and other countries in the Indian Ocean region, it must be realised that it could not be done overnight.
Preliminary work
A lot of preliminary work had to be done before a warning system could be made operational. Hundreds of computer-aided models needed to be developed to take care of different scenarios and kept in readiness so that response to a potentially dangerous earthquake could be fast. For example, on a map, the coastline of Tamil Nadu may seem like a single continuous line, but on the ground there were several gaps in the form of estuaries and other geographical features. All these could influence the impact of a tsunami.
Prof. Murthy said no single country could have a tsunami warming system of its own, since sea bottom pressure recorders and other equipment would have to be deployed in different places in the seas surrounding it for the warning to be timely and correct. In this regard, he suggested the formation of a common system for all countries in the Indian Ocean region under the United Nations. Prof. Murthy rejected the suggestion of India's becoming a part of the Pacific system on the ground that Pacific and Indian Ocean were different basins and since the Pacific system had been designed for detecting tsunamis occurring in that basin, it would not be useful for India.
Inaugurating the meeting, the Union Science and Technology Minister, Kapil Sibal, asked the scientists to explore the possibility of using satellites for the regular monitoring of geological faultlines that could cause massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Apart from creating mechanisms for early warning, there was also a need to streamline the systems for providing disaster relief, he said.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/22/stories/...461100.htm
Dr. Tad Murthy, President of Tsunami Society, Canada who also addressed the gathering, emphasized the need for geospatial map data infrastructure and said that sharing of data is essential to tackle disaster and post disaster management.
Map India â 2005 is the 8th Annual International Conference in the field of GIS, GPS, Remote Sensing, and Aerial Photography etc. with a mission to bring all stakeholders on the geospatial platform.
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=6954
http://beta-blogger.blogspot.com/2004_12...chive.html
Telugu Tad Murty Wins Indo Canada Award
Excerpted from the Toronto Star, June 11 2005
Telugu scientist Tad Murty, originally hailing from Andhra Pradesh, is among ten "superachievers" of Indian origin to be honoured by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce at a special gala in Toronto.
Tsunami expert Tad Murty â who has fielded more than 400 media interview requests from around the globe since the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean catastrophe â will drive from his home in Ottawa to pick up his award.
It was India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who inspired Murty's choice of career. Murty was a boy of 14 when Nehru visited his village in Andhra Pradesh in India, shortly after a cyclone hit Orissa. In a speech, Nehru challenged India's scientists to tackle real-life problems such as natural disasters rather than just write equations only they could decipher.
"It's the first time in my life that I heard the term `natural hazard.' It sort of stuck in my mind," says Murty, 67. He went on to do his PhD in oceanography and meteorology at the University of Chicago and worked for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans for 27 years. He was Canada's representative in the design of the International Tsunami Monitoring System. That led to the creation of a computer modelling system now in place in 185 British Columbia communities, which warns of potential tsunamis.
"I brought science into it so we know much more about the amplitude of the tsunami, how many waves there will be, what the height will be, when it will be safe to return to the shore," as well as data on ocean currents, which are responsible for much of the damage and loss of life as tsunami waves retreat.
Murty's expertise has taken him around the world. After Dec. 26, he was part of the Canadian delegation to India and Thailand to help develop a new warning system in the Indian Ocean. Most recently, he was involved in developing tsunami warning systems for the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. Retired from the federal government, he now teaches at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. In December, when he accepts an award in India for his work, "life will have come full circle, in a sense, because that's where my interest was sparked."
http://www.tlca.com/adults/tadmurthy.html
http://sethusamudram.gov.in/TedArticle.asp
http://www.springerlink.com/index/P568168217325061.pdf
http://www.recoverlanka.net/docs/sethutsunamirev6.pdf
About tsunami which hit and impending tsunami-s:
The last Tsunami in the Arabian Sea occurred in 1945 and the next one is likely to hit the shore before the end of this year.
Tad Murthy said that the first-known major Tsunami occurred in the Bay of Bengal in August 1883 followed by another in November 1945 in the Arabian Sea. The third Tsunami occurred in the Bay of Bengal in December 2004 and the next one is likely to occur in the Arabian Sea.
After an earthquake in the Gulf region on August 26 this year, waves rose five metres consistently for a distance of six kilometers in the Gujarat coastline. So, if a Tsunami occurs, then Mumbai and Gujarat could be the targets, particularly Kandla, Mandvi and Bhavnagar port towns.
Though Mumbai is about two metres above sea level, its low-lying areas may be inundated in case of Tsunami striking the metropolis. While buildings are likely to be spared, the slum areas will be the worst-hit. Mumbai could also be hit if a Tsunami were to strike Karachi coast in Pakistan.
Incidentally, India and Australia are the only two countries out of the 37 countries hit by the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean last year, which are setting up the Tsunami warning system on a war-footing. The earthquake and Tsunami in December 2004 had killed over 200,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries in the region.
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