Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J006122/1
Japan Tsunami Urgency Response
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor DR Tappin, British Geological Survey, Environmental Modelling
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr C Jordan, British Geological Survey, Earth Hazards & Observatories
- Grant held at:
- British Geological Survey, Environmental Modelling
- Science Area:
- Earth
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Earth
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Science Topics:
- Geohazards
- Sediment/Sedimentary Processes
- Tectonic Processes
- Abstract:
- At 1446 (local time Japan) on the 11th March 2011, off the east coast of Honshu Island, Japan, an earthquake of Magnitude 9.0 generated a tsunami that inundated a 400 kilometre length of the adjacent coastline. The tsunami was up to 17 metres high, it surmounted many of the protective walls constructed to protect the coastal areas and at least 27,000 people died and over 350,000 people were made homeless. This is on a scale similar to that of the 2004 Indian Ocean event. Small tsunamis in this earthquake-prone /tectonically active region are not unusual, but ones of this magnitude are rare, the last event of significant size was in 1896, when 27,000 people perished. After relief operations, it is essential for scientists to visit the affected area to acquire data on the tsunami impact including inundation, runup, flow depth and erosion. Much of the evidence on the tsunami is fragile and quickly eroded or removed. The orientation of a tsunami may be identified by the orientations of grass, tsunami height may be seen from water marks on buildings or building damage; debris caught in trees or bushes is common. After a tsunami, survivors are anxious to clean up, to wash the evidence away and to get their lives back to normal. Natural processes-rain, wind, surf-also degrade the evidence of a tsunami. Since much evidence is ephemeral, not only are scientists eager to make observations quickly, too many rapid response and preliminary surveys end up being the only surveys conducted. The surveys objectives are to better understand the tsunami, its relationship to the source mechanisms (in this case the earthquake) and prepare improved mitigation strategies for use in the future. Now, for the first time, tsunami scientists have been invited into the devastated areas and the task they face is enormous. There are limited numbers of appropriately skilled people and the scale of the devastation huge - probably thousands of square kilometres in area. To acquire data over this area is going to be challenging at best, thus international scientists from outside Japan have been invited into the country to research the tsunami; there has been a significant delay to allow relief operations to proceed, so it is essential now to respond immediately, the PI of the proposal Professor David Tappin is one of the invited scientists. In addition, new methodologies are required to better cope with the scale of the event. To address the need, here we propose to visit the area of tsunami inundation to collect data on tsunami deposits and tsunami impact. In addition we will develop an integrated methodology with desk-based mapping of the inundated area prior to acquiring the field data that will be followed by fieldwork. Thus the field work will be a validation of prior interpretations. Significantly, for the first time after a tsunami, high resolution satellite imagery has been released on humanitarian grounds to assist relief workers and scientists working on mitigation. Not only will the interpretation of the satellite images guide the field operations, but the images and interpretations will be uploaded onto field mapping computers. The desk-based interpretations will then be amended and improved by the digital acquisition of field data on tsunami inundation, flow directions, the location of areas of erosion and sedimentation, together with various aspects of the coast that will allow a better understanding of how the tsunami inundation took place. Downstream these data will be uploaded onto a GIS modelled with digital terrain models to allow the identification of areas of safety where people can escape to in future events. Mapping areas of inundation will also lead to better models of tsunami run up. Investigations of the tsunami sediments will result in better discrimination of past tsunami events and improved risk strategies.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J006122/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Urgency
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Urgent Grant
This grant award has a total value of £44,061
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £4,400 | £13,020 | £17,133 | £2,533 | £6,976 |
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