Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005 |
| Tamil Nadu | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Tamil Nadu
By Our Special Correspondent
CHENNAI, FEB. 22. The 36-day oceanographic studies carried out by a team of scientists onboard Sagar Kanya on the impact of the Sumatra earthquake and the tsunami of December 26 have revealed that the Andaman and Nicobar (A and N) regions and the coastline of Tamil Nadu on the east coast and Gujarat on the west coast are vulnerable to tsunami attacks, according to Harsh K. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Ocean Development (DOD). Giving details of the activities undertaken by the 31-member team of oceanographers belonging to the DOD, the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research and the National Institute of Oceanography, in the Bengal Fan and A and N regions from January 16 to February 21, Mr. Gupta said the Rs.125-crore tsunami warning system would be fully in place by September 2007. The survey also found that in many places, including the jetties in Port Blair and the Chennai harbour, the sea had subsided by one metre or more. Some of the islands in the A and N region had shifted by 15 to 20 metres laterally and this had to be documented, he said. The team had collected geophysical data such as bathymetry, gravity, sub-bottom profiling and swath-bathymetry along the traverses crossing the Bengal Fan, A and N Trench and the Andaman Basin. Surface and subsurface sediment samples were collected in the study area. In addition, environmental parameters such as water quality, biological species and temperature salinity were collected at select locations. Works related to the creation of the tsunami warning system had already commenced, he said, pointing out that the Prime Minister had announced the programme last week. Mr. Gupta said it had been recognised that there were two tsunami-generic areas: the Java-Sumatra plate extending up to A and N-Myanmar regions and the Bhuj earthquake fault in the Arabian Sea and the Makaran coast. The near real time monitoring of earthquakes, which generated a tsunami owing to vertical displacement in the ocean bottom, was part of the programme. To discriminate between ordinary waves and tsunami, special pressure transducers had to be installed at the bottom of the ocean. Twelve such equipment would be deployed at strategic points to sense the generation of tsunami. Apart from this, the travel time from various points on the tsunami generic areas to "our coastline" and the amplitude of the tsunami had to be computed. Taking up a study on the inundation covering the entire coastline in collaboration with other departments, including the Department of Space; deployment of 50 tide gauges to measure fluctuation of water level; and installing ocean observatory radars to monitor the roughness of the sea were other components of the programme. Mr. Gupta said considering that tsunamis offered a lead time of 45 to 60 minutes to A and N islands and three hours for the Tamil Nadu coast, it was adequate to give the warning. Though there was not much lead-time on the west coast, major cities including Mumbai were in the shadow zone. To a query, he said putting up seawalls would not be of much use in protecting coastal areas during tsunami attacks. The best option would be to protect mangrove forests and sand dunes.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
