August 8, 2003
Agricultural Production Room
LaSells-Stewart Center
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
Sponsored by National Science Foundation
Grant CMS-0321889
This is the first of a series of three workshops to initiate, develop, coordinate, and sustain the community effort for scenario simulations for tsunami hazard mitigation. The simulations involve many elements, including tsunami generation, hydrodynamics, warning transmission, evacuation, human behavior, and social and environmental impacts. The goal of the scenario simulation exercise is to give researchers in all aspects of tsunami science and hazards planning an experience similar to that obtained in a real field investigation. In running the simulations and evaluating the results, critical problems will be identified for improvement in each specialized area. The simulation exercise will provide a valuable common background from which to forge and maintain coherence in the broadly distributed multi-disciplinary tsunami community.
The idea of tsunami scenario simulations was discussed by the tsunami community at an NSF workshop held in 2002 in Seattle. The participants strongly recommended that an integrated tsunami scenario simulation be developed. The aim of the workshop is to implement this recommendation through a broadly distributed multi-disciplinary multi-community effort.
Three workshops are planned, one each year for the next three years. The first workshop will be designed to initiate the simulation effort, the second workshop will act as a catalyst to expand those activities, and the third will focus on the applications and the use of the developed system.
The three workshops will provide a coherent integrated community collaborative arena through a common task of tsunami scenario simulations, and will induce synergistic advancement in a wide variety of the simulation models. The ultimate goal of these workshops is to achieve a widely accessible platform for simulation of virtual tsunamis through a community effort. When fully implemented, the tsunami scenario simulations will be useful for hazards planning in coastal communities, and for the coordination and development of scientific research. In addition, the integrated, highly visual character of the simulations will be of great value for K-12 education on tsunami hazards, and for general public education in this area.