Restricted Distribution IOC/GLOSS-DRAFT



Restricted Distribution IOC/GLOSS-DRAFT

Paris, May 1999

English Only

INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION

(of UNESCO)

Sixth Session of the IOC Group of Experts on

Global Sea-Level Observing System (GLOSS)

(Toulouse, France; 12-14 May 1999)

GLOSS Development within the IOCARIBE

(IOC Subcommission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions

prepared by: Dr. George A. Maul

Florida Institute of Technology

College of Engineering ( Division of Marine and Environmental Systems

150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne FL 32901-6988 USA)

3 June 1999

GLOSS DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE IOCARIBE

This report updates the Regional GLOSS reports of February 1997, January 1995, October 1992, October 1990, and June 1989 of the IOCARIBE Group of Experts (GE) on Ocean Processes and Climate (OPC). Annex I is a summary of principal GLOSS contacts in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions; it was updated by the member states present at SC-IOCARIBE-VI, April 26-29, 1999 at San Jose, Costa Rica. Several other names not listed in the earlier reports are in this annex; they should be placed on the regular mailings for GLOSS.

A major proposal for CARICOM nations through the Organization of American States to the Global Environment Fund entitled “Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change” (CPACC) has been funded. The plan includes installing and operating eighteen GOES-reporting sea-level/weather stations in eleven countries (see below and Annex I and II). The IOCARIBE GLOSS Regional Coordinator is acting as a technical expert on the project. Although these gauges are limited to CARICOM nations, CPACC will significantly modernize observations especially in the eastern Caribbean, and will act as a model for others to emulate.

During the IOC Workshop on Tsunami Hazards in the Caribbean (May 1996 - St. John, USVI) a summary of existing and near-term funded tide gauges in the IOCARIBE was tabulated; it was updated at SC-IOCARIBE-VI; see Annex II. Sponsors include: GEF/OAS, the Global Environment Fund / Organization of American States for CARICOM countries who are signatories to the 1992 UN Climate Convention; NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; UK, the United Kingdom; IOC/UNEP, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission / United Nations Environment Programme; Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; and SITD the Sebastian Inlet (Florida) Tax District. Gauge types include Acoustic systems where the water level is measured by timing a sound wave; Float, the standard float-well system; Pressure, an underwater strain gauge; and Bubbler, where water pressure over a stream of gas is proportional to the water level. Transmission systems in some cases are by telephone but usually via the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES. GPS refers to whether or not the tide gauge benchmarks have been located with the Global Positioning System. Finally, ancillary sensors include meteorological (Met.) instruments (wind, air temperature, barometric pressure, etc.), and SST or sea surface temperature devices.

It is clear that the direction of the Regional GLOSS needs to be towards more modernization and real-time telemetering of data, both oceanographic and meteorological (Moores and Maul, 1998). The regional GLOSS Coordinator proposed adopting the Next Generation Water Level Measuring System (NGWLMS) technology of the U.S. National Ocean Survey as the standard system for all future installations (Martin et al., 1996). We recommend that 3-5 NGWLMS per year should be funded and installed in order to make reasonable progress during the next biennium. However, it is noted that this recommendation has not been executed since the 1997 report, and except for the CPACC systems, the net number of operating gauges has declined by at least three.

A sea level data acquisition and analysis workshop was sponsored by the OAS in March 1997, and hosted on the university campus by the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. The workshop is part of the OAS effort in CPACC with CARICOM (on Internet, see ). The attendees included Kailas Narayan and Ronald Leslie from the Caribbean Meteorological Institute, Charmaine O’Brian Delpesh and Russell Maharaj from the Institute of Marine Affairs, Dale Webber of the University of the west Indies at Mona, Claudio Volonte from the OAS, Douglas Martin (NOAA), J. Lee Chapin (CPACC), and the meeting’s host George Maul from Florida Tech. The two-day course was taught by Patrick Caldwell from the University of Hawaii’s TOGA Sea Level Center. CPACC is a partner of the regional IOCARIBE Sea Level effort; additional information on this aspect of the IOC’s global sea level observing system (GLOSS) can be found on for Internet users.

Other activities of the Regional Coordinator are shown in the selected references (Annex III). They include the workshop on Small Island Oceanography (Maul, 1996); INSMAP’98, the Fourth International Symposium on Marine Positioning (Kumar et al., 1998); the University of Puerto Rico Workshop on Caribbean Tsunamis (Mercado, 1997); technique development in quantifying sea level rise (Pugh and Maul, 1999); and participation in IPCC Working Group II (Bilsma et al., 1996). Annex IV is input to GLOSS by CPACC.

Several other issues of ongoing needs include improving the reliability of the information in Annex I and II, and the need for a sea-level/weather training course conducted in Spanish within the region. Regarding the first issue, improved information gathering and reporting, it is recommended that the IOC assess the state of instrumentation in the Spanish-speaking region of IOCARIBE by funding a mission. The information for the English-speaking region seems up to date because of the CPACC (Annex III and IV) project. It is recommended that Lic. Alejandro Gutierrez, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (q.v. Annex I and II) be commissioned to make such a mission, particularly to Central America, Cuba, Hispanola, and the Netherlands Antilles.

Regarding the sea-level/weather workshop, it is proposed that the IOC fund said training as a TEMA (Training, Education, and Mutual Assistance) project. It is recommended that the International Ocean Institute Office, in Hereida, Costa Rica conduct the workshop. The primary instructor should be Lic. Alejandro Gutierrez, IOI-Costa Rica Director, who is a graduate of the Bidston UK training course. Both Lic. Gutierrez and the IOI are well positioned to select persons who will make a long-term contribution to the technical operations of the tide gauges, as well as being committed to the Regional GLOSS activities of IOCARIBE. It is recommended that the workshop be conducted after the proposed mission.

Finally, the joint activities of the Regional GLOSS and the IOCARIBE Tsunami Steering Group of Experts needs to be highlighted. Lander et al. (1999) have documented the tsunami hazard in the region and have noted that as many or more lives have been lost in the region in the last 150 years as Hawaii, Alaska, and then US West Coast combined (Annex V). Mercado and McCann (1998) have calculated the wave behavior of the 1918 Puerto Rico earthquake and tsunami, and have reported that our knowledge of bottom topography is the central limiting factor in understanding these destructive sea waves. A repeat of the great Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami of 1867 (Watlington and Lincoln, 1997) is the immediate fear of those in attendance at the three tsunami workshops since 1996. The IOCARIBE Tsunami Steering Group of Experts have written a proposal to be submitted to the IOC Executive Committee via the ICG/ITSU (Annex VI). This proposal “Intra-Americas Sea Tsunami Warning System” was unanimously approved by SC-IOCARIBE-VI on April 26, 1999. The central role of GLOSS in this effort will be to broker real-time sea-level reporting. The experience of CPACC and of the ITSU will be called upon in designing this regional facility.

ANNEX I IOC/GLOSS-IOCARIBE Region

IOCARIBE Regional GLOSS Contact Points

Ing. Luis Alvardo

Hydromet Division

Panama Canal Commission

APO Miami FL 34011

Venzcia Aluarez

IOCARIBE-Rep. Dom.

Secretaria Relaciones Exteriores

Apartado Postal 1591

Santo Domingo, DOMINICA REPUBLIC

Tel: (809) 567-4562

Fax: (809) 412-5341

Email: cibima@

Ing. Diana Araúz

Autoridad Maritima de Panamá

Edificio 5534, Diablo Heights Apartado 8062

Panamá 7, PANAMÁ

Fax: (507) 23207704

Email: digerema@

Capitan de Fragata Jairo Peña Gomez

Centro de Investigaciones Oceanograficas e Hidrograficas

Apartado Aereo 982

Cartagena, COLOMBIA

Prof. Ruben Aparicio

Instituto Oceanografico de Venezuela

Universidad de Oriente

Cumana, VENEZUELA

Tel: 58 (93) 302417

Fax: 58 (93) 512276

Dr. Thomas Bailey

Caribbean Marine Research Center

805 East 46 Place

Vero Beach FL 32963 USA

Tel: (407) 234-9931

Email: tbailey@

Dr. Patricio Bernal (EX OFFICIO)

Executive Secretary, IOC

UNESCO, 7, PLACE DE FONTENOY

75700 Paris FRANCE

Email: p.bernal@

Dr. Bradford Brown, IOCARIBE

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

75 Virginia Beach Drive

Miami FL 33149 USA

Tel: (305) 361-5761

brad.brown@

Mr. Patrick Caldwell, Data Manager

Joint Archive for Sea Level

UH Sea Level Center/World Data Center-A

University of Hawaii

1000 Pope Road, MSB 317

Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA

Tel: (808) 956-4105

Fax: (808) 956-2352 or 808-956-410

Email: caldwell@kapau.soest.hawaii.edu

Dr. Gillian Cambers

Sea Grant College Program

University of Puerto Rico

P.O. Box 5000

Mayaguez, PR 00681-5000

Tel: (809) 832-3583

Fax: (809) 265-2880

Mr. J. Lee Chapin

615 19th Avenue, NE

St. Petersburg FL 33704 USA

Tel: (813) 822-1453

Fax: (813) 822-6448

Email: chapin_l@

Mr. Hollis Charles

CARICOM Secretariat

P.O. Box 1113

Port of Spain, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Dr. Anthony Coates, Deputy Director

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Panama

Unit 0948

APO AA 34002-0948

Balboa, PANAMA

Tel: (507) 276017

Dr. Christian Colin

Centre OSTROM de Cayenne

B.P. 165

97323 Cayenne, Cedex, GUYANE FRANCAISE

Dr. A.J. Dania, Director

Meteorological Service

Netherlands Antilles and Aruba

Seru Mahuma z/n

Curacao, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES

Dr. John E. Davies

Mosquito Research and Control Unit

P.O.Box 486

Grand Cayman

CAYMAN ISLANDS, BWI

Ms. Maria Concepcion Donoso

CATHALAC

Albrook, Edif. 803B

P.O. Box 873372

Panama 7, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA

Tel: (507) 232-6851

Fax: (507) 232-6834

Email: cathalac@

Dr. Artemio Gallegos G.

Laboratorio de Oceanographia Fisica

Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limologia

U.N.A.M. Apdo. Postal 70-305

Codigo: 04510

Cuidad Universitaria, D.F., MEXICO

Tel: 52-5-622-5792

Fax: 52-5-548-2582

Email: gallegos@mar.icmyl.unam.mx

Lic. Guillermo Garcia Montero

Academia de Ciencias de Cuba

Acuario Nacional Cuba

Ave. 1ra. y Calle 60

C. 11300. ZP 13

Miramar, Cuidad de La Habana, CUBA

Tel: 29-3504, 22-4691

Fax: 537-331-442

Dr. Alejandro Gutierrez

IOI-COSTA RICA

Universidad Nacional

P.O. Box 86

Heredia, COSTA RICA

Tel: (506) 277-3594

Fax: (506) 260-2546

Email: gechever@samara.una.ac.cr

Mr. Christopher Hall, Acting Director of Fisheries

Ministry of Natural Resources

Grand Turk

TURKS & CAICOS, W.I.

Dr. Manuel L. Hernandez

Department of Marine Sciences

University of Puerto Rico

Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez

Mayaguez PR 00681-5000

Tel: (809) 832-3585

Fax: (809) 265-2880

Mr. D.K. Jaigopaul, Chief Meteorological Officer

Hydrometeorological Service

Ministry of Agriculture

Homestretch Avenue

Durban Park

Georgetown, GUYANA

Tel: 592-2-61460

Fax: 592-2-59192

Mr. Tim Kasten

UNEP/RCU

14-20 Port Royal Street

Kingston, JAMAICA

Tel: (876) 922-9267

Fax: (876) 922-9292

Email: uneprcja@

Dr. Anthony Knapp

Bermuda Biological Station for Research

Ferry Reach, GE 01

BERMUDA

Tel: (809) 297-1880

Dr. Omar Lizano

Centro de Investigones en Ciencias del Mar (CIMAR)

Universidad de Costa Rica

San Jose, COSTA RICA

Fax: (506) 225-5822

Mr. Douglas M. Martin

NOAA/NOS N/CS13

SSMC3, Station 7853

1305 East-West Highway

Silver Spring MD 20910-3233 USA

Tel: 301-713-2897 x 200

Fax: 301-713-4581/4501

Email: doug.martin@

Dr. George A. Maul

Florida Institute of Technology

Division of Marine and Environmental Systems

150 West University Boulevard

Melbourne FL 32901 USA

Tel: (407) 674-7453

Fax: (407) 674-7212

Email: gmaul@fit.edu

Prof. Aurelio Mercado

Department of Marine Sciences

University of Puerto Rico

Mayaguez PR 00681-5000

Tel: (809) 834-4040

Email: a_mercado@rumac.uprm.edu,

Dr. Christopher N.K. Mooers

Rosenstiel School of marine and Atmospheric Science

University of Miami

4600 Rickenbacker Causeway

Miami FL 33149 USA

Tel: (305) 361-4088

Email: cmooers@rsmas.miami.edu

Mr. Nowbutt, Head (acting)

Hydrographic Surveying Unit

c/o Lands and Surveys Division

18 Abercromby Street

Port of Spain, TRINIDAD & TABOGO

Dr. Leonard A. Nurse

Coastal Zone Management Unit

Bay Street

St. Michael

BARBADOS WI

Tel: (246) 288-5955

Fax: (246) 228-5956

Email: Lnurse@.bb

Dr. John Ogden (CARICOMP)

Florida Institute of Oceanography

830 First Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA

Tel: (727) 553-1100

Fax: (727) 553-1109

Email: jogden@marine.usf.edu

Dr. David T. Pugh

Southampton Oceanography Centre

Empress Dock

Southampton SO14 3HZ

UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: (44) 170-359-6611

Fax: (44) 170-359-6395

Email: David.T.Pugh@soc.soton.ac.uk

Dr. Guillermo Quiros

Laboratorio de Oceanografia Fisica

Universidad Nacional

3000 Heredia, COSTA RICA

Tel: (506) 37-6363

Fax: (506) 37-4111

Dr. Laverne E. Ragster

Vice President of Research & Public Service

University of the Virgin Islands

St. Thomas USVI 00802

Ing. Jean-Francios Remy

Service Maritime et de Navigation d’Haiti

P.O. Box 724

1563 Port-au-Prince, HAITI

Mr. Eddy Hardie Sanchez

INSIVUMEH

7 Avenida 14-57, Zona 13

Cuidad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA

Dr. Julio Sheinbaum

CICESE

A.P. 2732

Ensenada, B.C., 22800 MEXICO

Tel: 67-4-45-01 x 4037

Mr. Dewitt Smith

Everglades National Park

P.O. Box 279

Homestead FL 33030 USA

Tel: (305) 242-7800

Mr. Alan Soulan, Director

Service Meteorologique Interregional

Route du General Brosset, BP 645

97262 Fort-de-France Cedex, MARTINIQUE

Tel: (569) 63-36-71

Fax: (596) 60-18-41

Email: dirag@

Capt. Rafael Steer (EX OFFICIO)

IOCARIBE Secretariat

A.A. 1108

Cartagena, COLOMBIA

Tel: (575) 664-6399

Fax: (575) 660-0407

Email: siocarib@col3..co

Dr. Edward L. Towle, President

Island Resources Foundation

6296 Estate Nazareth #11

St. Thomas USVI 00802-1104

Email: etowle@

Mr. Jan Vermeiren

Organization of American States

17th Street and Constitution Ave, NW

Washington DC 20006 USA

Tel: (202) 458-3595

Email: vermeiren_jan@

Prof. Roy A. Watlington

University of the Virgin Islands

Eastern Caribbean Center

St. Thomas USVI 00802

Tel: (809) 693-1391

Email: rwatlin@uvi.edu

Mr. Philip Weech (or Mr. Glen Archer)

Water and Sewerage Corporation

Ministry of Works & Utilities Building

P.O. Box N-3905

Nassau, BAHAMAS

Tel: (809) 322-2799

Mr. W. Douglas Wilson

NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

4301 Rickenbacker Causeway

Miami FL 33149 USA

Tel: (305) 361-4352

Fax: (305) 361-4412

Email: wilson@aoml.

Dr. Philip L. Woodworth

Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level

IOS, Bidston Observatory

Bidston, Birkenhead L43 7RA, UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: (44) 151-563-8633

Fax: (44) 151-653-6269

Email: plw@mail.nerc-bidston.ac.uk

Dr. Susanna Zerbini

Dipartimento di Fisicia

Settore di Geofisica

Viale Berti Pichat 8

40127 Bolonga, ITALY

Email: ZERBINI@astbo1.r.it

ANNEX II

|Country / Site |Latitude** |Longitude** |Sponsor |Gauge |Trans- |GPS |Ancillary Sensors |

| |(north) |(west) | |Type |mission | | |

|Antigua & Barbuda: Parham |17° 07' |61° 50' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Aruba: Sint Nicolas |12° 26' |69° 54' |IOC/UNEP |Pressure |None |No |None* |

|Bahamas: Lee Stocking Island |23° 47' |76° 04' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Great Inagua |20° 56' |73°40' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Nassau |25° 05' |77° 20' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Settlement Point |26° 30' |78° 46' |NOAA |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Barbados: Bridgetown |13° 05' |59° 37' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Belize: Belize City |17° 30' |88° 11' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Bermuda: St. Georges |32° 23' |64° 41' |UK |Pressure |None |No |None |

|Cayman Islands: Georgetown |19° 18' |81° 26' |UK |Float |None |No |None |

|Colombia: Cartagena |10° 19' |75° 35' |NOAA |Float |None |No |None |

|Costa Rica: Puerto Limon |10° 00' |83° 01' |Finland |Pressure |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Cuba: Cabo San Antonio |21° 52' |84° 57' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Gibara |21° 07' |76° 07' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Guantanamo Bay |19° 53' |75° 10' |IOC/UNEP |Acoustic |GOES |No |None* |

|Siboney |23° 09' |82° 21' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Dominica: Roseau |15° 17' |61° 24' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Dominican Republic: Puerto Plata |19° 49' |70° 41' |National |Bubbler |None |No |None |

|Barahona |18° 11' |71° 07' |National |Bubbler |None |No |None |

|France: Cayene |4° 56' |52° 20' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Kourou |5° 12' |52° 39' |National |Pressure |None |No |None |

|Fort-de-France |14° 36 |61° 05' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Basse Terre |16° 00' |61° 44' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Grenada: Prickly Bay |12° 03' |61° 45' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Guyana: Berbice River |6° 12' |57° 29' |IOC/UNEP |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Georgetown |6° 50' |58° 10' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Honduras: Cochino Pequeño |15° 57' |86° 30' |Smithsonian |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Jamaica: Port Royal |17° 56' |76° 51' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Discovery Bay |18° 28' |77° 24' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Mexico: Progresso |21° 17' |89° 40' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Puerto Morelos |20° 50' |86° 52' |NOAA |Float |None |No |None |

|Tampico |22° 13' |97° 51' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Veracruz |19° 12' |96° 08' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Netherlands Antilles: Curaço |12° 07' |68° 56' |National |Float |None |No |None |

|Panama: Coco Solo |9° 22' |79° 54' |Canal Zone |Pressure |None |No |None |

|St. Kitts & Nevis: Basse Terre |17° 26' |62° 48' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|St. Lucia: Castries |14° 01' |61° 00' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|St. Vincent: Kingston |13° 09' |61° 14' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Trinidad & Tobago: Charlotteville |11° 20' |60° 33' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Guayaguayre |10° 09' |61° 03' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Port-of-Spain |10° 39' |61° 31' |GEF/OAS |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Turks&Caicos: South Caicos |21° 30' |71° 31' |IOC/UNEP |Acoustic |GOES |No |Met., SST* |

|USA: Fernandina Beach |30° 40' |81° 27' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Miami (Virginia Key) |25° 47' |80° 11' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Key West |24° 33' |81° 49' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Naples |26° 10' |81° 48' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Clearwater Beach |27° 57' |82° 48' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Cedar Key |29° 08' |83° 06' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Pensacola |30° 24' |87° 13' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Grand Isle |29° 14' |89° 59' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Galveston Pier 21 |29° 19' |94° 47' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Port Isabel |26° 05' |97° 16' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|San Juan PR |18° 28' |66° 07' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|La Parguera PR |17° 59' |67° 03' |National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Lime Tree Bay USVI |17° 42' |64° 45' |National National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Charlotte Amalie USVI |18° 21' |64° 54' |National National |Acoustic |GOES |Yes |Met., SST |

|Venezuela: Cumana |10° 25' |64° 17' | |Float |None |No |None |

|La Guaira |10° 37' |66° 56' | |Float |None |No |None |

*Out of Order

**From Appendix S "Maritime Positions", American Practical Navigator, H.O. No. 9, Washington, DC, 1962

ANNEX III Selected References

Bilsma, L.; C.N. Ehler, R.J.T. Klein, S.M. Kulshrestha, R.F. McLean, N. Mimura, R.J. Nicholls, L.A. Nurse, H. Pérez-Nieto, E.Z. Stakhiv, R.K. Turner, R.A. Warrick; W.N. Adger, D. Bilan, B.E. Brown, D.L. Elder, V.M. Gornitz, K. Hofius, P.M. Holligan, F.M.J. Hoozemans, D. Hopely, Y. Hosokawa, G.A. Maul, K. McInnes, D. Richardson, S. Subak, M. Sullivan, L. Vallianos, W.R. White, P.L. Woodworth, and Y. Huating, 1996. Coastal Zones and Small Islands. In: R.E. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, and R.H. Moss (editors), Climate Change 1995: Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change: Scientific-Technical Analyses. © Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp: 289-324.

Kumar, M., G.A. Maul, and G. Seeber (editors), 1998. INSMAP’98: International Partnership in Marine Positioning. ©Marine Technology Society, in press.

Lander, J.F., K.F. O’Loughlin, and L.S. Whiteside, 1999. Caribbean Tsunamis: A 500-Year History, 1498 to 1998. Natural Hazards (in press).

Martin, D.M., J.L. Chapin, and G.A. Maul, 1996. State-of-the-art sea level and meteorological monitoring systems in the Intra-Americas Sea. Mar. Geod. J. , 19(2): 105-114.

Maul, G.A. (author/editor), 1996. Small Islands: Marine Science and Sustainable Development. ©American Geophysical Union, Coastal and Estuarine Studies No. 51, Washington, 467 pp.

Maul, G.A., 1999. On the role of IOCARIBE in a Caribbean Tsunami System: Science, Engineering, Management, and Education. Mar. Geod. J., 22(1), pp: 53-62.

Mercado, A., 1997. Overlooked threat of tsunamis to the Caribbean discussed. EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 78(50): December 16, 1997.

Mercado, A., and W. McCann, 1998. Numerical Simulation of the 1918 Puerto Rico Tsunami. Natural Hazards, 18, pp: 57-76.

Mooers, C.N.K., and G.A. Maul, 1998. Intra-Americas Sea Circulation. Chapter 7 in: A.R. Robinson and K.H. Brink (editors), The Sea, Volume 11, ( John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp: 183-208

Pugh, D.T., and G.A. Maul, 1999. Coastal Sea Level Prediction for Climate Change. In: C.N.K. Mooers (editor), Coastal Ocean Prediction. © American Geophysical Union, Coastal and Estuarine Studies No. 56, pp: 377-404.

Watlington, R.A., and S.H. Lincoln, 1997. Disaster and Disruption in 1867: Hurricane, Earthquake, and Tsunami in the Danish West Indies. Eastern Caribbean Center, 131 pp.

ANNEX IV GE-GLOSS-VI Abstract

CARIBBEAN: PLANNING FOR ADAPTATION TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

A regional sealevel/weather network contributing to the Global Sea Level Observing System

of the IOC’s Global Ocean Observing System

by

George A. Maul1 , Jan C. Vermeiren2, Claudio Volonte2, Douglas M. Martin3, and J. Lee Chapin2

ABSTRACT

Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC), is a joint project of member states of CARICOM, funded by the Global Environment Fund through the World Bank, and administered by the Organization of American States and the University of the West Indies. CPACC includes many components beyond sealevel and weather monitoring, but for the purposes of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission GLOSS and GOOS programs, this abstract will focus on the measuring system. CPACC sealevel/weather gauges consist of digital acoustic water level and meteorological sensors transmitted via GOES from eighteen sites in CARICOM countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago). Coverage thus includes much of the eastern Caribbean Sea, with sites in northeastern South America, Central America, Bahamas, and the Straits of Florida. Water level is logged every six minutes, sea and air temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, solar radiation, and wind velocity (speed and direction) are logged every fifteen minutes. All data are transmitted every three hours to a central archiving site operating temporarily at the equipment vendor’s site until it is established permanently at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH- Barbados). These data can be down-linked from GOES, or acquired by ftp via the Internet from the CIMH, and thus are available to the oceanographic and meteorological communities at large. The sealevel/weather systems in CPACC are also geo-referenced by first-order GPS surveys. This unique positioning will allow in time, separation of the relative sealevel change from the vertical motion of the water level gauge. Initial precision of these GPS-located bench marks is ( 10 mm (with precision of connection from the GPS benchmark to the water level gauge of ( 1 mm), which should allow determination of the local land motion to within adequate values in a decade or so. The CPACC project is also unique in that a Trust Fund has been established to provide financial support well into the future for annual servicing, sensor calibration, and repair. This CPACC model of a regional intergovernmental organization (the OAS), working with the GEF through the WB to create a permanent CARICOM observational network, is a model for other regions to consider in their need to quantify the effects of global change and other natural hazards on the local environment.

1. Florida Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Division of Marine & Environmental Systems, Melbourne FL 32901 USA

2. Organization of American States, Unit of Sustainable Development & Environment, Washington DC 20006 USA

3. NOAA National Ocean Service, Coast Survey Development Laboratory, Silver Spring MD 20910 USA

ANNEX V IUGG'99 Abstract

ATLANTIC OCEAN TSUNAMI HAZARDS:

Call for an Intra-Americas Sea Tsunami System

GEORGE A. MAUL, Chairman, IOCARIBE Tsunami Steering Group of Experts

Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne FL 32901 USA

Tsunami events have been recorded in Atlantic Ocean since antiquity, and by Europeans in the Intra-Americas Sea (Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Bahamas, and Guianas) since the 16th century. These events are both local in origin and from distant sources, but occur at the rate of several severe occurrences per century. The great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 for example created 6 and 7 meter-high teletsunami waves in the Lesser Antilles. In the last 150 years, tsunamis have been the cause of more deaths in the Caribbean (369*) than in Alaska (121), Hawaii (275), or the US West Coast (18). Although there have been deadly tsunamis in the Intra-Americas Sea this century (1918: 42 persons, 1946: 100 persons -*1,790 persons by some reports), it is the event of 1867 in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, that is most reminiscent of the 1998 occurrence in Papua New Guinea.

Preventing a major disaster was the focus of a May 1996 scientific meeting, initiated in 1995 by the IOC and hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands on St. John. In June 1997 a public workshop was held at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. At Mayaguez, there were approximately 150 concerned citizens of the region, civil defense and government officials, scientists, and tsunami warning experts, both local and from abroad. In July 1997 the US Head of State was formally informed of recommendations made at the Mayaguez workshop. It focused on four mitigation measures: education, warning, management, and research. It is important to note that the US Federal "Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Implementation Plan" (April 1996) has no Atlantic component.

The Intra-Americas Sea clearly should have a tsunami element integrated into the regional Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Indeed, calling for the creation of an Atlantic Tsunami Warning Center would not be inappropriate.

ANNEX VI IUGG'99 Abstract

ELEMENTS OF A TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM FOR THE INTRA-AMERICAS SEA

GEORGE A. MAUL, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne FL 32901 USA, and Douglas M. Martin, NOAA National Ocean Survey, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 20910 USA

At a series of workshops (Barbados, 1995; St. John, 1996; Puerto Rico, 1997; Miami, 1998) the case has been made for significant tsunami hazards in the Intra-Americas Sea (Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Bahamas, and Guianas). For example, since the great 1867 US Virgin Islands earthquake and 9 meter-high tsunami, the population density of the region has increased 10-fold, infrastructure development has progressed without a notable natural hazards component, and governments seem to be oblivious to the risk. Accordingly, four essentials comprise the proposed Intra-Americas Sea Tsunami Hazards System: Education, Warning, Management, and Research.

The first order of business is to better educate the populace through public information, K-12 student indoctrination, video and other multi-media products, workshops, and popular press articles. The warning component should capitalize on the recently established CPACC (Caribbean Planning for Climate Change) sea-level/weather GOES-reporting network, on existing seismic and meteorological reporting and warning systems, and on active participation with the ICG/ITSU (International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific). Management issues include: integration with other natural hazards warning systems; exploration for funds; local warning and evacuation; search and rescue; fire suppression; emergency medical services; damage assessment; inter- and intra-governmental coordination; and, damage and hazard analysis. Research needs are: improved resolution bottom relief data; travel time maps for population centers; earthquake magnitude / depth thresholds; tsunami wave arrival amplitude estimation; potential for Kick’em Jenny and Soufriere (Montserrat) eruption; tsunami and earthquake history improvements; fault locations, activity, and tsunamigenic mechanisms; inundation maps; GPS stations for crustal motion monitoring; and loss estimation studies, amongst others.

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