Tsunami Monitoring System

Application Background

Natural disasters such as tsunamis often occur without warning to people living on or close to the coastline.
In such circumstances, personal injury and death may occur. Any early warning of an approaching tsunami is very important. Wave height sensors can be installed on or under buoys to measure wave activity to determine tsunami events.

Often there will be a central authority which maintains a 24/7 tsunami warning centre on an ocean by ocean basis, so staff at that central authority can have knowledge of an approaching tsunami.

Application Detail

Tsunami Monitoring System - Buoy Datalogger Equipment

Unidata equipment, primarily Neon Remote Loggers, can be set up with cell phone or satellite internet connections to provide monitoring of wave activity and the real time / near real time transmission of that activity to a central tsunami warning centre for example the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii.
Wave activity is measured at ocean / coastal buoys, with a submersible sensor typically at 2 meters below the surface of the water. An example is a submersible Druck PI sensor / PTX 1560.

The data collection rate is high, typically 10 times per second (10Hz) and a continuous data stream is sent from the measurement station to a central system, which analyses the spectral components of the depth / period of waves similar to the way seismic data is analysed. This data stream is commonly then sent to one of the ocean wide tsunami warning centres.

Tsunami Monitoring System - Graph

The measurement of the wave height is relatively straightforward, however it is challenging to collect this sensor data and also transmit the data out at 10Hz on a continual basis. A high capacity / high speed data logger or RTU is needed. A reasonably high bandwidth link, which is an always available channel, is needed. For close to shore buoys, a 3G cell based system could be used. For ocean buoys, an equatorial satellite system is needed.

Typical Configuration

Options for Application Specific Instruments / InputsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Wave Monitoring SystemsCustom PartAs per customer requirements

Options for Neon Telemetry - NRL / NRT / RTU / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 16 Channels3016Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 8 Channels3008Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Ethernet, Inmarsat, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Industrial (Metal Enc) Neon Remote Logger 4 Channels3004/3006Options Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Neon Remote Logger (Polycarbonate Enc) 4 Channels M Series3004M/3006MOptions Available: 3G/4G Cellular, Microsatellite, Iridium SBD and LoRa
Equatorial Orbit Satellite - Inmarsat2018F-AB0-1 or 3NRT Ethernet with single or triple Ethernet Ports with three Li Batteries
NRT Field Termination Strip2103F2018F and 2022 NRT FTS
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M8M Extended Memory Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-8M-CAM8M Extended Memory & Serial Camera Option
NRT Firmware Option2303A-CAMSerial Camera Option

Options for Neon Application Software - Customer ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2302ANeon Server Software Licence Incl 5 NAL
Neon Application Software2302A-10Additional 10 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-20Additional 20 NRT Access Licences
Neon Application Software2302A-50Additional 50 NRT Access Licences

Options for Neon Application Software - Unidata ServerUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Application Software2301ANeon Data Initial Subscription Setup Fee
Neon Hosting Service2301A-01Neon Data Service Fee for 1-50 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-02Neon Data Service Fee for 51-100 NRTs
Neon Hosting Service2301A-10Neon Data Service Fee Metering

Options for Conventional Dataloggers / Field UnitsUnidata Part NumberDescription
Neon Remote Logger 16 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3016-00016 Ch NRL (Superseded Prologger 7001D)
Neon Remote Logger 8 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3008-0008 Ch NRL (Superseded Stalogger 6004D)
Neon Remote Logger 4 Analog Channels / Touch Screen Display3004M-0004 Ch NRL (Superseded Micrologger 8010C)
Starlog V4 Management Software6308A-AUEStarlog V4 Full Licence Key