National Report of Australia

NATIONAL REPORT SUBMITTED BY AUSTRALIA

                                                                                     

 

1.         ICG/ITSU National Contact:

            Name:                          Dr Ray Canterford

            Organization:                Weather and Ocean Services Policy Branch, Bureau  

                                               of Meteorology

            Postal Address:            GPO Box 1289K, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, AUSTRALIA

            E-mail Address:            R.Canterford@bom.gov.au

            Telephone Number:       +613 9669 4087

            Fax Number:                 +613 9669 4695

            Cellular phone:               +614 1324 4305

 

2.         Primary Warning Recipient. 

            Name: Shift Supervisor

            Responsible Organization: National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre,
                                                    Bureau of Meteorology

            Postal Address: GPO Box 1289K

                                     Melbourne, Vic. 3001, AUSTRALIA

            E-mail Address:  webops@bom.gov.au

            Emergency Telephone Number:  +613 9662 2182

            Emergency Fax Number:            +613 9662 1223

            Emergency Cellular phone:

 

3.         Tsunami Advisor(s). 

            Name:  Mr Rick Bailey, Oceanographic Services Program Manager

            Postal Address: Bureau of Meteorology, GPO Box 1289K

                                     Melbourne, Vic. 3001, AUSTRALIA

            E-mail Address: R.Bailey@bom.gov.au

            Emergency Telephone Number:   +613 9669 4103

            Emergency Fax Number:            +613 9669 4695

            Emergency Cellular phone:   +614 1712 2746

 

Name:   Director, National Tidal Facility Australia[1] 

Postal Address: National Tidal Facility Australia, GPO Box 2100

                        Adelaide, SA 5001, AUSTRALIA

            E-mail Address:  ntf@flinders.edu.au     or  bill.mitchell@ntf.flinders.edu.au

            Emergency Telephone Number:   +618 8201 7525

            Emergency Fax Number:            +618 8201 7523

            Emergency Cellular phone:   +614 1301 7664

 

 4.        Local Tsunami Procedures.   

In Australia operational advice about tsunamis and provision of tsunami alert information is provided by a joint activity of three federal government agencies (G3), the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Geoscience Australia (GA), and Emergency Management Australia (EMA) with support and advice of the National Tidal Facility (NTFA)[2].  EMA provides advice on management of emergency response actions and public communications aspects. GA provides national seismic detection capabilities, and advises the BOM and the NTFA of the location, size and characteristics of the event.  Tsunamigenicity is determined after monitoring of relevant tide gauges by the NTFA and advice from GA. The BOM then sends that advice or warning to EMA’s National Emergency Management Coordination Centre.

 

On receipt of advice, EMA immediately notifies the operations centres of the relevant Australian State & Territory emergency management organisations which have responsibility for the provision of emergency services in Australia.  These responsibilities in Australia are based on State and Territory jurisdictions.  In addition to that notification process, tsunami advices and warnings are issued via the BOM network of regional offices to State and Territory Disaster Committees. The BOM is responsible for promulgating any public advices and warnings relevant to the event.

 

These State and Territory-based agencies act on advice from the G3 as to the status and extent of any continuing tsunami hazard associated with an event.  They manage as appropriate, the threat or actual impact of the tsunami hazard.  In the event that State resources are overwhelmed, Australian Government resources can be requested through EMA in accordance with well practised disaster plans.

 

In the event of a tsunami impacting on a country in Australian’s region of interest, a request for Australian assistance can be made through the Australian international aid agency, AusAID, with delivery coordinated by EMA.

 

5.         Distant Tsunami Procedures.

Pacific Ocean

The Bureau of Meteorology is the main civilian contact point for tsunami advices and warnings originated by the PTWC, and distributes them to a range of organisations including response agencies such as emergency services groups.  The Australian Defence Department also receives these advices and has its own internal procedures.

 

Initial detection of a seismic event is provided by GA, which advises BOM and the NTFA. Currently the PTWC provides estimated travel times to Australia’s Pacific coastlines but not detailed predictions of run-up conditions.  Given the very large Australian coastline this is to be expected.  Advice from the NTFA, based on hydrodynamic modelling, would be sought to provide guidance as to the most vulnerable areas and potential run-up heights and impacts. 

 

The PTWC advices provide confirmation of tsunamigenicty of the event, although NTFA would also become involved in detecting sea level response from gauges in the region, eg. from the South Pacific tide gauge network.

 

The BOM is responsible for promulgating any public advices and warnings relevant to the event.

 

Indian Ocean

In the state of Western Australia, which strictly lies outside the geographic scope of ITSU, the arrangements described above are formalised in operational procedures for tsunamis originating in the eastern Indian Ocean basin.  National procedures are moving towards a system based on “Alerts” rather than “Warnings”, given the lack of monitoring and warning infrastructure in eastern Indian Ocean basin countries, and underdeveloped scientific decision support more generally.  Note that Australia wishes to formally explore further with the ICG the suggestion put to ITSU-XIII, that the scope of operations of ITSU be extended to the Indian Ocean as a matter of high priority.  To this end a discussion paper has been submitted under Agenda Item 6.3.  In particular, Australia seeks ITSU’s facilitation of the intergovernmental arrangements and cooperation required amongst those countries neighbouring Australia’s maritime north-west, which would be an essential factor underpinning the success of any sub-regional tsunami warning arrangements.

 

The BOM is responsible for promulgating any public advices and warnings relevant to the event.

  

6.         National Sea Level Network. 

 


Location

Latitude

Longitude

Date installed

Cocos Islands (Australian Territory)

12° 12’S

098° 88’E

Sep 1992

Groote Eylandt

13° 50’S

136° 30’E

Sep 1993

Darwin

12° 28’S

130° 51’E

May 1990

Broome

18° 00’S

122° 13’E

Nov 1991

Hillarys

31° 49’S

115° 44’E

Nov 1991

Esperance

33° 52’S

121° 54’E

Mar 1992

Thevenard

32° 09’S

133° 39’E

May 1992

Port Stanvac

35° 07’S

138° 28’E

Jun 1992

Portland

38° 21’S

141° 37’E

Jul 1991

Lorne

38° 30’S

143° 59’E

Jan 1993

Stony Point

38° 22’S

145° 13’E

Jan 1993

Burnie

41° 03’S

145° 57’E

Sep 1992

Spring Bay

42° 33’S

147° 56’E

May 1991

Port Kembla

34° 29’S

150° 55’E

Jul 1991

Rosslyn Bay

23° 09’S

150° 47’E

Jun 1992

Cape Ferguson

19° 17’E

147° 03’E

Sep 1991

 

The tide gauges in this network are SEAFRAME gauges, using Sutron 9000 Remote Terminal Units, having five sensors:

 

·         primary water level sensor (the Bartex “Aquatrak” acoustic-in-air sensor);

·         wind speed, direction and maximum hourly gust;

·         air temperature;

·         sea water temperature; and,

·         atmospheric pressure.

 

A sixth channel contains data from the backup Sutron 8200 data logger unit.

 

7.         Information on Tsunami occurrences.  

 

There have not been any significant tsunami occurrences in Australia during the inter-sessional period. 

SUMMARY

 

The main focus of activity in Australia during the recent inter-sessional period has been on organizing tsunami services in light of changing organizational requirements and structures, and the partially implemented plans to develop the Australian Tsunami Alert Service (ATAS).  The ATAS is to be co-managed by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Geoscience Austrlia (GA) and Emergency management Australia (EMA), with the support of the National Tidal Facility Australia (NTFA). Two key factors in this regard are changes to sea level monitoring and tidal prediction activities and the establishment of a major oceanographic services initiative.  

 

The proposed transition of the NTFA to a new National Tidal Centre (NTC), will better support the development of national operational tsunami warning activities. The proposed NTC would subsume the functions and responsibilities of the NTFA and would run under the aegis of an existing operational agency of the Australian federal government.  The proposal is subject to funding and approval by government.  

 

The BOM has established an Oceanographic Services Program, to foster the development of ocean services to the community.  The new Program is a major commitment, paralleling the Weather Services Program which has delivered a very large range of weather services to the community over many decades.  It now has management responsibilities for operational tsunami services.  The increased focus and attention on these services will better facilitate the development of plans for an ATAS. 

 

Australia has adopted a two stage approach to developing its tsunami warning systems, involving the initial development of the ATAS and the longer term objective of a more fully established warning system.  Plans have been partially implemented, on the Australian western coasts, and informally in Australia’s Pacific coastal areas.  Plans further focus on:

 

·         Consolidation of operational tsunami alert activities involving BOM, GA and NTFA/NTC for all coastal regions;

·         Recapitalisation and review of observing networks for detecting tsunamis in Australia;

·         Development of decision support for run-up prediction;

·         Development of public awareness and education material on the tsunami hazard in Australia;

·         Development of a broader tsunami mitigation strategy with other key national stakeholders or potentially interested participants.

 

Australia is also interested in jointly exploring partnerships with other national agencies in the region to further common tsunami warning objectives, and with ITSU in particular in the nearby areas of the Indian Ocean basin.  

 

NARRATIVE

 

The main focus of activity in Australia during the recent inter-sessional period has been on organizing tsunami services in light of changing organizational requirements and structures, and the partially implemented plans to develop the Australian Tsunami Alert Service (ATAS).

 

A considerable effort has been expended by agencies of the Australian federal government to resolve difficulties which have arisen for the continued operation of the National Tidal Facility Australia (NTFA).  The NTFA was established as an arm of the Flinders University of South Australia and was designated as the national tidal organization in 1989.  The University has decided that it no longer intends to support the operations of the Facility.  The Steering Committee, which oversees the activities of the NTFA, has developed plans for transitioning the management and operations of the Facility within the Australian government framework. Whilst the plans have not been completely resolved, the proposal to establish a new National Tidal Centre (NTC) within the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) may be approved for implementation later in 2003.  The NTC would subsume the functions and activities of the NTFA.  The proposal is subject to funding and government approval. Following ITSU-XIX interested parties should consult the Director of the NTF or the Oceanographic Services Program Manager in the Bureau for further information in this regard.

 

The NTFA plays a significant role in monitoring tsunamis in the Australian region, and has built up key expertise in the area of tsunami modelling for predictive applications.  Its existing operating environment, as an arm of the University, has proved to have been a major impediment to its active collaboration on public good projects such as the planned ATAS, especially in an operational context.  Under the proposed new arrangements involving the NTC, the coupling of existing NTF expertise, know-how and systems with the operational activities of the BOM and Geoscience Australia (GA) should provide a seamless and effective sea level monitoring system which will be beneficial to the overall development of tsunami services. 

 

The BOM has recently established an Oceanographic Services Program, which is a major new commitment to a program to develop ocean services comparable in scope to the weather services that have been developed and provided to the community over the last 100 years or so.  The new Program is responsible for developing national tsunami warning services.  This new focus of effort on tsunami activities will better facilitate the development of operational alert or warning capabilities, and the development of skills and expertise for putting in place necessary infrastructure, systems and decision support. National tsunami warning arrangements are in place for the western coasts of Australia, which fall outside the remit of ITSU.  These arrangements will be reassessed in light of plans to initially develop the ATAS as part of a staged approach to establishment of a fully fledged warning system and future arrangements concerning NTFA.  While the PTWC provides warning advices for Australia’s Pacific coastlines, the intention is to develop expertise to supplement PTWC guidance especially with real-time run-up forecasts and possibly inundation estimates.  In brief plans entail:

 

·         Consolidation of operational tsunami alert activities involving BOM, GA and NTFA/NTC for all coastal regions;

·         Recapitalisation and review of observing networks for detecting tsunamis in Australia;

·         Development of decision support for run-up prediction;

·         Development of public awareness and education material on the tsunami hazard in Australia;

·         Development of a broader tsunami mitigation strategy with other key national stakeholders or potentially interested participants.

 

Australia is also interested in jointly exploring partnerships with other national agencies in the region to further common tsunami warning objectives, and with ITSU in particular in the nearby areas of the Indian Ocean basin.  

 

 

Date:    19 September 2003

Name:  Phil Parker, Acting Superintendent

Public Weather, Marine Weather and Oceanographic Services Program 

 

 

 



[1] These details may change during the latter part of 2003, following reorganization of national arrangements for operating sea level and tide prediction services. 

[2] These details may change during the latter part of 2003, following reorganization of national arrangements for operating sea level and tide prediction services.  Plans to establish a new National Tidal Centre (NTC) to incorporate the functions of the NTFA were pending governmental approval at the time this report was prepared. 


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