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Depth of Marianas seas under study
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Posted on May 18 2005
Scientists are currently studying the depth of the seas surrounding Guam and the Northern Marianas to determine how destructive a tsunami can be in case it happens in the region.
The study—called bathymetry—is the first attempt to mathematically calculate how high waves will possibly rise when they approach the islands’ coasts during a tsunami event.
James Quick, PhD., volcano hazards program coordinator of the U.S. Geological Survey, said yesterday that other USGS scientists are set to arrive in the CNMI to conduct geologic mapping of Pagan Island, which is being proposed as a resettlement site.
While the Pagan mission would assess the volcanic hazards on the island, the USGS has also begun a preliminary numerical assessment for a tsunami runup on Guam and the CNMI’s major islands—Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Emergency Management Office Rudolfo Pua earlier expressed concern about the lack of volcano hazards assessment in the CNMI, saying that tsunamis might result if volcanic eruptions become violent and send landslides into the sea. Tsunamis usually result after strong earthquakes.
Quick said preliminary results of the bathymetric study would be ready by early October.
No destructive tsunami has happened so far in the Marianas. Quick said one of the major tsunamis that occurred in the region brought five-foot waves to the coast of Guam sometime in 1993. He said the waves swept a fisherman to sea, but the latter survived.
