Abstract
On 6 February 2013, at 01:12:27 UTC, a magnitude Mw 8.0 earthquake occurred at 10.738° S, 165.138° E, depth 29 km, in the Santa Cruz Islands region, Solomon Islands. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was observed throughout the entire Pacific Ocean. Maximum wave heights up to 3 m were observed on Nendo Island, located approximately 75 km east of the epicenter. On the islands of Malo, Nendo, Nibanga Noi, and Tomotu Niabona, the tsunami caused 11 deaths, 14 injuries, and damaged or destroyed more than 700 houses. The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and collocated World Data Service (WDS) for Geophysics maintains the global tsunami archive, providing integrated access to tsunami event observational, instrumental, and socio-economic impact data. This archive incorporates the historical tsunami database, imagery, raw and processed U.S. coastal tide gauge, and tsunameter data including Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART®) relevant to a tsunami event. The historical tsunami database includes information on the tsunami source, maximum wave heights, and socio-economic effects such as deaths and damage. NGDC works in collaboration with the UNESCO/IOC – NOAA International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) to collect post-tsunami event information. As of 20 February 2013, NGDC has collected maximum tsunami amplitudes from 62 tide gauge observations, eight tsunameter and bottom pressure recorder (BPR) station observations, and 25 field survey and eyewitness reports for this event. Preliminary processing of tide gauge and tsunameter time series data revealed that the tsunami lasted between 6 and 9 h after arrival at the tsunameters located in the western Pacific and at the Pacific Island tide gauges. This paper presents a review of historical tsunamis in the Solomon Islands region and describes the data collected and processed for the 6 February 2013 earthquake and tsunami.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Baragamu G, Aoraunishaka P (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami aerial assessment report, 8 February 2013. National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Disaster Council (NDC), Solomon Islands
Bone C (2013) Oceans watch helps out after Solomon Islands Tsunami. Sail-World.com. http://www.sail-world.com/USA/OceansWatch-helps-out-after-Solomon-Islands-Tsunami/106568. Accessed 15 Feb 2013
Dunbar PK, Stroker KJ, Brocko VR, Varner JD, McLean SJ, Taylor LA, Eakins BW, Carignan KS, Warnken RR (2008) Long-term tsunami data archive supports tsunami forecast, warning, research, and mitigation. Pure Appl Geophys 165:2275–2291. doi:10.1007/s00024-008-0419-4
Jarvis A, Reuter HI, Nelson A, Guevara E (2008) Hole-filled seamless SRTM data V4. International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org. Accessed 13 Feb 2013
Mofjeld HO (2009) Tsunami measurements. In: Robinson A, Bernard E (eds) The Sea, vol 15, Tsunamis. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 201–235
Mungov G, Eblé M, Bouchard R (2012) DART Tsunameter retrospective and real-time data: a reflection on 10 years of processing in support of tsunami research and operations. In historical and recent catastrophic tsunamis in the world: volume II. Tsunamis from 1755 to 2010. Pure Appl Geophys. doi:10.1007/s00024-012-0477-5
National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Solomon Islands (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami, joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Situation Report Number 01. Accessed 6 Feb 2013
National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Solomon Islands (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami, joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Situation Report Number 02. Accessed 8 Feb 2013
National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Solomon Islands (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami, joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Situation Report Number 04. Accessed 9 Feb 2013
National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Solomon Islands (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami, joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Situation Report Number 06. Accessed 13 Feb 2013
National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Solomon Islands (2013) Temotu earthquake and tsunami, joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Situation Report Number 08. Accessed 16 Feb 2013
OCHA Regional Office for the Pacific (2013) Solomon Islands: earthquake and tsunami OCHA situation report No. 2. Accessed 7 Feb 2013
United States Geological Survey (USGS) (2013) Magnitude 8.0–76 km w of Lata, Solomon Islands. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000f1s0. Accessed 15 Feb 2013
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the partner agencies whose continued collaboration ensures the success of the United States’ efforts to provide real-time tsunami warning to coastal communities during a tsunami event. NOAA’s two Tsunami Warning Centers, the National Ocean Service, the National Data Buoy Center, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, the UNESCO/IOC – NOAA International Tsunami Information Center, and the National Geophysical Data Center each provide critical expertise. We also wish to acknowledge the Australian Bureau of Meteorology for their collaborative efforts in tsunameter networking in the southern oceans. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the Joint Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Emergency Operations Centre for providing their situation reports on the impacts of the 6 February 2013 earthquake and tsunami.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dunbar, P., Mungov, G., Kong, L., McCullough, H., Harris, E. (2014). Preliminary 2013 Solomon Islands Earthquake and Tsunami Data Report and Historical Retrospective. In: Kontar, Y., Santiago-Fandiño, V., Takahashi, T. (eds) Tsunami Events and Lessons Learned. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7269-4_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7269-4_22
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7268-7
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7269-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)