Publication Date:
2005
Description:
We appreciate W. Menke and L. Levin's comments (Eos, 86(19), pp. 185, 189,
10 May 2005) on the need to develop new seismological techniques to more accurately
dermine the magnitude of great earthquakes quickly. However, in the first few
paragraphs, Menke and Levin suggest that the many thousands of people died because an
accurate assessment of the true nature of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra earthquake was
not known within the first hour after it occurred. Although this may serve as a wake-up
call to seismologists on the importance of better and more rapid magnitude estimation
procedures, it should not be used to obscure the most urgent need, which is to establish
an effective global tsunami warning system. The primary reason many thousands of lives
were lost in the Sumatra tsunami is that there was no tsunami warning system for the
Indian Ocean. Rather than focusing on the failure of seismologists to accurately
estimate the magnitude of the 26 December earthquake, we should understand that what the
world needs to prevent another tsunami tragedy on this scale is, first and foremost, a
global tsunami warning system. Faster seismological techniques for more accurate
magnitude estimation and source characterization will certainly help the warning system.
However, such improvements will be of little benefit to nations or regions where there
is still no tsunami warning system
Keywords:
Sumatra
;
Banda
;
Aceh
;
Indonesia
;
Seismology
;
Earthquake
;
Magnitude
;
Tsunami(s)
;
Location
;
seismic Moment
;
Early warning systems (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis etc.)
;
4564
;
Oceanography:
;
Physical:
;
Tsunamis
;
and
;
storm
;
surges
;
7230
;
Seismology:
;
Seismicity
;
and
;
tectonics
