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German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning system (GITEWS)

Use SOS, SPS, WNS, SAS in various components of the system).

The German conception of the establishment of a Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean is based on different kinds of sensor systems. In ca. 90 % a tsunami is generated by an earthquake but also volcanic eruptions and landslides may be the triggering events. The conception aims at achieving indicators of a tsunami and its dimension by the analysis of different measurements at a very early stage. While a tsunami wave in the wideness of the sea spreads out with a speed up to 700 km/h, in the treated region a period of about 20 minutes elapses between the wave's generation and the first contact with the Indonesian mainland. In this timeframe the sensors, which will be installed at different locations inside the considered propagation areas, are able to rapidly detect deviations from normality (anomalies).

The sensors of the Tsunami Early Warning System comprise seismometers, GPS instruments, tide gauges and buoys as well as ocean bottom pressure sensors.

In a central warning center in Indonesia remarkable sensor data immediately is verified with a multitude of pre-taylored tsunami simulations to derive and to deliver trusted warnings.

By the involvement of local scientists and technicians in the framework of the Capacity Building Programme and by targeted actions to raise awareness regarding the tsunami threat the realisation of a long-term strategy towards the prevention of disastrous losses of lifes is aimed at.

GITEWS is a project of the German Government at the reconstruction of the tsunami-prone region of the Indian Ocean. It is accomplished by a consortium of nine institutions:

GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), German Aerospace Center (DLR), GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung (KDM), Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).