IASPEI - Picture Gallery

IUGG XXIV General Assembly July 2-13, 2007 Perugia, Italy
(S) - IASPEI - International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's
Interior
JSS002 Poster presentation 1830
Seismic and Tsunami Monitoring in the Puerto Rico and Caribbean Region
Prof. Aurelio Mercado-Irizarry
Department of Marine Sciences University of Puerto Rico IAPSO
Christa Von Hillebrandt-Andrade, Victor Huerfano
The US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has a population of 3.8 million (2000 Census), which amounts to
a higher population density than any state. The island, approximately 160km from east to west by 50km
from north to south, is bounded by off-shore active faults on all sides. Numerous local and regional
events in the recorded history with M>7.0, three of which have generated destructive tsunamis, have
caused extensive damage to local infrastructure. The most recent significant ground motions and (local)
tsunami in Puerto Rico occurred as a consequence of M 7.3 earthquake on October 11, 1918. Efficient
emergency response in the event of a large earthquake or tsunami will be crucial to minimizing the
resultant loss of human life and disruption of lifeline systems. State of the art seismic and sea level
monitoring are necessary to be able to provide an appropriate response to such a disaster. The
seismicity of the island, as well as the northeastern Caribbean region in general (including the US and
British Virgin Islands), is monitored jointly by the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) and the Puerto
Rico Strong Motion Program (PRSMP), both operating within the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagez.
As of 2000 the PRSN has been developing a Tsunami Warning System for the region. For the detection
and reporting of potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes it monitors over 150 channels of seismic data
from the Caribbean and adjoining regions. The goal is to be able to timely and precisely detect all
earthquakes of at least magnitude 5 in the Caribbean region. As part of the warning system the PRSN is
also in the process of installing six tsunami ready tide gauge stations in Puerto Rico and a GOES satellite
receiver at its facilities for the data from these and other tide gauges of the regions, including the 10
tide gauges NOAA operates in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands . The tide gauges also meet the
standards for long term sea level studies. The data from the five DART buoys which were deployed by
NOAA in the spring of 2006 in the Caribbean and adjacent waters are also being incorporated into the
monitoring system, and Short-term Inundation Forecasting computational grids have been developed
for two major coastal cities, with three additional ones being worked on during 2007, including the
USVI.
Keywords: tsunamis, caribbean, sea level