WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
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JOINT WMO/IOC TECHNICAL COMMISSION FOR
OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE METEOROLOGY (JCOMM)
SERVICES COORDINATION GROUP
THIRD SESSION
EXETER, UNITED KINGDOM, 7 TO 10 NOVEMBER 2006
INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC
COMMISSION (OF UNESCO)
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SCG-III/Bkgd. 6.2(2)
(2.XI.2006)
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ITEM 6.2
Original: ENGLISH
IOC GLOBAL OCEAN-RELATED HAZARDS EARLY WARNING SYSTEM
(Submitted by Dr Peter Koltermann, Head Tsunami Co-ordination Unit, IOC)
1.
IOC's work on Early Warning Systems has been promoted by the mandate to set-up the Indian
Ocean Tsunami Warning System, to extend the cover of similar systems to other oceans beyond the
Pacific and Indian Oceans. A second mandate has charged IOC to extend the thematical cover of
these systems to ocean-related hazards and to provide to the IOC Assembly in 2007 with the Terms of
Reference for a global system incorporating existing and developing systems.
2.
Subsequently IOC has focused on developing standards for technical, methodological and
governance aspects and is continuing so. To ensure interoperability and common performance
standards, and to provide visibility of these systems operated in an intergovernmental structure, IOC is
keeping close contact with other UN organizations, such as WMO, IMO, ISDR, OCHA and ITU.
3.
Producing information that will lead to formulating warnings requires an extensive, targetoriented observing and data distribution system, and the capability of national or regional centres to
manage, assess and interpret the incoming data in a cooperative mode. This requires common
standards on sensors, data quality and documentation and on data transmission. This "upstream" part
is being organized in an international or better intergovernmental environment. Status and performance
assessments are essential to ensure the appropriateness of the system and to initiate remedial action.
4.
To ensure that risks and hazards are adequately realized, observed or even better recognized,
adequate data coverage in time and space is required. Besides the definition of proper statistical
requirements to ensure a measure of significance of these events, availability of the appropriate data in
time and space is of paramount importance.
5.
Requirements for this ‘upstream part’ vary. For extreme tides or storm surges the time
development is in the order of hours. So the identification and verification of extreme events that are to
be nationally formulated as warnings has to be done within the hour. For tsunami generated in offshore
zones some 100 km from the coast, the time between identification of the earthquake as a possible
source for the tsunami, the verification through independent measurements of the sea surface
variations and the arrival of the tsunami wave at the beach is often less than 30 min. For the 'upstream
part' technological and scientific performance and standards are high, and essential.
6.
In that time, the warning information has to be generated, transmitted to the relevant authorities
and these in turn have to activate pre-formulated disaster plans. This "downstream part" deals with
getting local and regional communities to act in a decisive and uniform way to procedures prescribed in
the disaster plans, such as evacuation, using escape routes, support of evacuees, etc. And these
measures have to be defined and trained. Here we deal with a very large number of people with not
necessarily an educational satisfactory background. So warnings have to be formulated in an
understandable, unique and precise language code.
SCG-III/Bkgd. 6.2(2), p. 2
7.
In this "downstream part" there are communities that have special requirements and need
dedicated information. These can be warnings on freak waves in the open ocean - dealing with seaman
and ships - or warnings for algae blooms addressing fishermen and the fish and tourism industry. An
Early Warning System has to address a wide range of properties, parameters and cover different time
and space scales.
8.
In this context IOC, is building its own EWSs on common procedures and structures. Each
EWS is coordinated by an Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) representing stakeholders, that
are Member States. Each ICG is supported by Working Groups that address specific technical,
implementation or logistical questions. These range from seismic, sea level questions to defining
awareness and preparedness programmes.
9.
At present the IOC is pursuing a harmonization of these Working Groups such that technical
and scientific issues are not particular to an ocean, but of general, of global concern. So the Working
Groups of each ICG will slowly evolve into single technical working groups that address global issues
and support the Global Ocean-Related Hazards Early Warning System (GOHWS).
10.
Activities to develop the GOHWS are underway. Draft terms-of-reference are being developed.
Not avoid duplication of efforts present argumentation follows the line, that existing systems should be
run on common standards, procedures and guidelines and common governance structures. The
GOHWS will then focus on developing and implementing these norms and overseeing their
implementation and adherence. And will identify priorities for implementation and present these to
Member States for action.
11.
Here WMO and IOC with the Joint Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology
JCOMM play a strategic role in defining ocean-related early warning systems. The Commission is
charged with norm-setting and provides guidance for the implementation at the national level through
the appropriate services in Member States.
12.
JCOMM also plays a crucial role in providing standards and norms for the GTS which in turn is
at present one of the backbone of IOC's data transmission system for real-time applications. Work has
started to modify standards in order to meet changed and changing technical requirements such as
band-with, access and new codes in response to the challenges of the Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami in
the Indian Ocean. Not all these challenges are yet met.
13.
IOC will also need the advice of JCOMM on several specific new issues. Will the GTS, that is
mainly essential for the "upstream part", be able to meet the requirements of the 'downstream part'.
Here regionalized warning messages will have to be delivered in real time to regional recipients. One
can easily discard this requirement and put it under national authority. But a specific request from IMO
to provide dedicated and detailed warnings on tsunami threads in coastal zones and ports is on the
table. IOC is discussing how to develop this sort of contents, but it will need JCOMM's support to define
details of the information message and on how to deliver this content to the appropriate recipients.
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