Trench, reefs not enough protection: Guam can be hit by tsunamis as high as 19 feet, research says
By Laura Matthews • Pacific Daily News • December 11, 2009
The Mariana Trench and the reefs surrounding Guam aren't enough to protect the island if a tsunami should hit it.
And it could, according to Vasily V. Titov, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Tsunami Research.
Titov said an 8.5-magnitude earthquake is enough to trigger tsunami waves as high as 19 feet onshore.
"Samoa has answered that question very well; the reef is not a universal protector," Titov said, dispelling years of beliefs that the island's reef system could block the rushing waters from a tsunami.
This determination was made based on the findings from the NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory's research project, which started in 2004, and it was used to create tsunami inundation models for Guam. The researchers used the plate tectonics for Guam and its historical models, among other things, to develop the model. The project was funded by the Pacific Risk Management Ohana.
The full findings will be released before year's end, said Titov, who will leave the island Saturday.
"We can really say where the tsunami is going to be big," Titov said.
So far researchers have developed inundation models for Tumon Bay, Hagåtña, Apra Harbor, Pago Bay and Inarajan.
Should an 8.5 magnitude earthquake shake the island, the Tumon area could get waves as high as 19 feet, while Hagåtña could be washed by waves measuring 15 feet. Meanwhile, waves about 9 feet high could strike Apra Harbor.
The height of the waves will depend on the source of the earthquake. Currently, the researchers are eyeing the Mariana Trench and the Philippine Trench as potential sources.
"That the Mariana Trench can protect you from a tsunami is a misconception. What the trench does is that it straightens the front of the waves and shoots it to the closest coastline," Titov said.
While on the island he will meet with local scientists and technicians to show them how to use the new model, as well as garner more information to support the findings.
Little research exists on tsunami activities on Guam, but some tsunami waves have raced ashore in the past.
According to the data, in 1952 a tsunami generated in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia caused little stimulation at Apra Harbor, and again at the same location in 1964 from the Great Alaska earthquake, Titov said.
Chip Guard, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said the model is a good tool for the island.
"This kind of model will give more specific guidelines that we can work from," Guard said.
Both Titov and Guard said the model must be coupled with public education to make it very effective.
Showing posts with label Marianas Trench. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marianas Trench. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Bush pushes for marine reserves
By PETER N. SPOTTS
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
In its waning weeks, the Bush administration is sorting through options that could lead to the largest marine conservation reserves in United States history.
At issue: Proposals to protect at least one of two vast reaches of ocean that host some of the most pristine coral-reef and under-sea mountain ecosystems in the Pacific. One candidate, a loose cluster of islands and atolls in the central Pacific called the Line Islands, covers a patch of ocean larger than Mexico. The other, a section of the Northern Mariana Islands, is larger than Arizona.
The administration has been heavily criticized for its stance on environmental issues such as global warming and for its last-minute efforts to ease some environmental regulations. So its interest in a bold marine-conservation move may seem surprising. But the president “has had a strong interest in the health of the oceans,” says Dennis Heinemann, a senior vice president with Ocean Conservancy, a marine-conservation group in Washington.
In 2006, President Bush established a vast marine reserve along the northwest Hawaiian Islands, the Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument. The monument spans an area larger than all of the country's national parks combined.
It's unclear at the moment whether the White House will take the same regulatory approach now. Mr. Bush could establish vast no-take zones, perhaps with exceptions to allow indigenous people to fish there. Or, he could merely endorse the concept of preserving these areas and punt the decision to the incoming Obama administration.
Still, hopes are high that Bush will grant full protection to these areas. “The condition of the oceans is degrading, and it's really been degrading for coral reefs. It's important to preserve these last few relatively untouched parts of the ocean,” Dr. Heinemann says.
The latest effort builds on the 2006 Hawaii designation, says Jay Nelson, who heads the global ocean legacy program at the Pew Environment Group in Washington. Following that designation, the White House asked federal agencies, nongovernment groups, and the research community for more candidates. These included deep-sea coral networks off the US Southeast Coast and a proposal to establish a string of marine protected areas along the continental shelf from Florida to Belize.
In the end, the Marianas and Line Islands were the last candidates standing.
The islands, atolls, and seamounts that would be conserved are remote. But they may also represent unique opportunities for research. In addition to its reefs, a northern Marianas reserve would include a section of the Marianas Trench, formed by the collision of two plates of the Earth's crust and home to the deepest spot on the seafloor. The area hosts 19 species of whales and dolphins. Life thrives in the extreme environments around hydrothermal vents. The seascape includes enormous mud volcanoes and pools of boiling sulfur.
The Line Islands, meanwhile, are feeding stations for migratory fish with an unexpected twist on the traditional food pyramid. “It's an amazing inverted pyramid design,” in which most living organisms sit atop the food chain instead of at the bottom, says Nancy Knowlton, a marine scientist with the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. Although organisms lower on the food chain are fewer, they reproduce more quickly and so can support a relatively large number of diners. The system gives researchers a good baseline to understand what coral-reef systems used to look like, she says.
The Line Islands also serve as a way station for 21 species of migratory birds and some 19 species of seabird, who come to feed as large fish on a feeding frenzy drive their prey to the surface. “This shows a direct ecological connection between land and sea,” notes William Chandler, vice president for government affairs at the Marine Conservation Biology Institute office in Washington.
The effort is drawing support from the tourist industry, who see the region's reefs as an asset that needs to be safeguarded, as well as from conservation groups and marine scientists.
But the proposal has generated its share of concerns. Some supporters worry that conservation measures won't be tight enough.
Meanwhile, locals have expressed concerns that restrictions will be too tight. Indigenous people in American Samoa and the Marianas were concerned they would be banned from fishing and other traditional practices. There are other worries about Washington impinging on undersea mining projects for minerals on the seafloor off the Marianas Trench. These local concerns are being addressed, says James Connaughton, head of the president's Council on Environmental Quality.
“There are a lot of people who are not quite sure what we might or might not do who are envisioning the worst from their particular perspective,” he says. The assessment team were able to reassure many people that the worst won't happen.
One concern shared by local fishermen and US Pentagon officials centered on navigation rights through any proposed reserve, particularly around the Marianas. But the president's directive to assess the potential marine reserve sites reaffirmed these navigation rights.
The White House faces a deadline of Inauguration Day next month for making any decision on the reserves. But many conservationists say they hope a decision comes by the end of the year.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
In its waning weeks, the Bush administration is sorting through options that could lead to the largest marine conservation reserves in United States history.
At issue: Proposals to protect at least one of two vast reaches of ocean that host some of the most pristine coral-reef and under-sea mountain ecosystems in the Pacific. One candidate, a loose cluster of islands and atolls in the central Pacific called the Line Islands, covers a patch of ocean larger than Mexico. The other, a section of the Northern Mariana Islands, is larger than Arizona.
The administration has been heavily criticized for its stance on environmental issues such as global warming and for its last-minute efforts to ease some environmental regulations. So its interest in a bold marine-conservation move may seem surprising. But the president “has had a strong interest in the health of the oceans,” says Dennis Heinemann, a senior vice president with Ocean Conservancy, a marine-conservation group in Washington.
In 2006, President Bush established a vast marine reserve along the northwest Hawaiian Islands, the Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument. The monument spans an area larger than all of the country's national parks combined.
It's unclear at the moment whether the White House will take the same regulatory approach now. Mr. Bush could establish vast no-take zones, perhaps with exceptions to allow indigenous people to fish there. Or, he could merely endorse the concept of preserving these areas and punt the decision to the incoming Obama administration.
Still, hopes are high that Bush will grant full protection to these areas. “The condition of the oceans is degrading, and it's really been degrading for coral reefs. It's important to preserve these last few relatively untouched parts of the ocean,” Dr. Heinemann says.
The latest effort builds on the 2006 Hawaii designation, says Jay Nelson, who heads the global ocean legacy program at the Pew Environment Group in Washington. Following that designation, the White House asked federal agencies, nongovernment groups, and the research community for more candidates. These included deep-sea coral networks off the US Southeast Coast and a proposal to establish a string of marine protected areas along the continental shelf from Florida to Belize.
In the end, the Marianas and Line Islands were the last candidates standing.
The islands, atolls, and seamounts that would be conserved are remote. But they may also represent unique opportunities for research. In addition to its reefs, a northern Marianas reserve would include a section of the Marianas Trench, formed by the collision of two plates of the Earth's crust and home to the deepest spot on the seafloor. The area hosts 19 species of whales and dolphins. Life thrives in the extreme environments around hydrothermal vents. The seascape includes enormous mud volcanoes and pools of boiling sulfur.
The Line Islands, meanwhile, are feeding stations for migratory fish with an unexpected twist on the traditional food pyramid. “It's an amazing inverted pyramid design,” in which most living organisms sit atop the food chain instead of at the bottom, says Nancy Knowlton, a marine scientist with the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. Although organisms lower on the food chain are fewer, they reproduce more quickly and so can support a relatively large number of diners. The system gives researchers a good baseline to understand what coral-reef systems used to look like, she says.
The Line Islands also serve as a way station for 21 species of migratory birds and some 19 species of seabird, who come to feed as large fish on a feeding frenzy drive their prey to the surface. “This shows a direct ecological connection between land and sea,” notes William Chandler, vice president for government affairs at the Marine Conservation Biology Institute office in Washington.
The effort is drawing support from the tourist industry, who see the region's reefs as an asset that needs to be safeguarded, as well as from conservation groups and marine scientists.
But the proposal has generated its share of concerns. Some supporters worry that conservation measures won't be tight enough.
Meanwhile, locals have expressed concerns that restrictions will be too tight. Indigenous people in American Samoa and the Marianas were concerned they would be banned from fishing and other traditional practices. There are other worries about Washington impinging on undersea mining projects for minerals on the seafloor off the Marianas Trench. These local concerns are being addressed, says James Connaughton, head of the president's Council on Environmental Quality.
“There are a lot of people who are not quite sure what we might or might not do who are envisioning the worst from their particular perspective,” he says. The assessment team were able to reassure many people that the worst won't happen.
One concern shared by local fishermen and US Pentagon officials centered on navigation rights through any proposed reserve, particularly around the Marianas. But the president's directive to assess the potential marine reserve sites reaffirmed these navigation rights.
The White House faces a deadline of Inauguration Day next month for making any decision on the reserves. But many conservationists say they hope a decision comes by the end of the year.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Guam fishermen say no to Marianas monument
Thursday, 23 October 2008 00:00 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan - Variety News Staff
HAGATNA — The Guam Fisherman’s Co-Op rallies behind the CNMI government in opposing the White House’s proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, saying the plan will equally hurt this island’s fishing industry.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, members of the fishermen’s group voted unanimously to support the CNMI government’s petition against the Bush administration’s plan to turn the waters surrounding the commonwealth’s three northernmost islands as a federal marine reserve.
Fisherman’s Co-Op president Manny Duenas urged Guam officials to join the CNMI government in its efforts to block the federal plan.
“We don’t want any more federalization of the Marianas. What we have in place works. The federal plan will affect the tradition that we have been practicing for over 4,000 years,” Duenas said yesterday.
He said the proposed monument extends to the southern side of Guam waters, which are rich in seamount resources.
“The deeper part of the Marianas Trench is covered by Guam waters. The monument will exclude 50 percent of the marine resources in the southern seamount,” Duenas said.
The Fisherman’s Co-Op, which has about 150 members, is the lifeline for many island fishermen, who catch marine products for family sustenance and commercial trade.
Duenas said about 15 to 20 fishermen who cover the southern seamount produce about 50,000 tons of fish a year.
“The fishermen in that area use most of their catch for family consumption, and the excess are sold to local markets. We don’t plunder our marines resources. We use them for sustenance and to keep the community alive,’ Duenas said.
Sen. James Espaldon, R-Tamuning, plans to introduce a resolution expressing Guam’s support for the CNMI government’s stand against the White House plan.
“I represent the voice of our people who are against this proposed monument. What’s worse is that this is being done through an executive order instead of congressional legislation, without any input from us,” said Espaldon, chairman of the Legislative Natural Resources Committee. “They’re claiming our lands and the seas around us. How come island residents don’t have a say on this issue? Is this part of the militarization plan? They are militarizing our lands; do they want to militarize the seas as well?”
HAGATNA — The Guam Fisherman’s Co-Op rallies behind the CNMI government in opposing the White House’s proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, saying the plan will equally hurt this island’s fishing industry.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, members of the fishermen’s group voted unanimously to support the CNMI government’s petition against the Bush administration’s plan to turn the waters surrounding the commonwealth’s three northernmost islands as a federal marine reserve.
Fisherman’s Co-Op president Manny Duenas urged Guam officials to join the CNMI government in its efforts to block the federal plan.
“We don’t want any more federalization of the Marianas. What we have in place works. The federal plan will affect the tradition that we have been practicing for over 4,000 years,” Duenas said yesterday.
He said the proposed monument extends to the southern side of Guam waters, which are rich in seamount resources.
“The deeper part of the Marianas Trench is covered by Guam waters. The monument will exclude 50 percent of the marine resources in the southern seamount,” Duenas said.
The Fisherman’s Co-Op, which has about 150 members, is the lifeline for many island fishermen, who catch marine products for family sustenance and commercial trade.
Duenas said about 15 to 20 fishermen who cover the southern seamount produce about 50,000 tons of fish a year.
“The fishermen in that area use most of their catch for family consumption, and the excess are sold to local markets. We don’t plunder our marines resources. We use them for sustenance and to keep the community alive,’ Duenas said.
Sen. James Espaldon, R-Tamuning, plans to introduce a resolution expressing Guam’s support for the CNMI government’s stand against the White House plan.
“I represent the voice of our people who are against this proposed monument. What’s worse is that this is being done through an executive order instead of congressional legislation, without any input from us,” said Espaldon, chairman of the Legislative Natural Resources Committee. “They’re claiming our lands and the seas around us. How come island residents don’t have a say on this issue? Is this part of the militarization plan? They are militarizing our lands; do they want to militarize the seas as well?”
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bush to decide on NMI monument before term ends
Wednesday, 22 October 2008 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff
PRESIDENT Bush will decide whether to designate a marine monument in the CNMI before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20, 2009.
James Connaughton, the president’s senior environmental advisor and chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said Bush and first lady Laura Bush have been briefed a few times about the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument project, which involves designating 115,000 square miles of waters around the islands of Uracas, Maug and Asuncion as a federally protected area.
“President Bush and [Mrs.] Bush…are very interested and excited in calling the world’s attention to the central Pacific Region in a way that the world hasn’t focused on this region before,” Connaugton told the Variety in an interview yesterday.
Connaughton is among four White House officials who will make the final recommendation to the president regarding the CNMI marine monument proposal.
“We will complete our assessment by the end of this month. The secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Commerce and me will formulate recommendations. Any final decision will come from President Bush and I will not speak for President Bush at this point,” Connaughton said.
He added, “There is no question he will make a decision before he leaves office and that decision could be ‘Proceed with the monument that has met the concerns expressed by officials’; or ‘Set and place a process for further evaluation for the program,’ which might take years.”
Connaughton said the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey have considered designating a protected marine area in the Marianas region for years.
He said they want to assure the local people that the proposal is well-intentioned.
“We’re building on a very solid foundation of work,” he added.
According to Connaughton, the study to back up their recommendations on the marine monument proposal will be “comprehensive.”
“It’s looking at the biology, the natural resources. It’s looking at the geology and we’re also trying to understand the cultural resources. There is a historical component to this. We’re also taking into account the social and economic benefits. We will pull together all the information we have and we will use that as a basis for deciding whether additional action will be beneficial,” he said.
PRESIDENT Bush will decide whether to designate a marine monument in the CNMI before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20, 2009.
James Connaughton, the president’s senior environmental advisor and chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said Bush and first lady Laura Bush have been briefed a few times about the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument project, which involves designating 115,000 square miles of waters around the islands of Uracas, Maug and Asuncion as a federally protected area.
“President Bush and [Mrs.] Bush…are very interested and excited in calling the world’s attention to the central Pacific Region in a way that the world hasn’t focused on this region before,” Connaugton told the Variety in an interview yesterday.
Connaughton is among four White House officials who will make the final recommendation to the president regarding the CNMI marine monument proposal.
“We will complete our assessment by the end of this month. The secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Commerce and me will formulate recommendations. Any final decision will come from President Bush and I will not speak for President Bush at this point,” Connaughton said.
He added, “There is no question he will make a decision before he leaves office and that decision could be ‘Proceed with the monument that has met the concerns expressed by officials’; or ‘Set and place a process for further evaluation for the program,’ which might take years.”
Connaughton said the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey have considered designating a protected marine area in the Marianas region for years.
He said they want to assure the local people that the proposal is well-intentioned.
“We’re building on a very solid foundation of work,” he added.
According to Connaughton, the study to back up their recommendations on the marine monument proposal will be “comprehensive.”
“It’s looking at the biology, the natural resources. It’s looking at the geology and we’re also trying to understand the cultural resources. There is a historical component to this. We’re also taking into account the social and economic benefits. We will pull together all the information we have and we will use that as a basis for deciding whether additional action will be beneficial,” he said.
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