Developments of Tsunami Observing Systems in Japan

Abstract

Being situated on the major subduction zones in conjunction with a considerable number of submarine active faults and coastal volcanoes, Japan has a long history of catastrophic tsunami events. Consequently, enormous efforts in disaster mitigation, particularly in relation with tsunami hazards, have been made across the country. It is of our interest to review the developments of tsunami observing systems in Japan, which may lead to a global implication beyond national boundaries. In this paper, we first discuss, in general, the evolution of past to present tsunami observing systems available around the territory of Japan. More specifically, we identify the existing offshore observational networks that are mainly consisted of cabled ocean bottom pressure gages and global navigation satellite system buoys, and briefly analyze their performance and viability in the long-term future. In that context, we also appraise the potential of emerging technologies in the offshore tsunami detection leveraging unconventional platforms such as commercial ships and airplanes, which have recently been introduced by several studies in Japan.