Scientists have deployed a tsunami-submission machine to help the future warning system

Very little warnings are often given when a tsunami comes, but a research team of the USF aims to improve the forecast of these dangerous events for communities that are most at risk.

The Shailo Underwater Boy for Geodecea (SUBGEO) system is a research partnership between the USF School of GeoSyins, College of Marine Science (CMS) and international colleagues. Born from the need to monitor and forecast earthquakes in shallow coastal water, the subgeo system at a depth of less than 650 feet in the subduction zone, where earthquakes and tsunamis are the most prevalent, measuring processes such as sea level speed, such as stress and release processes Is designed for.

The latest versions of the Subgeo system were deployed at two places on the Western Florida Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico in mid -December. Although the region does not suffer from earthquakes and tsunamis, it serves as a valuable testing site for such a system before being deployed at more seismicly active locations worldwide.

J Law, a research scientist at the Ocean Circulation Lab at CMS, said, “Sea floor on the Western Florida Shelf, including Tampa Bay, is essentially stable.”

“The purpose of this deployment is to test the accuracy of the GPS system where the background noise is low. In this way we can see how much speed of sowing is due to waves and other marine processes, and it determines the accuracy of the system. In measuring the movement of. “

The subgeo system uses highly accurate GPS to measure horizontal and vertical displacement of sea level with accuracy of one or two centimeters, which allows a collection of important data that allows to predict events months or years ago Can

Made in CMS machine shop, the original system is about 100 feet long and is 35 feet above the water. This was the first tests In 2018, near the Tampa Gulf near Egmont Key and this week at a depth of 65 feet from Florida coast was re -deployed.

An additional cable sown is also made in CMS, capable of measuring changes in sea bottom in deep water. The large system was further deployed in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of about 215 feet.

Tim Dixon, a professor and head of the project, a reputed university professor at the USF School of Geochetics, said, “The current monitoring technique for tsunami focuses on deep water, but the sea level speed in shallow water is also clinical and very less expensive. . ” “We hope that the future repetitions of the subgeo system can be used to save lives in coastal communities around the world.”

Plavs will be deployed for at least 24 months and their basic results will help refine the future versions of the system for operational deployment in the subduction zone, where stress and release processes are more common.

“An extraordinary coordinated attempt made this science possible,” said Tom Fraser of CMS. “The project displays the best things offered by the USF and highlights the joint engineering, fabrication and logistic expertise present at the University of South Florida. Will have to make these deployment successful. “