FY 1988

The Pacific Tsunami Observation Program (PacTOP)

González, F.I., E.N. Bernard, H.B. Milburn, D. Castel, J. Thomas, and J.M. Hemsley

In Proceedings of the International Tsunami Symposium, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 18–19 August 1987, 3–19 (1988)

PacTOP is a cooperative effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to establish a monitoring network capable of acquiring high quality tsunami data in the deep ocean and at exposed coastal sites. The network is designed to monitor major portions of the seismically active Aleutian trench which possess high potential for tsunamigenic earthquakes, and is thus focused on tsunami events which would threaten Alaska, the U.S. west coast and Hawaii. This network is in its second year of development, and presently consists of five NOAA deep ocean bottom pressure recorder (BPR) stations, six primary USACE pressure gauges at shallow water coastal sites exposed to the open ocean, and three secondary USACE stations inside of coastal inlets. Station locations, instrument characteristics, and data collection procedures are described.