PROSPECTS OF EARLY TSUNAMI FORECASTING FOR THE PACIFIC COAST OF KAMCHATKA

Abstract

The notion of the term "advance time" for tsunami warnings is examined, as is the potential of the existing Kamchatkan service of fast tsunami warning for conveying alarm messages to sites of human settlement on the Pacific coast of Kamchatka well in advance of the events. The shortest pause is estimated for each site between the start of a local tsunami-generating earthquake and the approach of a tsunami wave accompanied by an early warning. A layout is proposed for a seismic station deployment to minimize the duration of seismic data processing needed for the earliest warning. This is mainly achieved by installing stations at least mobile sites located at the ends of the highest-velocity tsunami paths. The sites in question on the Pacific coast of Kamchatka are Russkaya Bay, Ust-Kamchatsk City, and Nikolskoe Village.