Google Earth Views of Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard
Analysis Pilot Study, Seaside, Oregon
Florence L Wong 1,
Angie J Venturato 2, Eric L Geist 1
1U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS
999, Menlo Park, CA 94025
2Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean,
University of Washington, Box 354235, Seattle, WA 98115
Virtual globes such as Google Earth provide immediate geographic context for research data for coastal hazard planning. We present Google Earth views of data from a Tsunami Pilot Study conducted within and near Seaside and Gearhart, Oregon, as part of FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map Modernization Program (Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group, 2006). Two goals of the pilot study were to develop probabilistic 100-year and 500-year tsunami inundation maps using Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) and to provide recommendations for improved tsunami hazard assessment guidelines. The Seaside area was chosen because it is typical of many coastal communities along the Cascadia subduction zone that extends from Cape Mendocino, California, to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. State and local stakeholders also expressed considerable interest in mapping the tsunami threat to this area.
The study was an interagency effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and FEMA, in collaboration with the University of Southern California, Middle East Technical University, Portland State University, Horning Geoscience, Northwest Hydraulics Consultants, and the Oregon Department of Geological and Mineral Industries. The pilot study report will be augmented by a separate geographic information systems (GIS) data publication that provides model data and results. In addition to traditional GIS data formats, Google Earth kmz files are available to provide rapid visualization of the data against the rich base map provided by the interface. The data include verbal and geologic observations of historic tsunami events, newly constructed DEMs, historic shorelines, earthquake sources, models of tsunami wave heights, and maps of the estimated 100- and 500-year probabilistic floods. Tsunami Pilot Study Working Group, 2006, Seaside, Oregon Tsunami Pilot Study - Modernization of FEMA Flood Hazard Maps: U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 2006-1234, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1234/.
URLs:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1234/
http://gis.esri.com/library/userconf/proc05/papers/pap2000.pdf