AGU FM11 - The 11 March 2011 Japan Tsunami 1

Press Conference from 2011 AGU Fall Meeting - Mon. 8 a.m. PST Among a variety of studies and assessments in the aftermath of the 11 March 2011, magnitude 9 Tohoku megaquake and tsunami in Japan, scientists are evaluating the significance of the event for tsunami forecasting and the possible initiation of a tsunami magnitude scale. Another team has used videos taken by tsunami eyewitnesses to make retroactive measurements of the waves' behavior. Other researchers have considered implications of the disaster in the next half century for the U.S. Pacific Northwest where similar seismic conditions prevail. And, a study in Japan has found an ironic reduction in tsunami risk awareness as a result of the recent disaster. Participants: Eddie Bernard Scientist Emeritus, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA-PMEL, Seattle, Washington, USA; Hermann Fritz Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Savannah, Georgia, USA; Satoko Oki Assistant Professor, Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Vasily Titov Director, NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA. Session: N12A, NH13G, NH32A