The new surveillance stations in operational support of the National Civil Protection
Designed to withstand harsh operating conditions and according to the international standards established for the measurement of tsunami waves up to a maximum height of 10m and which can be sampled every second: these are the six new generation tide gauge stations for strengthening the Network of Operational Surveillance, dedicated to sea level monitoring in defense of coastal areas potentially exposed to tsunamis generated by earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea.
Capo Teulada (Sardinia), Porto Palo (Sicily), Roccella Ionica (Calabria), Cetraro Lido (Calabria) and on the small islands of Marettimo (Sicily) and Pantelleria (Sicily), represent the first installations for strengthening the observation network of the sea level, with particular attention to coastal areas characterized by seismic sources with a high tsunami risk, such as the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Algero-Provençal Basin, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Strait of Sicily.
The Capo Teulada station, in particular, marks the launch of the new sea level observation network in the Mediterranean, also designed to accommodate additional sensors on board according to the needs and indications of the regional authorities.
Since the beginning of May of this year, ISPRA has made these six tide gauge stations operational as part of the operational surveillance network, a fundamental part of the national warning system for earthquake-generated tsunamis (SiAM), made up of ISPRA, INGV with the coordination of the National Civil Protection Department.
Among the six stations, Capo Teulada is the first to be fully operational: the station ensures the recording of tide gauge data and the transmission of the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a day. The sea level data, recorded with centimeter accuracy, are transmitted in real time to the INGV Tsunami Alert Center (CAT) (http://www.ingv.it/cat) and can be viewed and downloaded on the ISPRA-TAD Platform (tsunami.isprambiente.it/Tad_Server).
After the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004, one of the most disastrous events of the modern era, which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, the sharing of tidal wave data has also been significantly implemented in the context of the Tsunami Warning System for the North East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected basins.
To underline the many different collaborations in the protection and management of the Mare Nostrum, the Capo Teulada station will host the Mediterranean flag.
Cape Teulada
To underline the many different collaborations in the protection and management of the Mare Nostrum, the Capo Teulada station will host the Mediterranean flag.