Chennai lab develops advanced buoys for tsunami detection

By U Tejonmayam

Researchers at city-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have designed and tested an underwater tsunami buoys as an alternative to the existing surface buoys that are often damaged by man and nature.

The new buoy called Continuously Homing Submerged Autonomous Tsunami Underwater System (CHATUR) lies silent at 300m depth in the water and pops up to the surface only when its sensots detect abnormal water pressure on the seafloor.

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At present, India has tsunmai buoys at strategic locations close to the Andaman-Sumatra subduction fault in the Bay of Bengal and Makran fault in the Arabian Sea. They collect data and transmit on a daily basis to the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre.

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Chatur has four main subsystems - bottom pressure recorder, extendable buoy system, motorised winch and brake system, and position mooring with acoustic release mechanism. Researchers said Chatur activates when it measures abnormal pressure associated with change in the height of the water column.

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