BACKGROUND: Pioneering tsunami research in the U.S. begun at the University of Hawaii following the devastating 1946 tsunami. Scientists at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), and at the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) contributed significantly over the years towards the development of tsunami research, to improvements of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, and to tsumami preparedness around the world. Other prominent scientists from as far away as Alaska, other U.S. States and countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, Oceania and Central and South America, joined in this effort.
The International Tsunami Society was organized in 1982 by Dr. W. M. Adams, Dr. A. S. Furumoto and Dr. G. Pararas-Carayannis in Honolulu, Hawaii, as a professional Society and as a focal organization promoting research and supporting efforts to increase and disseminate knowledge about tsunamis and their hazards.
Hawaii, to this day, continues to be a signicant center for tsunami research and for advances in tsunami warning technology. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the International Tsunami Information Center of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and the Hilo Tsunami Museum are here. Numerous prominent scientists at the Univeristy of Hawaii are actively working on tsunami research projects. Finally, the Hawaii State Civil Defense has a very effective program on tsunami preparedness and been designated as the best organized in the U.S.
Mandate and Mission of the Tsunami Society
The International Tsunami Society promotes the awareness and mitigation of tsunami hazards by sponsorship of workshops, meetings and symposia, and by the dissemination of knowledge about tsunamis to scientists, officials, the media and the public through the publication of the journal known as "Science of Tsunami Hazards", a home page, and other venues. The Society provides a focus for discussion and interactions among its members, government agencies and the public. The primary objective is to mitigate the adverse impact of tsunamis on humanity.
Functions
The International Tsunami Society encourages collaborative, multidisciplinary research related to the tsunami hazards for the purpose of promoting education, training, public awareness and implementation of early warning systems that can save lives around the world and safeguard property. More specifically - and particularly after the tragic (2004) Tsunami Disaster in the Indian Ocean - the Society :
Promotes the concept that tsunamis have a common adverse impact on Mankind that transcends national boundaries and interests and, therefore, encourages regional and international cooperation for research, education and preparedness;
Promotes the setting up of facilities required for the undertaking of research on tsunamis, based on a holistic multidisciplinary approach that combines theoretical and applied sciences and mathematics, as well as social sciences, to the understanding of the tsunami phenomenon;
Promotes the mitigation of the adverse impact of tsunamis on humanity through the implementation and establishement of effective, early warning systems and through programs of education and preparedness;
Co-operates with other international scientific organizations, governments, foundations, industries, academic institutions and other professional groups concerned with the hazards of tsunamis;
Acts as a focal point in assisting coordination between research institutions and universities around the world promoting programs of theoretical and applied tsunami research.
Supports the organization of training programs, symposiums, workshops, seminars and other meetings to study topics of interest related to tsunami studies and preparedness;
Conducts an international Tsunami Symposium every three years at the East-West Center on the University of Hawaii campus;
Assists governmental and private organizations with the establishment of appropriate liaison mechanisms.
INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI SOCIETY OFFICERS
Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis, President
Dr. Tad Murty, Vice-President
Dr. Carolyn Forbes, Secretary/Treasurer
SCIENCE OF TSUNAMI HAZARDS - The Journal of the International Tsunami Society
In support of the above stated mission and functions and to increase and disseminate knowledge about tsunamis and their hazards, for more than 25 years, the International Tsunami Society has published a journal known as "SCIENCE OF TSUNAMI HAZARDS".
In recent years many tsunami research papers have been published in a variety of other miscellaneous journals. However, none of these journals are dedicated specifically to tsunamis. Searching for specific data and research results about tsunamis is often difficult and time consumming. Subscription costs are usually high. Papers published in such journals have limited dissemination. The general public and scientists from developing countries, with limited institutional sponsorship and support, are often unable to subscribe or access these journals.
The International Tsunami Society makes all of its publications that are older than two years available readily to the international scientific community and to the general public free of charge. Journals published in the last two years are provided free of charge to members of the Society and are readily available to the general public at a nominal cost.
Finally, to assure high quality standards of publication, all papers submitted to the Science of Tsunami Hazards Journal receive a thorough "peer-review" by an Editorial Board and other senior scholars with specific multidisciplinary expertise. The archived published papers in the Society's journal include a wealth of data, research results and references on tsunamis that does not exist anywhere else.
These mirror sites will eventually be phased out.
