A PILOT tsunami warning station was placed on the sea floor by a team of 19 scientists around 150 kilometres from the coast of Sagres on August 18 and 19.
An Italian ship, Urania, left from Faro port to carry out the mission. This underwater observatory, named Geostar, will be used to measure and study the seismic levels in the area as well as an eventual tsunami.
According to the project’s coordinator, Nevio Zitellini, from the Institute of Maritime Sciences in Bologna, Italy, this study will take place for one year in a very seismically active area near the Algarve.
Geostar is equipped with seismographs and sensors capable of making geological and geophysical lifts and prevent eventual tsunamis.
Equipment now exists in Asia which can alert the population of a tsunami after an hour, but, in this part of the world, the strategy needs to be different.
“We are going to monitor the tectonic area directly,” said Nevio Zitellini, adding. “We need to know when a giant wave will appear and be able to warn people in plenty of time.”
As well as the Geostar, there will also be 25 small earthquake sensors spread around the area.
Paolo Favali, a scientist from the National Geophysical and Volcanological Institute of Rome, which is involved in the project, said: “This is one of the biggest experiments of its kind in the world. It is a project that has been funded by the European Union.”
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