Tsunami Research in Thailand
Researchers from GEOMAR/Future Ocean on Expedition in the Andaman Sea

It was more than six years ago on the 26th of December 2004, that a large tsunami in the Indian Ocean destroyed much of the coastal area and took the lives of 200,000 victims. In addition to Indonesia, the coasts of Thailand were badly hit. In order to minimize the consequences of such catastrophes in the future, the TRIAS project (Tracing Tsunami Impacts On and Off Shore in the Andaman Sea Region), as part of a German-Thai cooperation, was initiated. 

The MASS sub project (Morphodynamics and Slope Stability of the Andaman Sea Shelf Break) should estimate the tsunami risks posed by submarine slope slides off the coast of Thailand. Slope slides can trigger tsunamis, which are for the most part regionaly limited, but can reach great heights. Because slope slides often occur very close to the coast, tsunamis can occur with almost no advance warning. 

In order to estimate the probability of slope slides off the coast of Thailand, from 3rd to 26th January 2011 a research expedition on board the Thai research vessel "Chakratong Tongyai" collected bathymetric and seismic data and took samples from the seafloor. The expedition team, led by Prof. Sebastian Krastel, included five scientists from the Kiel Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (GEOMAR), all members of the Kiel Cluster of Excellence "Future "Ocean", as well as colleagues from four Thai institutes. The data set collected complements bathymetric measurements already collected in 2006 and 2007. The present stability of the slope should be determined through synthesis of the data and a risk assessment for future slope slides carried out. Another aim of this project is to promote the development of marine geoscience expertise in Thailand.

Links:
The MASS project is part of the German-Thai TRIAS project. (external Links)