With the broad availability of relatively inexpensive yet powerful computers and desktop workstations, there is growing interest and activity in tsunami research. Using the latest in computer technology, scientists are able to numerically model tsunami generation, open ocean propagation, and coastal runup.
   Ocean-bottom pressure sensors, able to measure tsunamis in the open ocean, are providing important data on the propagation of tsunamis in deep water, and satellite communications have enabled these data to be used in real time to detect and confirm that a tsunami has been generated in the deep ocean. NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory has pioneered the development of these tsunami detection buoys, and by the end of 2003, seven DART buoys will be in operation in the northern and eastern Pacific and available for use by the tsunami warning centers. Better equipment and numerical modeling methods are helping scientists to better understand the mechanism of tsunami generation.
   Seismologists, studying the dynamics of earthquakes with broad band seismometers (20 to 0.003 Hertz), are formulating new methods to analyze earthquake motion and

the amount of energy released. Where the traditional Richter (surface wave) magnitude of earthquakes is not accurate above 7.5, the seismic moment and the source duration are now used to better define the amount of energy released and the tsunami generation potential. Real-time determination of the depth of the earthquake, type of faulting, and extent of slippage will significantly improve the warning centers’ ability to identify the likelihood of a threatening tsunami. Tsunami generation is initiated by threedimensional deformation of the ocean bottom due to movement of the fault. Better characterizations of the earthquake fault mechanism will produce more realistic numerical models of propagation, runup, and inundation. Currently, numerical models of propagation generally use an implicit-in-time finite difference method. Tsunami inundation models, defining the extent of coastal flooding, are an integral aspect of tsunami hazard and preparedness planning. Using worst case inundation scenarios, these models are critical to defining evacuation zones and routes so that coastal communities can be evacuated quickly when a tsunami warning has been issued.