A numerical study of SMART Cables potential in marine hazard early warning for the Sumatra and Java regions

Amir Salaree, Bruce M Howe, Yihe Huang, Stuart A Weinstein, Andi E Sakya

We present results from a series of exploratory numerical experiments based on ocean bottom pressure and seismic data from a simulated linear array of SMART cable stations off the trench in the Sumatra-Java region. We use six rupture scenarios to calculate tsunami propagation using hydrodynamic simulations. Through these experiments we show that such an addition would result in up to several hours of improvement in the detection of earthquakes and tsunamis compared to the existing (minimal) DART system in the Indian Ocean. By simulating tsunamis from 58 submarine landslide scenarios in the region, we show that the SMART system can provide invaluable information in early warning against landslide tsunamis. We also calculate seismic phase arrival times from the six source scenarios at the existing seismic stations and our proposed SMART cables. Statistical analysis of our results shows that inclusion of such a SMART array can improve the important network parameters for the detection, evaluation and locating of seismic events.