PHUKET, Thailand, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- An international team of the
world's leading scientists has just returned from the first ever scientific
expedition to the deepest point of the seabed site of the 2004 Asian Tsunami.
Dramatic photographs reveal seafloor ruptures that contributed to the deadly
December 26 tsunami.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050602/DCTH016 )
Filmed exclusively for a special television event on Discovery Channel,
BBC One and ProSieben, a team of 27 scientists have spent 17 days at sea
exploring the seafloor off the coast of Sumatra in order to gain a better
understanding of the forces that led to the devastating tsunami.
This expedition marks the first time that marine scientists have
documented the 3 meter high x 8 meter wide cliff of compacted sediment at an
astonishing 4,500 meters in the Indian Ocean.
The mosaic of photographs the team has released today show the cliff that
was faulted and up-thrust during the earthquake and undoubtedly contributed to
the creation of the tsunami.
Also scientifically critical is the lack of any deep-sea animal life, a
fact not seen in nearly 25 years of deep-sea sampling by the scientific team.
The team found sea life in all other areas they explored but none on the site,
which suggested that the area had recently been disturbed.
Using geophysical survey tools, operated by the Geological Survey of
Canada, and a unique deep-water remotely-operated vehicle, operated by
Oceaneering International Inc., the Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami Offshore
Survey (SEATOS) team comprises a group of 27-strong scientists from six
countries, combining a variety of scientific disciplines, including tsunami
wave model experts, geophysicists, biologists, seismologists, engineers,
geologists, and visualization experts.
The expedition is being filmed on location for the Discovery Channel
documentary JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THE TSUNAMI, which is being made by Darlow
Smithson Productions. Directed by Ed Wardle with Julian Ware as the executive
producer, it will be broadcast later this year on BBC ONE, Discovery Channel
U.S., ProSieben in Germany and Discovery International. Also supporting the
expedition is the National Science Foundation's ARMADA Project
(http://www.armadaproject.org), the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the Census
of Marine Life Program (http://www.coml.org), Oceaneering Inc, BP Marine
Limited and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Discovery Channel is the United States' largest cable television network,
serving 90.2 million households across the nation with the finest in
informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery
Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal
Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater,
Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel,
Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Espanol and FitTV. The
unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.
Scientific team: Dave Tappin, British Geological Survey; Kate Moran,
University of Rhode Island; Paul Tyler, Census of Marine Life National
Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Joelle Galeron, IFREMER; Baban Ingole,
National Institute of Oceanography, India; John Copley, National Oceanography
Centre, Southampton; Cindy Van Dover, Census of Marine Life, College of
William and Mary; David Mosher, Geological Survey of Canada; Borden Chapman,
Geological Survey of Canada; James Austin, University of Texas at Austin;
Steffen Saustrop, University of Texas at Austin; Tim Henstock, National
Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Lisa McNeill, National Oceanography Centre,
Southampton; Yang Shen, University of Rhode Island; Don Fischer, Pennsylvania
State University; Tim Masterlark, Science Applications International
Corporation; Stefan Grilli, University of Rhode Island; Fred Dias, Ecole
Normale Superieure; Monsour Ioualanem, University of Nice; Aaron Bradshaw,
University of Rhode Island; Larry Mayer, University of New Hampshire; Roland
Arsenault, University of New Hampshire; Colin Ware, University of New
Hampshire; Kate Collins, University of British Columbia; Susan Holt, Arizona
(teacher); David Mearns, Bluewater Recoveries; Jim Mercer, Bluewater
Recoveries.
SOURCE Discovery Channel
back to top
