ИСТИНА

The International Workshop was organized jointly by the IUGG Tsunami Commission and the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific of the UNESCO. P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Kamchatka Seismological Department of Geophysical Service of the RAS led the Workshop as local organisers. The Workshop co-conveners were Prof. Joanne Bourgeois (U.S.A.) and Dr. Mikhail Nosov (Russia). Destructive effects of many tsunamis are confined to areas within about one hour of the initial propagation time (that is, within a few hundred km of their source). These tsunamis are classified as local, as opposed to regional and Pacific-wide tsunamis whose destructive effects could be well outside (up to 10,000 km) of their area of origin. In all main Pacific tsunamigenic regions, the majority of tsunami-related casualties and property damage come from local tsunamis. The very short tsunami travel time increases the local tsunami hazard, and therefore presents an important challenge for the research community and decision-makers to identify ways for reducing losses of lives and property damage from the local tsunamis. Two international tsunami workshops have recently been held in Russia (“Tsunami Mitigation and Risk Assessment,” Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, 1996, and “Tsunami Risk Assessment Beyond 2000: Theory, Practice and Plans,” Moscow, 2000). The success of these two meetings, as well as recommendations of the XVIII Session of UNESCO/IOC/ICG/ITSU, inspired us to convene another international tsunami workshop in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. As one of the most active seismic- and tsunami-prone areas in the Pacific with a long history of recorded tsunamis, and complemented by interesting environmental features, Kamchatka was an appropriate place for international tsunami community members to convene to discuss local tsunami problems. Additionally, the workshop took place on the 50th anniversary of the 1952 Great Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami. The November 5, 1952, earthquake generated a catastrophic tsunami which killed more than 2000 people. The town of Severo-Kurilsk (Paramushir Island, south of Kamchatka) was completely destroyed. This catastrophic event served as a starting point for tsunami research in Russia, and many of the Russian tsunami community felt it their moral duty to convene a workshop in commemoration of the event. Over 50 scientists (45 registered participants) from 12 countries (Bulgaria, Canada, France, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkey, U.S.A.) attended the Workshop. The Workshop programme and all submitted abstracts can be accessed online at http://oceanc47.phys.msu.su/. The Workshop participants made 50 oral presentations on the following topics: 1952 Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami, Historical Catalogues and Databases, Seismo-tectonics of Tsunami, Numerical and Analytical Models of Local Tsunami Behaviour, Mitigation and Risk Assessment, Tsunami Geology and Paleotsunamis, Tsunami Measurement and Data Analysis, Hydroacoustic Methods in Tsunami Research. A separate student session, which Workshop participants unanimously recognized as being of high quality, was also convened to attract the participation of young scientists. The Workshop also included field trips to Khalaktirka Beach and Kotelnoe Lake, where participants were exposed to paleotsunami methodology and practice by Professor Joanne Bourgeois (USA) and Dr. Tatiana Pinegina (Russia). The Workshop organisers wish to acknowledge the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO), International Tsunami Information Center, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, and International Ocean Institute (Malta) for financial support of this meeting.