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NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) is building high-resolution digital
elevation models (DEMs) for select U.S. coastal regions. These integrated bathymetric-topographic
DEMs are used to support tsunami forecasting and modeling efforts at the NOAA Center
for--> Tsunami Research, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). The DEMs
are part of the tsunami forecast system SIFT (Short-term Inundation Forecasting for
Tsunamis) currently being developed by PMEL for the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers,
and are used in the MOST (Method of Splitting Tsunami) model developed by PMEL to
simulate tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Bathymetric, topographic,
and shoreline data used in DEM compilation are obtained from various sources, including
NGDC, the U.S. National Ocean Service (NOS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the
Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), the Puget Sound Lidar Consortium (PSLC), the
Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX), Canadian
Digital Elevation Data (CDED) and other international, federal, state, and local government
agencies, academic institutions, and private companies. DEMs are referenced to the
vertical tidal datum of Mean High Water (MHW) and horizontal datum of World Geodetic
System 1984 (WGS 84). Grid spacings for the DEMs range from 1/3 arc-second (~10 meters)
to 3 arc-seconds (~30 meters). |