H.J. Fernando is at home in Sri Lanka, but it’s not a heart-warming
trip spent only with family.
Fernando, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering in ASU’s
Ira Fulton School of Engineering, is with a team of researchers studying
the impact of the recent tsunami in the region. The goals of their trip
are:
- Map out the effects of the tsunami.
- Gather physical evidence of the aftermath of the disaster.
- Interview survivors to obtain direct information on the tsunami,
including the arrival time of the leading wave.
- Gather geological evidence, such as scour and sediment deposits.
- Study the structural damage that resulted from the disaster.
Fernando and the others also will measure or estimate the maximum wave
height and the inundation area in five or six of the regions most affected
by the tsunami.
For Fernando, who does wave research and operates a wave simulator at
ASU, his plan is to work back from that information to try and better
understand exactly what happened when the tsunami hit. That information,
in turn, will allow all the researchers (including Philip Liu from Cornell
University and Costas Synolakis form the University of Southern California)
to gain a better scientific understanding of these waves and to improve
the predictive capabilities of tsunami warning systems.
“We want to know what the size and distribution of the wave impact
was during the tsunami,” Fernando said before he left. “By
knowing that, we can see if currently available wave models are correct.
If the model works, then the science behind it is correct – and
if the wave model is correct, then we will have a good idea of how to
develop a tsunami warning system for the region.”
Fernando’s group is one of two that have been sponsored by the
U.S. National Science Foundation and the Earthquake Research Institute
and are being sent to the region. The other team will do similar work
in assessing the tsunami’s impact in India.
For Fernando – who was born and raised in Sri Lanka and whose
entire family still lives there – the journey back to his native
land will be more than a chance to do research. It will include some
time to be with family after one of the greatest nature disasters of
our time. In addition, it possibly will give him the opportunity to leave
something behind: a warning system that could be deployed to guard against
other disasters. |
