Natural Hazards

Updated Tuesday 17 February 2015


Multibeam 3D image of a submarine volcano with craters and locally collapsed flank. SW Pacific Ocean.

Image courtesy of Dr I. Wright, NIWA.
Observations and research into natural hazards, affecting the ocean and coast, are carried out by a range of agencies and institutions, some of which are listed under the Oceans/Seabed subsection. Major governmental organisations in Europe and the US have exhaustive websites with historical and near-real time information on a range of hazards.

Climate Change




Earthquakes




Submarine Landslides and Turbidity Currents


Insights into Submarine Geohazards from Breaks in Subsea Telecommunication Cables (published in Oceanography 2014) Adobe Acrobat Document (.pdf) - 1.26 MB
The original discovery of active submarine landslides and turbidity currents in the deep ocean was made in the 1950s through analysis of breaks in transoceanic communications cables. Further insights regarding the causes, frequency, and behavior of damaging submarine flows are presented here, based on recent disruptions of modern communications cables in the Strait of Luzon off southern Taiwan. Authors: Lionel Carter (Antarctic Research Centre, New Zealand and ICPC Marine Environmental Advisor), Rachel Gavey (OMV New Zealand Ltd), Peter J. Talling (National Oceanography Centre, UK), James T. Liu (National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China).


Tsunami




Volcanic Activity





Weather-Related Events







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