German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System

GITEWS is a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean, developed as a German-Indonesian joint project. The project itself started in 2005 as part of the reconstruction aid for those areas of Southeast Asia which had been destroyed by the tsunami in December 2004. The project objective is to put in place a network of measuring devices, all of which will provide data for an early detection of tsunamis. Nine instituts were involved in the project.
  
The Ocean-Bottom-Unit (UBU) as part of the system was conjointly developed and designed by GEOMAR and the German company KUM GmbH.

On November 11, 2008 the new implemented Tsunami Early Warning System started its operation and entered the final phase of optimisation.

Finally the Tsunami Early Warning System was in its entirety handed over to Indonesia on 29 March 2011 and has demonstrated its full functionality during several strong earthquakes and tsunami. Tsunami warnings are issued in less than five minutes after a sea quake, followed by updates or cancelation messages. 

Find more information on the GITEWS website.

The following expeditions with the German research vessel SONNE took place:

SO186-1B,1C,1D  SO186 Fahrtbericht

SO186-1,2,3  SO186 Leg 3 Fahrtbericht