Message from the Winner

Abstract

We are very honored to receive the prestigious JDR Award for the Most Cited Paper 2022. The winning paper, “Real-Time Tsunami Prediction System Using DONET,” discusses a system that uses data from the Dense Oceanfloor Network system for Earthquakes and Tsunamis (DONET), which was installed in the rupture areas of the 1944 Tonankai and 1946 Nankai earthquakes in order to instantly generate and visualize tsunami prediction information. The forecast information from this system consists of tsunami arrival time, maximum tsunami height, tsunami inundation area, and inundation depth distribution. The system, which visualizes and distributes forecast information for areas where users need it as a supplement to the tsunami information provided nationwide by the Japan Meteorological Agency, has been introduced in Wakayama Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, and the city of Owase, as well as by Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. After DONET was installed in the Tonankai rupture area, we were considering the possibility of using DONET data regionally, and we developed the system as results of discussions with Wakayama Prefecture and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. Under the concept that the users themselves would be operating the system, we intended to make the system as simple and easy to understand as possible, and to reduce costs by minimizing the number of hardware units. We also considered making the system flexible and scalable, recognizing that each user has a different way of how to use the tsunami forecast information. We were able to receive this award thanks to the cooperation of the people who were involved in many discussions with us during the process of establishing the concept. We will not become complacent going forward, but will continue to improve our system in ways that reflect the opinions of the users. We would like to thank everyone who has cited this paper with their interests.