SENAT
Report n° 117 (2007-2008) by M. Roland COURTEAU, Senator (for the parliament office for the evaluation of scientific and technological choices) - Appendix to the minutes of the 7 December 2007 session
Disponible au format Acrobat (21 Moctets)
3. Basin-specific proposals
a) In the Mediterranean/northeast Atlantic
CEA must be commissioned to act as the national representative of the ICG/NEAMTWS, as well as the national and regional tsunami warning centre. Currently, no fewer than 7 Mediterranean countries 78 ( * ) have officially expressed their interest in becoming a regional warning centre (without necessarily having the financial and human-resource means), while 2 to 3 regional centres would seem to be sufficient. Therefore, France should perhaps propose a solution that is sensitive to the national interests of the other interested countries. This would amount to using a European-based structure, such as the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre located at CEA's Bruyères-le-Châtel site, to house the regional warning centre that France would create, which would nevertheless be managed by CEA/DASE.
Furthermore, it is urgent to transmit in real-time the data gathered by the 11 metropolitan tide gauges that already have the appropriate outlet and to finish modernizing the remaining tide gauges managed by SHOM before the next meeting of the ICG/NEAMTWS in October 2008. This network should be complemented by two stations in Corsica (Bonifacio and Porto Vecchio). It should be pointed out that, in order to protect France's costs, the national warning centre will have to receive real-time data from some twenty tide gauges spread out between Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Therefore, France should verify that the already-existing stations are updated or, if necessary, propose the installation of new stations.
In the short term, France will have to ensure the installation of two tsunamimeters north of Algeria in order to effectively protect France's coasts. For this to be done quickly, France will have to declare itself willing to finance the station's equipment and installation and negotiate with the other member states of the ICG/NEAMTWS a mutualization of the maintenance costs.
In the medium term, we should come to a decision regarding the opportunity of setting up a warning system for local tsunamis in well-defined zones and, if need be, carry out a feasibility study on the automated management of this type of warning.
In addition, the setting up of a tsunami warning system must represent a priority of the French presidency of the European Union starting in July 2008 and mobilize all the member states and concerned directorate generals of the European Commission, in order to define and finance a plan for the modernization of the national tide gauges and the installation of tsunamimeters.
In order to overcome the difficulties encountered with regard to the North African countries' reticence to share their seismic data, it seems essential to launch a diplomatic mission involving both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French presidency. On this occasion, a bilateral or European partnership could be proposed, so as to speed up the installation of tide gauges and tsunamimeters off the North African coast.
Finally, the specialized emergency plan for tsunamis must be finalized for the metropolitan coast by the civil protection authorities, in collaboration with CEA for its scientific expertise.
* 78 The candidate countries are: Italy, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Spain and France.