Scientists Reveal First Photographic Evidence of the Cause of the Tsunami

Scientists Reveal First Photographic Evidence of the Cause of the Tsunami

PHUKET, Thailand, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- An international team of the world's leading scientists has just returned from the first ever scientific expedition to the deepest point of the seabed site of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Dramatic photographs reveal seafloor ruptures that contributed to the deadly December 26 tsunami.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050602/DCTH016 )

Filmed exclusively for a special television event on Discovery Channel, BBC One and ProSieben, a team of 27 scientists have spent 17 days at sea exploring the seafloor off the coast of Sumatra in order to gain a better understanding of the forces that led to the devastating tsunami.

This expedition marks the first time that marine scientists have documented the 3 meter high x 8 meter wide cliff of compacted sediment at an astonishing 4,500 meters in the Indian Ocean.

The mosaic of photographs the team has released today show the cliff that was faulted and up-thrust during the earthquake and undoubtedly contributed to the creation of the tsunami.

Also scientifically critical is the lack of any deep-sea animal life, a fact not seen in nearly 25 years of deep-sea sampling by the scientific team. The team found sea life in all other areas they explored but none on the site, which suggested that the area had recently been disturbed.

Using geophysical survey tools, operated by the Geological Survey of Canada, and a unique deep-water remotely-operated vehicle, operated by Oceaneering International Inc., the Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami Offshore Survey (SEATOS) team comprises a group of 27-strong scientists from six countries, combining a variety of scientific disciplines, including tsunami wave model experts, geophysicists, biologists, seismologists, engineers, geologists, and visualization experts.

The expedition is being filmed on location for the Discovery Channel documentary JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF THE TSUNAMI, which is being made by Darlow Smithson Productions. Directed by Ed Wardle with Julian Ware as the executive producer, it will be broadcast later this year on BBC ONE, Discovery Channel U.S., ProSieben in Germany and Discovery International. Also supporting the expedition is the National Science Foundation's ARMADA Project (http://www.armadaproject.org/), the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the Census of Marine Life Program (http://www.coml.org/), Oceaneering Inc, BP Marine Limited and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

Discovery Channel is the United States' largest cable television network, serving 90.2 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Espanol and FitTV. The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.

Scientific team: Dave Tappin, British Geological Survey; Kate Moran, University of Rhode Island; Paul Tyler, Census of Marine Life National Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Joelle Galeron, IFREMER; Baban Ingole, National Institute of Oceanography, India; John Copley, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Cindy Van Dover, Census of Marine Life, College of William and Mary; David Mosher, Geological Survey of Canada; Borden Chapman, Geological Survey of Canada; James Austin, University of Texas at Austin; Steffen Saustrop, University of Texas at Austin; Tim Henstock, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Lisa McNeill, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Yang Shen, University of Rhode Island; Don Fischer, Pennsylvania State University; Tim Masterlark, Science Applications International Corporation; Stefan Grilli, University of Rhode Island; Fred Dias, Ecole Normale Superieure; Monsour Ioualanem, University of Nice; Aaron Bradshaw, University of Rhode Island; Larry Mayer, University of New Hampshire; Roland Arsenault, University of New Hampshire; Colin Ware, University of New Hampshire; Kate Collins, University of British Columbia; Susan Holt, Arizona (teacher); David Mearns, Bluewater Recoveries; Jim Mercer, Bluewater Recoveries.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050602/DCTH016 AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Discovery Channel

CONTACT: Tim DeClaire of the Discovery Channel, +1-240-662-2932, or tim_declaire@discovery.com

Web site: http://www.discovery.com/ http://www.armadaproject.org/ http://www.coml.org/

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