The test phase lasted twenty months and proved successful. Because time is of the essence when warning populations in coastal regions of a possible tsunami, the success of the CTBTO’s test was determined by the speed of data arriving at tsunami warning centres.  Verification data sent by CTBT monitoring stations took the least time in comparison with data from other monitoring networks.

Patricio Bernard, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO and Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, confirmed the usefulness of CTBT monitoring data.  Referring to an experiment that was carried out in 2005, Bernard said it had shown that “IMS waveform data were received with a maximum delay of 30 seconds, while those from other networks were received with an average delay of 100 to 180 seconds” (CTBTO Spectrum, 9, January 2007, p. 21 - PDF).

Consequently, in November 2006, States Signatories endorsed a recommendation of the CTBTO’s technical working group to provide real-time and continuous data to relevant tsunami warning organizations. Five tsunami warning centres – one each in Japan, the United States and Australia, and two in Malaysia – now receive data directly from 30 monitoring stations worldwide, representing three of the four CTBT verification technologies – seismic, hydroacoustic and infrasound.

For more information about Indonesia's tsunami early warning system, click here.

The use of CTBT verification data from its seismic monitoring network to provide the earliest possible tsunami warning is but one example of how the organization can contribute to mitigating natural disasters. The seismic monitoring technology, as well as the other three monitoring technologies, offer more possibilities to preclude or alleviate the consequences of disastrous events.

The potential of CTBT infrasound technology towards making civil aviation safer has been discussed intensely over the years. Large ash plumes caused by volcanic eruptions can make jet engines malfunction or even stall completely. This has happened four times since 1982, said Hein Haak, Head of the Division of Seismology at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (see CTBTOSpectrum, 3, December 2003, p. 10 - PDF ).

There are 600 active volcanoes in the world today, which puts this issue squarely on the disaster mitigation agenda.  “Airlines are keenly aware of the danger posed by volcanic ash, and have to be informed of any volcanic activities in the world”, Haak added (CTBTO Spectrum, 3, December 2003, p. 10). CTBT infrasound technology can assist in the detection of volcanic eruptions by registering the very low frequency sound waves they emit.