Development of laser tsunami-meter

Real time observation of tsunami wave heights in off-shore areas by tsunami-meters on the sea floor would be very important for mitigation of tsunami-disasters. An innovative laser tsunami-meter, which could be applied to this purpose, has been under development. This tsunami-meter uses precision measurements by laser interferometry, which was adopted in development of borehole laser strainmeter of the Sakata-Gubin type. This instrument has advantages over conventional quartz oscillator type instruments, namely, low cost of production and installation, low maintenance cost, higher precision and long-term reliability.