April 1946 Tsunami Tide Gauge Records from NOAA Archives

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information holds over 3,000 tsunami marigram records, primarily as high-resolution digital TIFF images and original paper documents. These records include data from the historically significant April 1, 1946 tsunami event that impacted the Hawaiian Islands. The data was digitized under the NOAA Climate Data Modernization Program and is managed per the Big Earth Data Initiative for federal interoperability.

Use Cases

• Analyze tsunami wave height and timing from scanned marigram images to model the 1946 event's propagation.
• Correlate historical earthquake magnitude (e.g., the 1960 M9.5 Chile quake) with tsunami characteristics recorded on tide gauges.
• Use the digitized time-series data from marigrams to validate and improve tsunami simulation and warning models.
• Study the decay and signal patterns across multiple marigram records from the 1952, 1960, and 1964 tsunami events.

Strengths

• Over 3,000 individual tsunami marigram records available.
• High-resolution digital TIFF images provide detailed visual data for analysis.
• Includes data from four major 20th-century tsunami events (1946, 1952, 1960, 1964).
• Data management complies with NOAA directives for preservation and accessibility.

Limitations

• An unknown quantity of records remain only in deteriorating paper format, risking data loss.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed columnar data for the time-series are unknown.
• The dataset's primary temporal coverage is focused on specific historical events, not continuous monitoring.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA_NCEI).

Collection Method

Scanned from original paper marigram records via the NOAA Climate Data Modernization Program.

Time Range

Includes data from 1946, 1952, 1960, and 1964 tsunami events.

Freshness

Historical data; last updated metadata indicates 1946-04-04.

Geography

Global, with specific records from events impacting regions like the Hawaiian Islands (1946) and Chile (1960).