Pacific Sea Level & Geodetic Monitoring Facility

Commissioning of new Pacific Sea Level & Geodetic Monitoring Facility

What: The official commissioning of a new Sea Level & Geodetic Monitoring station (tide gauge plus additional instruments) installed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga under the Australian Government’s Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac).

Who: Honoured guests include- Honourable Prime Minister of Tonga, Samiuela ‘Akilisi Pōhiva
Mr Andrew Ford, the Australian High Commissioner
Dr. Audrey Aumua, Deputy Director General, SPC

When: 16th October, 3.00pm

Where: Vuna Wharf, with a reception to follow from 6-8pm at the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel

The new station will replace the tide gauge at Queen Salote Wharf, which has operated for 25 years. Since its installation in 1993, it has been used to measure sea level rise in Tonga relative to ground movement, monitor meteorological conditions, provide tsunami warnings, and determine accurate local tides.

This tide gauge has the most sophisticated and technologically advanced equipment available in the Pacific Islands. It feeds directly to the Weather Forecasting Center and back to the data centre in Melbourne, Australia. It will also enhance the climate and ocean services coming out of the Fua’amotu Weather Forecasting Center.

More than 50 attendees from around Tonga and the Pacific are expected at this event, as the commissioning and reception will occur as a side event during the World Meteorological Organisation’s Regional Association V (RA-V) Conference held in Nuku’alofa from 15-17th October.

Since its launch in 2012, COSPPac has worked to build the capacity of Pacific Island Meteorological Services and other relevant agencies to understand and apply climate, ocean and sea level information for the benefit of island governments and communities. COSPPac is managed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in partnership with SPC, Geoscience Australia, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and is a key component of the Australian Government’s support to Pacific Island countries in adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate variability and change.

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