(2005). Chapter 1: Political Outlook & Chapter 2: Economic Outlook. Peru Business Forecast Report, 2005 4th Quarter, 3-16

The first chapter of this report gives an in-depth analysis of Peru’s political mainframe. It studies the government’s organization, its system of policy direction, and it’s difficulties. The second chapter of this report studies Peru from the economic perspective. It shows how, in the context of a shaky political structure, Peru’s economy is running extremely well.

(2004). Environmental Overview. Peru Country Review, 2004, 73-102

This article studies the impact of the government, Peru’s economy, and the societal infrastructure on the destruction of the environment there. It attempts to address the major environmental challenges that have risen as a result. This article contains updated information with respect to the same article published the previous year.

Amiel, R. (2004). Peru. Peru Country Monitor, February 2004, 33-39

This report gives statistical and analytical forecasts for Peru’s economic future, including gathered data such as GDP, trade rates, etc. The report focuses on what is known as of February 2004.

Atwater, B. F., Moore, A. L. (1992). A Tsunami About 1000 Years Ago in Puget Sound, Washington. Science, Vol. 258, Iss. 5088, 1614-1617.

This paper discusses the evidence surrounding the claim that a tsunami hit Puget Sound from 1000 to 1100 years ago. The paper claims that the tsunami was the result of an earthquake occurring at the Seattle fault, and for its central argument, points to various pieces of ecological evidence, such as analysis of sand sheet composition, the age of a Douglas fir log (found by radiocarbon dating analysis as well as with ring-width patterns), etc. This article is relevant to environmental remediation studies in that the fact that soil analysis was used to determine the occurrence of a tsunami could be used to predict what would happen to soil in Micronesia or Peru given the occurrence of a tsunami.

Bourgeois, J., Hansen, T. A., Wiberg, P. L., Kauffman, E. G. (1988). A Tsunami Deposit at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in Texas. Science, Vol. 241, 567-570.

This paper discusses the various pieces of evidence for the occurrence of a tsunami between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods. Evidence includes analysis of deposition of sandstone beds, presence/absence of macrofauna in mudstone, etc. The scientists that wrote this paper believe that the tsunami was 50-100 meters high and was due to a bolide-water impact, although they keep open the possibility that it could have been due to an earthquake.

Bourgeois, J., Petroff, C., Yeh, H., Titov, V., Synolakis, C., Benson, B., et al. (1999). Geologic Setting, Field Survey and Modeling of the Chimbote, Northern Peru, Tsunami of 21 February 1996. Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 154, 513-540.

While the main goal of this research paper is largely to explain the Chimbote 1996 tsunami in terms of its relationship with respect to the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami and through contrast with the fact that local subduction zones have been relatively stable, this paper goes into great detail in describing the Chimbote 1996 tsunami, in terms of seismic data as well as qualitative observations. Through the analysis of seismic activity (e.g. earthquake magnitudes), the authors show how the Chimbote 1996 tsunami was similar to the Peru 1960 tsunami and the Nicaragua 1992 tsunami.

Kanamori, H., Kikuchi, M. (1993). The 1992 Nicaragua earthquake: a slow tsunami earthquake associated with subducted sediments. Nature, Vol. 361, 714-716.

This paper analyzes the 1992 Nicaragua earthquake, and shows how it was a “slow tsunami” earthquake. This paper shows that in general, “slow tsunami” earthquakes are characterized by significant differences between Ms and Mw values measured for the earthquake. It points out that such a data analysis would be a reliable indicator for the possibility of coming tsunamis in the future, but right now only Ms values are used to predict tsunamis. Among many other things, this paper shows that tsunamis do not have to come from just high-magnitude earthquakes.

Kulikov, E. A., Rabinovich, A. B., Thomson, R. E. (2005). Estimation of Tsunami Risk for the Coasts of Peru and Northern Chile. Natural Hazards, Vol. 35, 185-209.

The authors of this research paper go into extensive data analysis to show how to predict the wave heights and arrival times of possible future tsunamis to the coasts of Peru and northern Chile, bounded by 5-35o S latitude. The article, using data from the last century of tsunamis and rigorous mathematical models, shows the relationship between wave heights and return periods, thus allowing us to extrapolate the possibility of future tsunamis based on the nature of recent ones. This paper is particularly interesting in that in it the authors claim to have predicted the oncoming of the June 23, 2001 tsunami.

Mazova, R. K. H., Ramirez, J. (1999). Tsunami Waves with an Initial Negative Wave on the Chilean Coast. Natural Hazards, Vol. 20, 83-92.

This research paper involves mathematical analysis with tsunami data known for the Peru/Chile area over the past several tsunamis recorded, and shows that 1) strong tsunamis that begin with a negative wave (a wave “preceded by a run-down”) can be classified into 2 types, class I tsunamis, which come from strong earthquakes, and class II tsunamis, which come from mild earthquakes, and 2) a tsunamigenic earthquake is likely to occur near the coast of northern Chile in the next 10-20 years (as of 1999).

McCreery, C. S. (2001). Impact of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program on operations of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. ITS 2001 Proceedings, NTHMP Review Session, Paper R-7, 109-117.

This paper talks about the various programs that have been developed in order to more accurately assess the possibility of an earthquake/tsunami, such as the CREST program (Consolidated Reporting of EarthquakeS and Tsunamis) and the DART program (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis). This paper also surveys various improvements in measuring technology that have allowed the works of the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center) and the WC/ATWC (West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center) to obtain more reliable information, such as “Earthworm” seismic systems and sea-level gauges.

Okal, E. A., Alasset, P., Hyvernaud, O., Schindelé, F. (2003). The deficient T waves of tsunami earthquakes. Geophys. J. Int., Vol. 152, 416-432.

Okal et al, in this article, resolve a long-held controversy about the relationship between observed T-waves for earthquakes and the likelihood of tsunami propagation. T-waves, or tertiary waves, are the 3rd (as tertiary implies) types of waves to occur, and are therefore slowest (they travel as sound waves through the ocean, rather than through the crust). Since the proposal by Ewing et al in 1950 that T-waves be used for tsunami warnings, many scientists have attacked this idea. In Okal et al’s article, a quantitative algorithm is defined that allows T-waves to be used to more reliably predict the oncoming of a tsunami wave.

Ramirez, F. J, Perez, P. C. (2004). The Local Tsunami Alert System [“SLAT”]: A Computational Tool for the Integral Management of a Tsunami Emergency. Natural Hazards, Vol. 31, 129-142.

This article centrally discusses a computer program designed to handle some of the decisions involved in the emergency of the occurrence of an earthquake/possible arrival of a tsunami. Based on data it collects, it issues a warning based on color (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, or Celeste), and provides the user with data about when a tsunami would hit where, along with a menu of options. The program, known as the Local Tsunami Alert System (SLAT), has “SLAT” for an acronym because the program is written in Spanish.

Satake, K., Tanioka, Y. (1999). Sources of Tsunami and Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in Subduction Zones. Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 154, 467-483.

In this article, the authors discuss various tsunamis which have occurred, and use macroseismological data gathered from each event and plate tectonics to classify the tsunami. The authors also describe the plate-subduction mechanism and source locations for each earthquake that caused the tsunami.

Synolakis, C. (2005). India must cooperate on tsunami warning system. Nature, Vol. 434, 17-18.

In this letter Synolakis attacks the way India is handling its own tsunami warning systems, and how its handling seismic data. Synolakis points out that while disaster-related conferences in India talk about better data collection technology for warning systems, India failed to effectively warn its people about the oncoming of the Dec. 26 tsunami, even though it reached India hours after first reaching the Andaman and Nicobar islands… furthermore, officials in India perpetrated a false warning a couple of days after the tsunami hit, triggering false panic among Indians. In short, Synolakis argues that India will not be able to help its people without scientific/organizational help from other countries.

Tavera, H., Buforn, E., Bernal, I., Antayhua, Y., Vilacapoma, L. (2002). The Arequipa (Peru) earthquake of June 23, 2001. Journal of Seismology, Vol. 6, 279-283.

This paper solely analyzes the Arequipa earthquake of June 23, 2001. It conglomerates all relevant data (e.g. strength of main shock, strength of aftershocks, height of water floods, approximate area of flooding) to estimate the epicenter of the convergence of the Nazca and South America plates, along with an approximate area of convergence.