British navy to survey Indian Ocean tsunami epicenter

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2005

LONDON (AFP) — A British navy ship was due to set off from Singapore to survey the seabed off Indonesia to find out how last month's devastating tsunami happened, the defence ministry revealed.

The Royal Navy's HMS Scott will take sonar readings off the Indonesian island of Sumatra to try to find out how the December 26 earthquake unfolded and then produced the giant waves, officials and scientists said Monday.

"This is the core foundation block for lots of other science which will ultimately build up to having direct relevance to the average man in the street, particularly in the area," British geophysicist Justin Dix told AFP.

The HMS Scott, which will begin work in two or three days, will provide "high-resolution images" from the quake's epicentre of its...