Kuril Islands tsunami of November 2006: 1. Impact at Crescent City by distant scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowalik, Z.; Horrillo, J.; Knight, W.; Logan, Tom

2008-01-01

A numerical model for the global tsunami computation constructed by Kowalik et al. (2005, 2007a) is applied to the tsunami of November 15, 2006 in the northern Pacific with spatial resolution of one minute. Numerical results are compared to sea level data collected by Pacific DART buoys. The tide gauge at Crescent City (CC) recorded an initial tsunami wave of about 20 cm amplitude and a second larger energy packet arriving 2 hours later. The first energy input into the CC harbor was the primary (direct) wave traveling over the deep waters of the North Pacific. Interactions with submarine ridges and numerous seamounts located in the tsunami path were a larger source of tsunami energy than the direct wave. Travel time for these amplified energy fluxes is longer than for the direct wave. Prime sources for the larger fluxes at CC are interactions with Koko Guyot and Hess Rise. Tsunami waves travel next over the Mendocino Escarpment where the tsunami energy flux is concentrated owing to refraction and directed toward CC. Local tsunami amplification over the shelf break and shelf are important as well. In many locations along the North Pacific coast, the first arriving signal or forerunner has lower amplitude than the main signal, which often is delayed. Understanding this temporal distribution is important for an application to tsunami warning and prediction. As a tsunami hazard mitigation tool, we propose that along with the sea level records (which are often quite noisy), an energy flux for prediction of the delayed tsunami signals be used.

Tsunami: Sri Lanka

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-04-16

...     View Larger Image The initial tsunami waves resulting from the undersea earthquake ... ITSS/Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Michael Garay and David J. Diner (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology); and ...

Theoretical analysis of tsunami generation by pyroclastic flows

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watts, P.; Waythomas, C.F.

2003-01-01

Pyroclastic flows are a common product of explosive volcanism and have the potential to initiate tsunamis whenever thick, dense flows encounter bodies of water. We evaluate the process of tsunami generation by pyroclastic flow by decomposing the pyroclastic flow into two components, the dense underflow portion, which we term the pyroclastic debris flow, and the plume, which includes the surge and coignimbrite ash cloud parts of the flow. We consider five possible wave generation mechanisms. These mechanisms consist of steam explosion, pyroclastic debris flow, plume pressure, plume shear, and pressure impulse wave generation. Our theoretical analysis of tsunami generation by these mechanisms provides an estimate of tsunami features such as a characteristic wave amplitude and wavelength. We find that in most situations, tsunami generation is dominated by the pyroclastic debris flow component of a pyroclastic flow. This work presents information sufficient to construct tsunami sources for an arbitrary pyroclastic flow interacting with most bodies of water. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

Near-field tsunami edge waves and complex earthquake rupture

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.

2013-01-01

The effect of distributed coseismic slip on progressive, near-field edge waves is examined for continental shelf tsunamis. Detailed observations of edge waves are difficult to separate from the other tsunami phases that are observed on tide gauge records. In this study, analytic methods are used to compute tsunami edge waves distributed over a finite number of modes and for uniformly sloping bathymetry. Coseismic displacements from static elastic theory are introduced as initial conditions in calculating the evolution of progressive edge-waves. Both simple crack representations (constant stress drop) and stochastic slip models (heterogeneous stress drop) are tested on a fault with geometry similar to that of the M w = 8.8 2010 Chile earthquake. Crack-like ruptures that are beneath or that span the shoreline result in similar longshore patterns of maximum edge-wave amplitude. Ruptures located farther offshore result in reduced edge-wave excitation, consistent with previous studies. Introduction of stress-drop heterogeneity by way of stochastic slip models results in significantly more variability in longshore edge-wave patterns compared to crack-like ruptures for the same offshore source position. In some cases, regions of high slip that are spatially distinct will yield sub-events, in terms of tsunami generation. Constructive interference of both non-trapped and trapped waves can yield significantly larger tsunamis than those that produced by simple earthquake characterizations.

Combined effects of tectonic and landslide-generated Tsunami Runup at Seward, Alaska during the Mw 9.2 1964 earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Suleimani, E.; Nicolsky, D.J.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Hansen, R.

2011-01-01

We apply a recently developed and validated numerical model of tsunami propagation and runup to study the inundation of Resurrection Bay and the town of Seward by the 1964 Alaska tsunami. Seward was hit by both tectonic and landslide-generated tsunami waves during the Mw 9.2 1964 mega thrust earthquake. The earthquake triggered a series of submarine mass failures around the fjord, which resulted in land sliding of part of the coastline into the water, along with the loss of the port facilities. These submarine mass failures generated local waves in the bay within 5 min of the beginning of strong ground motion. Recent studies estimate the total volume of underwater slide material that moved in Resurrection Bay to be about 211 million m3 (Haeussler et al. in Submarine mass movements and their consequences, pp 269-278, 2007). The first tectonic tsunami wave arrived in Resurrection Bay about 30 min after the main shock and was about the same height as the local landslide-generated waves. Our previous numerical study, which focused only on the local land slide generated waves in Resurrection Bay, demonstrated that they were produced by a number of different slope failures, and estimated relative contributions of different submarine slide complexes into tsunami amplitudes (Suleimani et al. in Pure Appl Geophys 166:131-152, 2009). This work extends the previous study by calculating tsunami inundation in Resurrection Bay caused by the combined impact of landslide-generated waves and the tectonic tsunami, and comparing the composite inundation area with observations. To simulate landslide tsunami runup in Seward, we use a viscous slide model of Jiang and LeBlond (J Phys Oceanogr 24(3):559-572, 1994) coupled with nonlinear shallow water equations. The input data set includes a high resolution multibeam bathymetry and LIDAR topography grid of Resurrection Bay, and an initial thickness of slide material based on pre- and post-earthquake bathymetry difference maps. For simulation of tectonic tsunami runup, we derive the 1964 coseismic deformations from detailed slip distribution in the rupture area, and use them as an initial condition for propagation of the tectonic tsunami. The numerical model employs nonlinear shallow water equations formulated for depth-averaged water fluxes, and calculates a temporal position of the shoreline using a free-surface moving boundary algorithm. We find that the calculated tsunami runup in Seward caused first by local submarine landslide-generated waves, and later by a tectonic tsunami, is in good agreement with observations of the inundation zone. The analysis of inundation caused by two different tsunami sources improves our understanding of their relative contributions, and supports tsunami risk mitigation in south-central Alaska. The record of the 1964 earthquake, tsunami, and submarine landslides, combined with the high-resolution topography and bathymetry of Resurrection Bay make it an ideal location for studying tectonic tsunamis in coastal regions susceptible to underwater landslides. ?? 2010 Springer Basel AG.

Mathematics of tsunami: modelling and identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krivorotko, Olga; Kabanikhin, Sergey

2015-04-01

Tsunami (long waves in the deep water) motion caused by underwater earthquakes is described by shallow water equations ( { ηtt = div (gH (x,y)-gradη), (x,y) ∈ Ω, t ∈ (0,T ); η|t=0 = q(x,y), ηt|t=0 = 0, (x,y) ∈ Ω. ( (1) Bottom relief H(x,y) characteristics and the initial perturbation data (a tsunami source q(x,y)) are required for the direct simulation of tsunamis. The main difficulty problem of tsunami modelling is a very big size of the computational domain (Ω = 500 × 1000 kilometres in space and about one hour computational time T for one meter of initial perturbation amplitude max|q|). The calculation of the function η(x,y,t) of three variables in Ω × (0,T) requires large computing resources. We construct a new algorithm to solve numerically the problem of determining the moving tsunami wave height S(x,y) which is based on kinematic-type approach and analytical representation of fundamental solution. Proposed algorithm of determining the function of two variables S(x,y) reduces the number of operations in 1.5 times than solving problem (1). If all functions does not depend on the variable y (one dimensional case), then the moving tsunami wave height satisfies of the well-known Airy-Green formula: S(x) = S(0)° --- 4H (0)/H (x). The problem of identification parameters of a tsunami source using additional measurements of a passing wave is called inverse tsunami problem. We investigate two different inverse problems of determining a tsunami source q(x,y) using two different additional data: Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) measurements and satellite altimeters wave-form images. These problems are severely ill-posed. The main idea consists of combination of two measured data to reconstruct the source parameters. We apply regularization techniques to control the degree of ill-posedness such as Fourier expansion, truncated singular value decomposition, numerical regularization. The algorithm of selecting the truncated number of singular values of an inverse problem operator which is agreed with the error level in measured data is described and analysed. In numerical experiment we used conjugate gradient method for solving inverse tsunami problems. Gradient methods are based on minimizing the corresponding misfit function. To calculate the gradient of the misfit function, the adjoint problem is solved. The conservative finite-difference schemes for solving the direct and adjoint problems in the approximation of shallow water are constructed. Results of numerical experiments of the tsunami source reconstruction are presented and discussed. We show that using a combination of two types of data allows one to increase the stability and efficiency of tsunami source reconstruction. Non-profit organization WAPMERR (World Agency of Planetary Monitoring and Earthquake Risk Reduction) in collaboration with Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics of SB RAS developed the Integrated Tsunami Research and Information System (ITRIS) to simulate tsunami waves and earthquakes, river course changes, coastal zone floods, and risk estimates for coastal constructions at wave run-ups and earthquakes. The special scientific plug-in components are embedded in a specially developed GIS-type graphic shell for easy data retrieval, visualization and processing. We demonstrate the tsunami simulation plug-in for historical tsunami events (2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Simushir tsunami 2006 and others). This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

Impacts of the June 23, 2001 Peru Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dengler, L.

2001-12-01

The tsunami generated by the June 23, 2001 Peru earthquake caused significant damage to a 20-km long stretch of coastline in the Municipality of Camana, southern Peru. Over 3000 structures were damaged or destroyed and 2000 hectares of farmland flooded and covered with sand. 22 people were killed in the Municipality and 62 were reported missing. All of the casualties were attributed to the tsunami; in Camana the earthquake produced Modified Mercalli Intensities only of VI or VII. The International Tsunami Survey Team (ITST) were in Peru July 5 - 15 and measured inundation, spoke with City, Red Cross, and Health Department officials, and interviewed survivors. The preliminary ITST findings: All eyewitnesses described an initial draw-down that lasted a substantial amount of time (15 minutes or more). The initial positive wave was small, followed by two destructive waves of near similar impact. Observing the water recede was the key to self-evacuation. No one responded to the ground shaking even though all felt the earthquake strongly. Damage was concentrated along a flat coastal beach no higher than 5 m above sea level. The largest waves (5 to 8 meters) produced by this tsunami coincided with the most developed beach area along the southern Peruvian coast. Tsunami waves penetrated 1.2-km inland and damaged or destroyed nearly all of the structures in this zone. Poorly built adobe and infilled wall structures performed very poorly in the tsunami impacted area. The few structures that survived appeared to have deeper foundations and more reinforcing. The most tsunami-vulnerable populations were newcomers to the coast. Most victims were farm workers and domestic summerhouse sitters who had not grown up along the coast and were unaware of tsunami hazards. Economic impacts are likely to last a long time. The main industries in Camana are tourism and agriculture and the tsunami damaged both. While the extent of inundation and the number of structures damaged or destroyed was significant, the number of lives lost was considerably less than during several other recent tsunamis. The difference in casualties is due to several factors: 1) A tsunami-aware coastal population. Most of the people interviewed knew what tsunamis were, recognized the water draw down as a sign of danger and self-evacuated. 2) Time of year. The earthquake and tsunami occurred in winter. The summer resident population of the Camana beach towns increases by 5000 people plus an additional influx of tourists. Had the same earthquake occurred in the summer when the beach discotheques, hotels and cafes were full, casualties could have been orders of magnitude higher. 3) Time of day. The earthquake and tsunami occurred in mid-afternoon. Seeing the water retreat was the key to self-evacuation. Had the earthquake occurred at nighttime, fewer people may have responded. 4) Ambient tide level. The tsunami coincided with a minus 40 cm tide, one of the lowest tides of the year. 5) Initial drawdown of water and period of wave. Even people who were unaware of tsunamis thought the noticeable recession of the water very unusual and had time to reach higher ground.

GPS-TEC of the Ionospheric Disturbances as a Tool for Early Tsunami Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunitsyn, Viacheslav E.; Nesterov, Ivan A.; Shalimov, Sergey L.; Krysanov, Boris Yu.; Padokhin, Artem M.; Rekenthaler, Douglas

2013-04-01

Recently, the GPS measurements were used for retrieving the information on the various types of ionospheric responses to seismic events (earthquakes, seismic Rayleigh waves, and tsunami) which generate atmospheric waves propagating up to the ionospheric altitudes where the collisions between the neutrals and charge particles give rise to the motion of the ionospheric plasma. These experimental results can well be used in architecture of the future tsunami warning system. The point is an earlier (in comparison with seismological methods) detection of the ionospheric signal that can indicate the moment of tsunami generation. As an example we consider the two-dimensional distributions of the vertical total electron content (TEC) variations in the ionosphere both close to and far from the epicenter of the Japan undersea earthquake of March 11, 2011 using radio tomographic (RT) reconstruction of high-temporal-resolution (2-minute) data from the Japan and the US GPS networks. Near-zone TEC variations shows a diverging ionospheric perturbation with multi-component spectral composition emerging after the main shock. The initial phase of the disturbance can be used as an indicator of the tsunami generation and subsequently for the tsunami early warning. Far-zone TEC variations reveals distinct wave train associated with gravity waves generated by tsunami. According to observations tsunami arrives at Hawaii and further at the coast of Southern California with delay relative to the gravity waves. Therefore the gravity wave pattern can be used in the early tsunami warning. We support this scenario by the results of modeling with the parameters of the ocean surface perturbation corresponding to the considered earthquake. In addition it was observed in the modeling that at long distance from the source the gravity wave can pass ahead of the tsunami. The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grants 11-05-01157 and 12-05-33065).

Application of Seismic Array Processing to Tsunami Early Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, C.; Meng, L.

2015-12-01

Tsunami wave predictions of the current tsunami warning systems rely on accurate earthquake source inversions of wave height data. They are of limited effectiveness for the near-field areas since the tsunami waves arrive before data are collected. Recent seismic and tsunami disasters have revealed the need for early warning to protect near-source coastal populations. In this work we developed the basis for a tsunami warning system based on rapid earthquake source characterisation through regional seismic array back-projections. We explored rapid earthquake source imaging using onshore dense seismic arrays located at regional distances on the order of 1000 km, which provides faster source images than conventional teleseismic back-projections. We implement this method in a simulated real-time environment, and analysed the 2011 Tohoku earthquake rupture with two clusters of Hi-net stations in Kyushu and Northern Hokkaido, and the 2014 Iquique event with the Earthscope USArray Transportable Array. The results yield reasonable estimates of rupture area, which is approximated by an ellipse and leads to the construction of simple slip models based on empirical scaling of the rupture area, seismic moment and average slip. The slip model is then used as the input of the tsunami simulation package COMCOT to predict the tsunami waves. In the example of the Tohoku event, the earthquake source model can be acquired within 6 minutes from the start of rupture and the simulation of tsunami waves takes less than 2 min, which could facilitate a timely tsunami warning. The predicted arrival time and wave amplitude reasonably fit observations. Based on this method, we propose to develop an automatic warning mechanism that provides rapid near-field warning for areas of high tsunami risk. The initial focus will be Japan, Pacific Northwest and Alaska, where dense seismic networks with the capability of real-time data telemetry and open data accessibility, such as the Japanese HiNet (>800 instruments) and the Earthscope USArray Transportable Array (~400 instruments), are established.

Variations in population vulnerability to tectonic and landslide-related tsunami hazards in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, Nathan J.; Peters, Jeff

2015-01-01

Effective tsunami risk reduction requires an understanding of how at-risk populations are specifically vulnerable to tsunami threats. Vulnerability assessments primarily have been based on single hazard zones, even though a coastal community may be threatened by multiple tsunami sources that vary locally in terms of inundation extents and wave arrival times. We use the Alaskan coastal communities of Cordova, Kodiak, Seward, Valdez, and Whittier (USA), as a case study to explore population vulnerability to multiple tsunami threats. We use anisotropic pedestrian evacuation models to assess variations in population exposure as a function of travel time out of hazard zones associated with tectonic and landslide-related tsunamis (based on scenarios similar to the 1964 M w9.2 Good Friday earthquake and tsunami disaster). Results demonstrate that there are thousands of residents, employees, and business customers in tsunami hazard zones associated with tectonically generated waves, but that at-risk individuals will likely have sufficient time to evacuate to high ground before waves are estimated to arrive 30–60 min after generation. Tsunami hazard zones associated with submarine landslides initiated by a subduction zone earthquake are smaller and contain fewer people, but many at-risk individuals may not have enough time to evacuate as waves are estimated to arrive in 1–2 min and evacuations may need to occur during earthquake ground shaking. For all hazard zones, employees and customers at businesses far outnumber residents at their homes and evacuation travel times are highest on docks and along waterfronts. Results suggest that population vulnerability studies related to tsunami hazards should recognize non-residential populations and differences in wave arrival times if emergency managers are to develop realistic preparedness and outreach efforts.

Assessing Potential Tsunami Sources for Extreme Wave Deposits on Southwest Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico, Using Numerical Simulations and Hydrodynamic Boulder Transport Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matos-Llavona, P. I.; Lopez, A. M.; Jaffe, B. E.; Richmond, B. M.

2017-12-01

Extreme waves on coastlines pose a threat to human life, habitats, and critical coastal infrastructure. Geological evidence of extreme waves can provide valuable information on the magnitude, frequency, wave characteristics and source of past events, thus improving coastal hazard assessment. Reef-rock boulders, as much as 5m in diameter, are found up to 500 m inland on the southwestern coast of Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico. These boulders were emplaced 4000 years ago based on age dates from encrusting corals (Taggart et al., 1993). This study aims to identify an event capable of forming these deposits. For this, a numerical model of the 1918 Mona Passage tsunami was constructed using the New Evolution of Ocean Wave (NEOWAVE) model with three nested grids of 3, 1 and 1/3 arc-second resolution, respectively. A second simulation of a submarine landslide (1km3 volume) located 300m from the southwestern Mona shoreline was run using 3D Tsunami Solution Using Navier-Stokes Algorithm with Multiple Interfaces (TSUNAMI3D). The resulting inundation and wave heights at the shoreline are compared to minimum wave heights required to initiate transport (sub-aerial and submerged) of measured boulders and idealized cubic boulders with varying volumes. The 1918 Mona Passage tsunami simulation shows no significant inundation on the SSW Mona coast and a maximum wave height of 1.3m, which is below the minimum wave height required to initiate transport of a 1m diameter boulder. This result suggests that a tsunami like the one generated in 1918 is not capable of transporting even the smaller boulders. However, the submarine landslide generated extensive inundation on the SW coast with maximum wave height of 10m at the shoreline, 20m run-up, and 900m inundation distance. This is greater than the minimum wave height needed to initiate transport in both submerged and subaerial pre-transport settings; therefore, a submarine landslide with characteristics of the modeled landslide can form the boulder deposits observed. Marine geological surveys providing dates of landslides found in deep waters south of Mona Island will be required to validate this hypothesis. Taggart, B.E. et al., 1993, Holocene reef-rock boulders on Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico, transported by a hurricane or seismic sea wave. GSA, Abstract with Programs v. 25(6), p. 61.

Numerical reconstruction of tsunami source using combined seismic, satellite and DART data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krivorotko, Olga; Kabanikhin, Sergey; Marinin, Igor

2014-05-01

Recent tsunamis, for instance, in Japan (2011), in Sumatra (2004), and at the Indian coast (2004) showed that a system of producing exact and timely information about tsunamis is of a vital importance. Numerical simulation is an effective instrument for providing such information. Bottom relief characteristics and the initial perturbation data (a tsunami source) are required for the direct simulation of tsunamis. The seismic data about the source are usually obtained in a few tens of minutes after an event has occurred (the seismic waves velocity being about five hundred kilometres per minute, while the velocity of tsunami waves is less than twelve kilometres per minute). A difference in the arrival times of seismic and tsunami waves can be used when operationally refining the tsunami source parameters and modelling expected tsunami wave height on the shore. The most suitable physical models related to the tsunamis simulation are based on the shallow water equations. The problem of identification parameters of a tsunami source using additional measurements of a passing wave is called inverse tsunami problem. We investigate three different inverse problems of determining a tsunami source using three different additional data: Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) measurements, satellite wave-form images and seismic data. These problems are severely ill-posed. We apply regularization techniques to control the degree of ill-posedness such as Fourier expansion, truncated singular value decomposition, numerical regularization. The algorithm of selecting the truncated number of singular values of an inverse problem operator which is agreed with the error level in measured data is described and analyzed. In numerical experiment we used gradient methods (Landweber iteration and conjugate gradient method) for solving inverse tsunami problems. Gradient methods are based on minimizing the corresponding misfit function. To calculate the gradient of the misfit function, the adjoint problem is solved. The conservative finite-difference schemes for solving the direct and adjoint problems in the approximation of shallow water are constructed. Results of numerical experiments of the tsunami source reconstruction are presented and discussed. We show that using a combination of three different types of data allows one to increase the stability and efficiency of tsunami source reconstruction. Non-profit organization WAPMERR (World Agency of Planetary Monitoring and Earthquake Risk Reduction) in collaboration with Informap software development department developed the Integrated Tsunami Research and Information System (ITRIS) to simulate tsunami waves and earthquakes, river course changes, coastal zone floods, and risk estimates for coastal constructions at wave run-ups and earthquakes. The special scientific plug-in components are embedded in a specially developed GIS-type graphic shell for easy data retrieval, visualization and processing. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 12-01-00773 'Theory and Numerical Methods for Solving Combined Inverse Problems of Mathematical Physics') and interdisciplinary project of SB RAS 14 'Inverse Problems and Applications: Theory, Algorithms, Software'.

The Contribution of Coseismic Displacements due to Splay Faults Into the Local Wavefield of the 1964 Alaska Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suleimani, E.; Ruppert, N.; Fisher, M.; West, D.; Hansen, R.

2008-12-01

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center conducts tsunami inundation mapping for coastal communities in Alaska. For many locations in the Gulf of Alaska, the 1964 tsunami generated by the Mw9.2 Great Alaska earthquake may be the worst-case tsunami scenario. We use the 1964 tsunami observations to verify our numerical model of tsunami propagation and runup, therefore it is essential to use an adequate source function of the 1964 earthquake to reduce the level of uncertainty in the modeling results. It was shown that the 1964 co-seismic slip occurred both on the megathrust and crustal splay faults (Plafker, 1969). Plafker (2006) suggested that crustal faults were a major contributor to vertical displacements that generated local tsunami waves. Using eyewitness arrival times of the highest observed waves, he suggested that the initial tsunami wave was higher and closer to the shore, than if it was generated by slip on the megathrust. We conduct a numerical study of two different source functions of the 1964 tsunami to test whether the crustal splay faults had significant effects on local tsunami runup heights and arrival times. The first source function was developed by Johnson et al. (1996) through joint inversion of the far-field tsunami waveforms and geodetic data. The authors did not include crustal faults in the inversion, because the contribution of these faults to the far-field tsunami was negligible. The second is the new coseismic displacement model developed by Suito and Freymueller (2008, submitted). This model extends the Montague Island fault farther along the Kenai Peninsula coast and thus reduces slip on the megathrust in that region. We also use an improved geometry of the Patton Bay fault based on the deep crustal seismic reflection and earthquake data. We propagate tsunami waves generated by both source models across the Pacific Ocean and record wave amplitudes at the locations of the tide gages that recorded the 1964 tsunami. As expected, the two sources produce very similar waveforms in the far field that are also in good agreement with the tide gage records. In order to study the near-field tsunami effects, we will construct embedded telescoping bathymetry grids around tsunami generation area to calculate tsunami arrival times and sea surface heights for both source models of the 1964 earthquake, and use available observation data to verify the model results.

Source Mechanism and Near-field Characteristics of the 2011 Tohoku-oki Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamazaki, Y.; Cheung, K.; Lay, T.

2011-12-01

The Tohoku-oki great earthquake ruptured the megathrust fault offshore of Miyagi and Fukushima in Northeast Honshu with moment magnitude of Mw 9.0 on March 11, 2011, and generated strong shaking across the region. The resulting tsunami devastated the northeastern Japan coasts and damaged coastal infrastructure across the Pacific. The extensive global seismic networks, dense geodetic instruments, well-positioned buoys and wave gauges, and comprehensive runup records along the northeast Japan coasts provide datasets of unprecedented quality and coverage for investigation of the tsunami source mechanism and near-field wave characteristics. Our finite-source model reconstructs detailed source rupture processes by inversion of teleseismic P waves recorded around the globe. The finite-source solution is validated through comparison with the static displacements recoded at the ARIA (JPL-GSI) GPS stations and models obtained by inversion of high-rate GPS observations. The rupture model has two primary slip regions, near the hypocenter and along the trench; the maximum slip is about 60 m near the trench. Together with the low rupture velocity, the Tohoku-oki event has characteristics in common with tsunami earthquakes, although it ruptured across the entire megathrust. Superposition of the deformation of the subfaults from the planar fault model according to their rupture initiation and rise times specifies the seafloor vertical displacement and velocity for tsunami modeling. We reconstruct the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami from the time histories of the seafloor deformation using the dispersive long-wave model NEOWAVE (Non-hydrostatic Evolution of Ocean WAVEs). The computed results are compared with data from six GPS gauges and three wave gauges near the source at 120~200-m and 50-m water depth, as well as DART buoys positioned across the Pacific. The shock-capturing model reproduces near-shore tsunami bores and the runup data gathered by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami Joint Survey Group. Spectral analysis of the computed surface elevation reveals a series of resonance modes and areas prone to tsunami hazards. This case study improves our understanding of near-field tsunami waves and validates the modeling capability to predict their impacts for hazard mitigation and emergency management.

New Tsunami Forecast Tools for the French Polynesia Tsunami Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clément, Joël; Reymond, Dominique

2015-03-01

This paper presents the tsunami warning tools, which are used for the estimation of the seismic source parameters. These tools are grouped under a method called Preliminary Determination of Focal Mechanism_2 ( PDFM2), that has been developed at the French Polynesia Warning Center, in the framework of the system, as a plug-in concept. The first tool determines the seismic moment and the focal geometry (strike, dip, and slip), and the second tool identifies the "tsunami earthquakes" (earthquakes that cause much bigger tsunamis than their magnitude would imply). In a tsunami warning operation, initial assessment of the tsunami potential is based on location and magnitude. The usual quick magnitude methods which use waves, work fine for smaller earthquakes. For major earthquakes these methods drastically underestimate the magnitude and its tsunami potential because the radiated energy shifts to the longer period waves. Since French Polynesia is located far away from the subduction zones of the Pacific rim, the tsunami threat is not imminent, and this luxury of time allows to use the long period surface wave data to determine the true size of a major earthquake. The source inversion method presented in this paper uses a combination of surface waves amplitude spectra and P wave first motions. The advantage of using long period surface data is that there is a much more accurate determination of earthquake size, and the advantage of using P wave first motion is to have a better constrain of the focal geometry than using the surface waves alone. The method routinely gives stable results at minutes, with being the origin time of an earthquake. Our results are then compared to the Global Centroid Moment Tensor catalog for validating both the seismic moment and the source geometry. The second tool discussed in this paper is the slowness parameter and is the energy-to-moment ratio. It has been used to identify tsunami earthquakes, which are characterized by having unusual slow rupture velocity and release seismic energy that has been shifted to longer periods and, therefore, have low values. The slow rupture velocity would indicate weaker material and bigger uplift and, thus, bigger tsunami potential. The use of the slowness parameter is an efficient tool for monitoring the near real-time identification of tsunami earthquakes.

Stand-alone tsunami alarm equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsumata, Akio; Hayashi, Yutaka; Miyaoka, Kazuki; Tsushima, Hiroaki; Baba, Toshitaka; Catalán, Patricio A.; Zelaya, Cecilia; Riquelme Vasquez, Felipe; Sanchez-Olavarria, Rodrigo; Barrientos, Sergio

2017-05-01

One of the quickest means of tsunami evacuation is transfer to higher ground soon after strong and long ground shaking. Ground shaking itself is a good initiator of the evacuation from disastrous tsunami. Longer period seismic waves are considered to be more correlated with the earthquake magnitude. We investigated the possible application of this to tsunami hazard alarm using single-site ground motion observation. Information from the mass media is sometimes unavailable due to power failure soon after a large earthquake. Even when an official alarm is available, multiple information sources of tsunami alert would help people become aware of the coming risk of a tsunami. Thus, a device that indicates risk of a tsunami without requiring other data would be helpful to those who should evacuate. Since the sensitivity of a low-cost MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) accelerometer is sufficient for this purpose, tsunami alarm equipment for home use may be easily realized. Amplitude of long-period (20 s cutoff) displacement was proposed as the threshold for the alarm based on empirical relationships among magnitude, tsunami height, hypocentral distance, and peak ground displacement of seismic waves. Application of this method to recent major earthquakes indicated that such equipment could effectively alert people to the possibility of tsunami.

A Study of the Effects of Seafloor Topography on Tsunami Propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohata, T.; Mikada, H.; Goto, T.; Takekawa, J.

2011-12-01

For tsunami disaster mitigation, we consider the phenomena related to tsunami in terms of the generation, propagation, and run-up to the coast. With consideration for these three phenomena, we have to consider tsunami propagation to predict the arrival time and the run-up height of tsunami. Numerical simulations of tsunami that propagates from the source location to the coast have been widely used to estimate these important parameters. When a tsunami propagates, however, reflected and scattered waves arrive as later phases of tsunami. These waves are generated by the changes of water depth, and could influence the height estimation, especially in later phases. The maximum height of tsunami could be observed not as the first arrivals but as the later phases, therefore it is necessary to consider the effects of the seafloor topography on tsunami propagation. Since many simulations, however, mainly focus on the prediction of the first arrival times and the initial height of tsunami, it is difficult to simulate the later phases that are important for the tsunami disaster mitigation in the conventional methods. In this study, we investigate the effects of the seafloor topography on tsunami propagation after accommodating a tsunami simulation to the superposition of reflected and refracted waves caused by the smooth changes of water depths. Developing the new numerical code, we consider how the effects of the sea floor topography affect on the tsunami propagation, comparing with the tsunami simulated by the conventional method based on the liner long wave theory. Our simulation employs the three dimensional in-equally spaced grids in finite difference method (FDM) to introduce the real seafloor topography. In the simulation, we import the seafloor topography from the real bathymetry data near the Sendai-Bay, off the northeast Tohoku region, Japan, and simulate the tsunami propagation over the varying seafloor topography there. Comparing with the tsunami simulated by the conventional method based on the liner long wave theory, we found that the amplitudes of tsunamis are different from each other for the two simulations. The degree of the amplification of the height of tsunami in our method is larger than that in the conventional one. The height of the later phases of the tsunamis shows the discrepancy between the two results. We would like to conclude that the real changes of water depth affect the prediction of tsunami propagation and the maximum height. Because of the effects of the seafloor topography, the amplitude of the later phases is sometimes larger than the former ones. Due to the inclusion of such effects by the real topography, we believe our method lead to a higher accuracy of prediction of tsunami later phases, which would be effective for tsunami disaster mitigation.

Tsunami Modeling of Hikurangi Trench M9 Events: Case Study for Napier, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, C. R.; Nyst, M.; Farahani, R.; Bryngelson, J.; Lee, R.; Molas, G.

2015-12-01

RMS has developed a tsunami model for New Zealand for the insurance industry to price and to manage their tsunami risks. A key tsunamigenic source for New Zealand is the Hikurangi Trench that lies offshore on the eastside of the North Island. The trench is the result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North Island at a rate of 40-45 mm/yr. Though there have been no M9 historical events on the Hikurangi Trench, events in this magnitude range are considered in the latest version of the National Seismic Hazard Maps for New Zealand (Stirling et al., 2012). The RMS modeling approaches the tsunami lifecycle in three stages: event generation, ocean wave propagation, and coastal inundation. The tsunami event generation is modeled based on seafloor deformation resulting from an event rupture model. The ocean wave propagation and coastal inundation are modeled using a RMS-developed numerical solver, implemented on graphic processing units using a finite-volume approach to approximate two-dimensional, shallow-water wave equations over the ocean and complex topography. As the tsunami waves enter shallow water and approach the coast, the RMS model calculates the propagation of the waves along the wet-dry interface considering variable land friction. The initiation and characteristics of the tsunami are based on the event rupture model. As there have been no historical M9 events on the Hikurangi Trench, this rupture characterization posed unique challenges. This study examined the impacts of a suite of event rupture models to understand the key drivers in the variations in the tsunami inundation footprints. The goal was to develop a suite of tsunamigenic event characterizations that represent a range of potential tsunami outcomes for M9 events on the Hikurangi Trench. The focus of this case study is the Napier region as it represents an important exposure concentration in the region and has experience tsunami inundations in the past including during the 1931 Ms7.8 Hawkes Bay Earthquake.

Evaluation and Numerical Simulation of Tsunami for Coastal Nuclear Power Plants of India

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Pavan K.; Singh, R.K.; Ghosh, A.K.

2006-07-01

Recent tsunami generated on December 26, 2004 due to Sumatra earthquake of magnitude 9.3 resulted in inundation at the various coastal sites of India. The site selection and design of Indian nuclear power plants demand the evaluation of run up and the structural barriers for the coastal plants: Besides it is also desirable to evaluate the early warning system for tsunami-genic earthquakes. The tsunamis originate from submarine faults, underwater volcanic activities, sub-aerial landslides impinging on the sea and submarine landslides. In case of a submarine earthquake-induced tsunami the wave is generated in the fluid domain due to displacement of themore » seabed. There are three phases of tsunami: generation, propagation, and run-up. Reactor Safety Division (RSD) of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay has initiated computational simulation for all the three phases of tsunami source generation, its propagation and finally run up evaluation for the protection of public life, property and various industrial infrastructures located on the coastal regions of India. These studies could be effectively utilized for design and implementation of early warning system for coastal region of the country apart from catering to the needs of Indian nuclear installations. This paper presents some results of tsunami waves based on different analytical/numerical approaches with shallow water wave theory. (authors)« less

Near-Field Tsunami Models with Rapid Earthquake Source Inversions from Land and Ocean-Based Observations: The Potential for Forecast and Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melgar, D.; Bock, Y.; Crowell, B. W.; Haase, J. S.

2013-12-01

Computation of predicted tsunami wave heights and runup in the regions adjacent to large earthquakes immediately after rupture initiation remains a challenging problem. Limitations of traditional seismological instrumentation in the near field which cannot be objectively employed for real-time inversions and the non-unique source inversion results are a major concern for tsunami modelers. Employing near-field seismic, GPS and wave gauge data from the Mw 9.0 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, we test the capacity of static finite fault slip models obtained from newly developed algorithms to produce reliable tsunami forecasts. First we demonstrate the ability of seismogeodetic source models determined from combined land-based GPS and strong motion seismometers to forecast near-source tsunamis in ~3 minutes after earthquake origin time (OT). We show that these models, based on land-borne sensors only tend to underestimate the tsunami but are good enough to provide a realistic first warning. We then demonstrate that rapid ingestion of offshore shallow water (100 - 1000 m) wave gauge data significantly improves the model forecasts and possible warnings. We ingest data from 2 near-source ocean-bottom pressure sensors and 6 GPS buoys into the earthquake source inversion process. Tsunami Green functions (tGFs) are generated using the GeoClaw package, a benchmarked finite volume code with adaptive mesh refinement. These tGFs are used for a joint inversion with the land-based data and substantially improve the earthquake source and tsunami forecast. Model skill is assessed by detailed comparisons of the simulation output to 2000+ tsunami runup survey measurements collected after the event. We update the source model and tsunami forecast and warning at 10 min intervals. We show that by 20 min after OT the tsunami is well-predicted with a high variance reduction to the survey data and by ~30 minutes a model that can be considered final, since little changed is observed afterwards, is achieved. This is an indirect approach to tsunami warning, it relies on automatic determination of the earthquake source prior to tsunami simulation. It is more robust than ad-hoc approaches because it relies on computation of a finite-extent centroid moment tensor to objectively determine the style of faulting and the fault plane geometry on which to launch the heterogeneous static slip inversion. Operator interaction and physical assumptions are minimal. Thus, the approach can provide the initial conditions for tsunami simulation (seafloor motion) irrespective of the type of earthquake source and relies heavily on oceanic wave gauge measurements for source determination. It reliably distinguishes among strike-slip, normal and thrust faulting events, all of which have been observed recently to occur in subduction zones and pose distinct tsunami hazards.

A Global Sensitivity Analysis Method on Maximum Tsunami Wave Heights to Potential Seismic Source Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Luchuan

2015-04-01

A Global Sensitivity Analysis Method on Maximum Tsunami Wave Heights to Potential Seismic Source Parameters Luchuan Ren, Jianwei Tian, Mingli Hong Institute of Disaster Prevention, Sanhe, Heibei Province, 065201, P.R. China It is obvious that the uncertainties of the maximum tsunami wave heights in offshore area are partly from uncertainties of the potential seismic tsunami source parameters. A global sensitivity analysis method on the maximum tsunami wave heights to the potential seismic source parameters is put forward in this paper. The tsunami wave heights are calculated by COMCOT ( the Cornell Multi-grid Coupled Tsunami Model), on the assumption that an earthquake with magnitude MW8.0 occurred at the northern fault segment along the Manila Trench and triggered a tsunami in the South China Sea. We select the simulated results of maximum tsunami wave heights at specific sites in offshore area to verify the validity of the method proposed in this paper. For ranking importance order of the uncertainties of potential seismic source parameters (the earthquake's magnitude, the focal depth, the strike angle, dip angle and slip angle etc..) in generating uncertainties of the maximum tsunami wave heights, we chose Morris method to analyze the sensitivity of the maximum tsunami wave heights to the aforementioned parameters, and give several qualitative descriptions of nonlinear or linear effects of them on the maximum tsunami wave heights. We quantitatively analyze the sensitivity of the maximum tsunami wave heights to these parameters and the interaction effects among these parameters on the maximum tsunami wave heights by means of the extended FAST method afterward. The results shows that the maximum tsunami wave heights are very sensitive to the earthquake magnitude, followed successively by the epicenter location, the strike angle and dip angle, the interactions effect between the sensitive parameters are very obvious at specific site in offshore area, and there exist differences in importance order in generating uncertainties of the maximum tsunami wave heights for same group parameters at different specific sites in offshore area. These results are helpful to deeply understand the relationship between the tsunami wave heights and the seismic tsunami source parameters. Keywords: Global sensitivity analysis; Tsunami wave height; Potential seismic tsunami source parameter; Morris method; Extended FAST method

Sedimentary record of the 1872 earthquake and "Tsunami" at Owens Lake, southeast California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smoot, J.P.; Litwin, R.J.; Bischoff, J.L.; Lund, S.J.

2000-01-01

In 1872, a magnitude 7.5-7.7 earthquake vertically offset the Owens Valley fault by more than a meter. An eyewitness reported a large wave on the surface of Owens Lake, presumably initiated by the earthquake. Physical evidence of this event is found in cores and trenches from Owens Lake, including soft-sediment deformation and fault offsets. A graded pebbly sand truncates these features, possibly over most of the lake floor, reflecting the "tsunami" wave. Confirmation of the timing of the event is provided by abnormally high lead concentrations in the sediment immediately above and below these proposed earthquake deposits derived from lead-smelting plants that operated near the eastern lake margin from 1869-1876. The bottom velocity in the deepest part of the lake needed to transport the coarsest grain sizes in the graded pebbly sand provides an estimate of the minimum initial 'tsunami' wave height at 37 cm. This is less than the wave height calculated from long-wave numerical models (about 55 cm) using average fault displacement during the earthquake. Two other graded sand deposits associated with soft-sediment deformation in the Owens Lake record are less than 3000 years old, and are interpreted as evidence of older earthquake and tsunami events. Offsets of the Owens Valley fault elsewhere in the valley indicate that at least two additional large earthquakes occurred during the Holocene, which is consistent with our observations in this lacustrine record.

A consistent model for tsunami actions on buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, A.; Rossetto, T.; Eames, I.; Chandler, I.; Allsop, W.

2016-12-01

The Japan (2011) and Indian Ocean (2004) tsunami resulted in significant loss of life, buildings, and critical infrastructure. The tsunami forces imposed upon structures in coastal regions are initially due to wave slamming, after which the quasi-steady flow of the sea water around buildings becomes important. An essential requirement in both design and loss assessment is a consistent model that can accurately predict these forces. A model suitable for predicting forces in the in the quasi-steady range has been established as part of a systematic programme of research by the UCL EPICentre to understand the fundamental physical processes of tsunami actions on buildings, and more generally their social and economic consequences. Using the pioneering tsunami generator at HR Wallingford, this study considers the influence of unsteady flow conditions on the forces acting upon a rectangular building occupying 10-80% of a channel for 20-240 second wave periods. A mathematical model based upon basic open-channel flow principles is proposed, which provides empirical estimates for drag and hydrostatic coefficients. A simple force prediction equation, requiring only basic flow velocity and wave height inputs is then developed, providing good agreement with the experimental results. The results of this study demonstrate that the unsteady forces from the very long waves encountered during tsunami events can be predicted with a level of accuracy and simplicity suitable for design and risk assessment.

NASA/French Satellite Data Reveal New Details of Tsunami

NASA Image and Video Library

2005-01-12

Displayed in blue color is the height of sea surface (shown in blue) measured by the Jason satellite two hours after the initial magnitude 9 earthquake hit the region (shown in red) southwest of Sumatra on December 26, 2004. The data were taken by a radar altimeter onboard the satellite along a track traversing the Indian Ocean when the tsunami waves had just filled the entire Bay of Bengal (see the model simulation inset image). The data shown are the changes of sea surface height from previous observations made along the same track 20-30 days before the earthquake, reflecting the signals of the tsunami waves. The maximum height of the leading wave crest was about 50 cm (or 1.6 ft), followed by a trough of sea surface depression of 40 cm. The directions of wave propagation along the satellite track are shown by the blue arrows. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07219

Earthquake- and tsunami-induced ionospheric disturbances detected by GPS total electron content observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsugawa, T.; Nishioka, M.; Matsumura, M.; Shinagawa, H.; Maruyama, T.; Ogawa, T.; Saito, A.; Otsuka, Y.; Nagatsuma, T.; Murata, T.

2012-12-01

Ionospheric disturbances induced by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami were studied by the high-resolution GPS total electron content (TEC) observation in Japan and in the world. The initial ionospheric disturbance appeared as sudden depletions by about 6 TEC unit (20%) about seven minutes after the earthquake onset, near the epicenter. From 06:00UT to 06:15UT, circular waves with short propagation distance propagated in the radial direction in the propagation velocity of 3,457, 783, 423 m/s for the first, second, third peak, respectively. Following these waves, concentric waves with long propagation distance appeared to propagate at the velocity of 138-288 m/s. In the vicinity of the epicenter, shortperiod oscillations with period of about 4 minutes were observed after 06:00 UT for 3 hours or more. We focus on the the circular and concentric waves in this paper. The circular or concentric structures indicate that these ionospheric disturbances had a point source. The center of these structures, termed as "ionospheric epicenter", was located around 37.5 deg N of latitude and 144.0 deg E of longitude, 170 km far from the epicenter to the southeast direction, and corresponded to the tsunami source. Comparing to the results of a numerical simulation using non-hydrostatic compressible atmosphere-ionosphere model, the first peak of circular wave would be caused by the acoustic waves generated from the propagating Rayleigh wave. The second and third waves would be caused by atmospheric gravity waves excited in the lower ionosphere due to the acoustic wave propagations from the tsunami source. The fourth and following waves are considered to be caused by the atmospheric gravity waves induced by the wavefronts of traveling tsunami. Long-propagation of these TEC disturbances were studied also using high-resolution GPS-TEC data in North America and Europe. Medium-scale wave structures with wavelengths of several 100 km appeared in the west part of North America at the almost same time as the tsunami arrival. On the other hand, no remarkable wave structure was observed in Europe. We will introduce these observational results and discuss about the generation and propagation mechanisms of the ionospheric disturbances induced by the earthquake and tsunami.

Fast algorithm for calculation of the moving tsunami wave height

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krivorotko, Olga; Kabanikhin, Sergey

2014-05-01

One of the most urgent problems of mathematical tsunami modeling is estimation of a tsunami wave height while a wave approaches to the coastal zone. There are two methods for solving this problem, namely, Airy-Green formula in one-dimensional case ° --- S(x) = S(0) 4 H(0)/H (x), and numerical solution of an initial-boundary value problem for linear shallow water equations ( { ηtt = div (gH (x,y)gradη), (x,y,t) ∈ ΩT := Ω ×(0,T); ( η|t=0 = q(x,y), ηt|t=0 = 0, (x,y ) ∈ Ω := (0,Lx)× (0,Ly ); (1) η|δΩT = 0. Here η(x,y,t) is the free water surface vertical displacement, H(x,y) is the depth at point (x,y), q(x,y) is the initial amplitude of a tsunami wave, S(x) is a moving tsunami wave height at point x. The main difficulty problem of tsunami modeling is a very big size of the computational domain ΩT. The calculation of the function η(x,y,t) of three variables in ΩT requires large computing resources. We construct a new algorithm to solve numerically the problem of determining the moving tsunami wave height which is based on kinematic-type approach and analytical representation of fundamental solution (2). The wave is supposed to be generated by the seismic fault of the bottom η(x,y,0) = g(y) ·θ(x), where θ(x) is a Heaviside theta-function. Let τ(x,y) be a solution of the eikonal equation 1 τ2x +τ2y = --, gH (x,y) satisfying initial conditions τ(0,y) = 0 and τx(0,y) = (gH (0,y))-1/2. Introducing new variables and new functions: ° -- z = τ(x,y), u(z,y,t) = ηt(x,y,t), b(z,y) = gH(x,y). We obtain an initial-boundary value problem in new variables from (1) ( 2 2 (2 bz- ) { utt = uzz + b uyy + 2b τyuzy + b(τxx + τyy) + 2b + 2bbyτy uz+ ( +2b(bzτy + by)uy, z,y- >2 0,t > 0,2 -1/2 u|t 0,t > 0. Then after some mathematical transformation we get the structure of the function u(x,y,t) in the form u(z,y,t) = S(z,y)·θ(t - z) + ˜u(z,y,t). (2) Here Å©(z,y,t) is a smooth function, S(z,y) is the solution of the problem: { S + b2τ S + (1b2(τ +τ )+ bz+ bb τ )S = 0, z,y > 0, z ygy(y)( 2-2 xx yy2 b)-1/2y y (3) S(0,y) = 2 b (0,y)- τy(0,y) , y > 0. Note that the problem (3) is two-dimensional which allows one to reduce the number of operations in 1.5 times. The algorithm makes it possible to calculate the moving tsunami wave height S(z,y) coming to a given point (z0,y0) as well as the arrival time. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 12-01-00773 «Theory and Numerical Methods for Solving Combined Inverse Problems of Mathematical Physics») and interdisciplinary project of SB RAS 14 «Inverse Problems and Applications: Theory, Algorithms, Software».

February 27, 2010 Chilean Tsunami in Pacific and its Arrival to North East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaytsev, Andrey; Pelinovsky, EfiM.; Yalciner, Ahmet C.; Ozer, Ceren; Chernov, Anton; Kostenko, Irina; Shevchenko, Georgy

2010-05-01

The outskirts of the fault plane broken by the strong earthquake on February 27, 2010 in Chili with a magnitude 8.8 at the 35km depth of 35.909°S, 72.733°W coordinates generated a moderate size tsunami. The initial amplitude of the tsunami source is not so high because of the major area of the plane was at land. The tsunami waves propagated far distances in South and North directions to East Asia and Wet America coasts. The waves are also recorded by several gauges in Pacific during its propagation and arrival to coastal areas. The recorded and observed amplitudes of tsunami waves are important for the potential effects with the threatening amplitudes. The event also showed that a moderate size tsunami can be effective even if it propagates far distances in any ocean or a marginal sea. The far east coasts of Russia at North East Asia (Sakhalin, Kuriles, Kamchatka) are one of the important source (i.e. November 15, 2006, Kuril Island Tsunami) and target (i.e. February, 27, 2010 Chilean tsunami) areas of the Pacific tsunamis. Many efforts have been spent for establishment of the monitoring system and assessment of tsunamis and development of the mitigation strategies against tsunamis and other hazards in the region. Development of the computer technologies provided the advances in data collection, transfer, and processing. Furthermore it also contributed new developments in computational tools and made the computer modeling to be an efficient tool in tsunami warning systems. In this study the tsunami numerical model NAMI DANCE Nested version is used. NAMI-DANCE solves Nonlinear form of Long Wave (Shallow water) equations (with or without dispersion) using finite difference model in nested grid domains from the source to target areas in multiprocessor hardware environment. It is applied to 2010 Chilean tsunami and its propagation and coastal behavior at far distances near Sakhalin, Kuril and Kamchatka coasts. The main tide gauge records used in this study are from Petropavlosk (Kamchatka), Severo-Kurilsk (Paramushir), Kurilsk (Iturup, coast of the Okhotsk sea), Malokurilskoe (Shikotan), Korsakov, Kholmsk and Aniva Bay (Sakhalin). These records and also other offshore DART records are analyzed and used for comparison of the modeling results with offshore and nearshore records. The transmission of tsunami waves through Sakhalin and Kuril straits and their propagation to nearby coasts are investigated. The spectral analysis of records in settlements of Sakhalin and Kurile Islands are investigated. The performance and capabilities of NAMI DANCE is also presented together with comparisons between the model, observations and discussions.

Implications of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on tsunami forecast and assessment models for great subduction-zone earthquakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.; Titov, Vasily V.; Arcas, Diego; Pollitz, Fred F.; Bilek, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Results from different tsunami forecasting and hazard assessment models are compared with observed tsunami wave heights from the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Forecast models are based on initial earthquake information and are used to estimate tsunami wave heights during propagation. An empirical forecast relationship based only on seismic moment provides a close estimate to the observed mean regional and maximum local tsunami runup heights for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami but underestimates mean regional tsunami heights at azimuths in line with the tsunami beaming pattern (e.g., Sri Lanka, Thailand). Standard forecast models developed from subfault discretization of earthquake rupture, in which deep- ocean sea level observations are used to constrain slip, are also tested. Forecast models of this type use tsunami time-series measurements at points in the deep ocean. As a proxy for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a transect of deep-ocean tsunami amplitudes recorded by satellite altimetry is used to constrain slip along four subfaults of the M >9 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake. This proxy model performs well in comparison to observed tsunami wave heights, travel times, and inundation patterns at Banda Aceh. Hypothetical tsunami hazard assessments models based on end- member estimates for average slip and rupture length (Mw 9.0–9.3) are compared with tsunami observations. Using average slip (low end member) and rupture length (high end member) (Mw 9.14) consistent with many seismic, geodetic, and tsunami inversions adequately estimates tsunami runup in most regions, except the extreme runup in the western Aceh province. The high slip that occurred in the southern part of the rupture zone linked to runup in this location is a larger fluctuation than expected from standard stochastic slip models. In addition, excess moment release (∼9%) deduced from geodetic studies in comparison to seismic moment estimates may generate additional tsunami energy, if the exponential time constant of slip is less than approximately 1 hr. Overall, there is significant variation in assessed runup heights caused by quantifiable uncertainty in both first-order source parameters (e.g., rupture length, slip-length scaling) and spatiotemporal complexity of earthquake rupture.

Towards a robust framework for Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) for local and regional tsunami in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, Christof; Power, William; Fraser, Stuart; Wang, Xiaoming

2013-04-01

Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) is conceptually closely related to Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA). The main difference is that PTHA needs to simulate propagation of tsunami waves through the ocean and cannot rely on attenuation relationships, which makes PTHA computationally more expensive. The wave propagation process can be assumed to be linear as long as water depth is much larger than the wave amplitude of the tsunami. Beyond this limit a non-linear scheme has to be employed with significantly higher algorithmic run times. PTHA considering far-field tsunami sources typically uses unit source simulations, and relies on the linearity of the process by later scaling and combining the wave fields of individual simulations to represent the intended earthquake magnitude and rupture area. Probabilistic assessments are typically made for locations offshore but close to the coast. Inundation is calculated only for significantly contributing events (de-aggregation). For local and regional tsunami it has been demonstrated that earthquake rupture complexity has a significant effect on the tsunami amplitude distribution offshore and also on inundation. In this case PTHA has to take variable slip distributions and non-linearity into account. A unit source approach cannot easily be applied. Rupture complexity is seen as an aleatory uncertainty and can be incorporated directly into the rate calculation. We have developed a framework that manages the large number of simulations required for local PTHA. As an initial case study the effect of rupture complexity on tsunami inundation and the statistics of the distribution of wave heights have been investigated for plate-interface earthquakes in the Hawke's Bay region in New Zealand. Assessing the probability that water levels will be in excess of a certain threshold requires the calculation of empirical cumulative distribution functions (ECDF). We compare our results with traditional estimates for tsunami inundation simulations that do not consider rupture complexity. De-aggregation based on moment magnitude alone might not be appropriate, because the hazard posed by any individual event can be underestimated locally if rupture complexity is ignored.

Effect of dynamical phase on the resonant interaction among tsunami edge wave modes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.

2018-01-01

Different modes of tsunami edge waves can interact through nonlinear resonance. During this process, edge waves that have very small initial amplitude can grow to be as large or larger than the initially dominant edge wave modes. In this study, the effects of dynamical phase are established for a single triad of edge waves that participate in resonant interactions. In previous studies, Jacobi elliptic functions were used to describe the slow variation in amplitude associated with the interaction. This analytical approach assumes that one of the edge waves in the triad has zero initial amplitude and that the combined phase of the three waves φ = θ1 + θ2 − θ3 is constant at the value for maximum energy exchange (φ = 0). To obtain a more general solution, dynamical phase effects and non-zero initial amplitudes for all three waves are incorporated using numerical methods for the governing differential equations. Results were obtained using initial conditions calculated from a subduction zone, inter-plate thrust fault geometry and a stochastic earthquake slip model. The effect of dynamical phase is most apparent when the initial amplitudes and frequencies of the three waves are within an order of magnitude. In this case, non-zero initial phase results in a marked decrease in energy exchange and a slight decrease in the period of the interaction. When there are large differences in frequency and/or initial amplitude, dynamical phase has less of an effect and typically one wave of the triad has very little energy exchange with the other two waves. Results from this study help elucidate under what conditions edge waves might be implicated in late, large-amplitude arrivals.

Effect of Dynamical Phase on the Resonant Interaction Among Tsunami Edge Wave Modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geist, Eric L.

2018-02-01

Different modes of tsunami edge waves can interact through nonlinear resonance. During this process, edge waves that have very small initial amplitude can grow to be as large or larger than the initially dominant edge wave modes. In this study, the effects of dynamical phase are established for a single triad of edge waves that participate in resonant interactions. In previous studies, Jacobi elliptic functions were used to describe the slow variation in amplitude associated with the interaction. This analytical approach assumes that one of the edge waves in the triad has zero initial amplitude and that the combined phase of the three waves φ = θ 1 + θ 2 - θ 3 is constant at the value for maximum energy exchange (φ = 0). To obtain a more general solution, dynamical phase effects and non-zero initial amplitudes for all three waves are incorporated using numerical methods for the governing differential equations. Results were obtained using initial conditions calculated from a subduction zone, inter-plate thrust fault geometry and a stochastic earthquake slip model. The effect of dynamical phase is most apparent when the initial amplitudes and frequencies of the three waves are within an order of magnitude. In this case, non-zero initial phase results in a marked decrease in energy exchange and a slight decrease in the period of the interaction. When there are large differences in frequency and/or initial amplitude, dynamical phase has less of an effect and typically one wave of the triad has very little energy exchange with the other two waves. Results from this study help elucidate under what conditions edge waves might be implicated in late, large-amplitude arrivals.

Effect of Dynamical Phase on the Resonant Interaction Among Tsunami Edge Wave Modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geist, Eric L.

2018-04-01

Different modes of tsunami edge waves can interact through nonlinear resonance. During this process, edge waves that have very small initial amplitude can grow to be as large or larger than the initially dominant edge wave modes. In this study, the effects of dynamical phase are established for a single triad of edge waves that participate in resonant interactions. In previous studies, Jacobi elliptic functions were used to describe the slow variation in amplitude associated with the interaction. This analytical approach assumes that one of the edge waves in the triad has zero initial amplitude and that the combined phase of the three waves φ = θ 1 + θ 2 - θ 3 is constant at the value for maximum energy exchange ( φ = 0). To obtain a more general solution, dynamical phase effects and non-zero initial amplitudes for all three waves are incorporated using numerical methods for the governing differential equations. Results were obtained using initial conditions calculated from a subduction zone, inter-plate thrust fault geometry and a stochastic earthquake slip model. The effect of dynamical phase is most apparent when the initial amplitudes and frequencies of the three waves are within an order of magnitude. In this case, non-zero initial phase results in a marked decrease in energy exchange and a slight decrease in the period of the interaction. When there are large differences in frequency and/or initial amplitude, dynamical phase has less of an effect and typically one wave of the triad has very little energy exchange with the other two waves. Results from this study help elucidate under what conditions edge waves might be implicated in late, large-amplitude arrivals.

Tsunami Waves Joint Inversion Using Tsunami Inundation, Tsunami Deposits Distribution and Marine-Terrestrial Sediment Signal in Tsunami Deposit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, H.; WANG, J.

2017-12-01

Population living close to coastlines is increasing, which creates higher risks due to coastal hazards, such as the tsunami. However, the generation of a tsunami is not fully understood yet, especially for paleo-tsunami. Tsunami deposits are one of the concrete evidence in the geological record which we can apply for studying paleo-tsunami. The understanding of tsunami deposits has significantly improved over the last decades. There are many inversion models (e.g. TsuSedMod, TSUFLIND, and TSUFLIND-EnKF) to study the overland-flow characteristics based on tsunami deposits. However, none of them tries to reconstruct offshore tsunami wave characteristics (wave form, wave height, and length) based on tsunami deposits. Here we present a state-of-the-art inverse approach to reconstruct offshore tsunami wave based on the tsunami inundation data, the spatial distribution of tsunami deposits and Marine-terrestrial sediment signal in the tsunami deposits. Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) Method is used for assimilating both sediment transport simulations and the field observation data. While more computationally expensive, the EnKF approach potentially provides more accurate reconstructions for tsunami waveform. In addition to the improvement of inversion results, the ensemble-based method can also quantify the uncertainties of the results. Meanwhile, joint inversion improves the resolution of tsunami waves compared with inversions using any single data type. The method will be tested by field survey data and gauge data from the 2011 Tohoku tsunami on Sendai plain area.

Tsunami Source Modeling of the 2015 Volcanic Tsunami Earthquake near Torishima, South of Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandanbata, O.; Watada, S.; Satake, K.; Fukao, Y.; Sugioka, H.; Ito, A.; Shiobara, H.

2017-12-01

An abnormal earthquake occurred at a submarine volcano named Smith Caldera, near Torishima Island on the Izu-Bonin arc, on May 2, 2015. The earthquake, which hereafter we call "the 2015 Torishima earthquake," has a CLVD-type focal mechanism with a moderate seismic magnitude (M5.7) but generated larger tsunami waves with an observed maximum height of 50 cm at Hachijo Island [JMA, 2015], so that the earthquake can be regarded as a "tsunami earthquake." In the region, similar tsunami earthquakes were observed in 1984, 1996 and 2006, but their physical mechanisms are still not well understood. Tsunami waves generated by the 2015 earthquake were recorded by an array of ocean bottom pressure (OBP) gauges, 100 km northeastern away from the epicenter. The waves initiated with a small downward signal of 0.1 cm and reached peak amplitude (1.5-2.0 cm) of leading upward signals followed by continuous oscillations [Fukao et al., 2016]. For modeling its tsunami source, or sea-surface displacement, we perform tsunami waveform simulations, and compare synthetic and observed waveforms at the OBP gauges. The linear Boussinesq equations are adapted with the tsunami simulation code, JAGURS [Baba et al., 2015]. We first assume a Gaussian-shaped sea-surface uplift of 1.0 m with a source size comparable to Smith Caldera, 6-7 km in diameter. By shifting source location around the caldera, we found the uplift is probably located within the caldera rim, as suggested by Sandanbata et al. [2016]. However, synthetic waves show no initial downward signal that was observed at the OBP gauges. Hence, we add a ring of subsidence surrounding the main uplift, and examine sizes and amplitudes of the main uplift and the subsidence ring. As a result, the model of a main uplift of around 1.0 m with a radius of 4 km surrounded by a ring of small subsidence shows good agreement of synthetic and observed waveforms. The results yield two implications for the deformation process that help us to understanding the physical mechanism of the 2015 Torishima earthquake. First, the estimated large uplift within Smith Caldera implies the earthquake may be related to some volcanic activity of the caldera. Secondly, the modeled ring of subsidence surrounding the caldera suggests that the process may have included notable subsidence, at least on the northeastern side out of the caldera.

Tsunami mitigation - redistribution of energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadri, Usama

2017-04-01

Tsunamis are water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, in the deep ocean or a large lake, following an earthquake, landslide, underwater explosion, meteorite impacts, or other violent geological events. On the coastline, the resulting waves evolve from unnoticeable to devastating, reaching heights of tens of meters and causing destruction of property and loss of life. Over 225,000 people were killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami alone. For many decades, scientists have been studying tsunami, and progress has been widely reported in connection with the causes (1), forecasting (2), and recovery (3). However, none of the studies ratifies the approach of a direct mitigation of tsunamis, with the exception of mitigation using submarine barriers (e.g. see Ref. (4)). In an attempt to open a discussion on direct mitigation, I examine the feasibility of redistributing the total energy of a very long surface ocean (gravity) wave over a larger space through nonlinear resonant interaction with two finely tuned acoustic-gravity waves (see Refs. (5-8)). Theoretically, while the energy input in the acoustic-gravity waves required for an effective interaction is comparable to that in a tsunami (i.e. impractically large), employing the proposed mitigation technique the initial tsunami amplitude could be reduced substantially resulting in a much milder impact at the coastline. Moreover, such a technique would allow for the harnessing of the tsunami's own energy. Practically, this mitigation technique requires the design of highly accurate acoustic-gravity wave frequency transmitters or modulators, which is a rather challenging ongoing engineering problem. References 1. E. Bryant, 2014. Tsunami: the underrated hazard. Springer, doi:10.1007/978-3-319- 06133-7. 2. V. V. Titov, F. I. Gonza`lez, E. N. Bernard, M. C. Eble, H. O. Mofjeld, J. C. Newman, A. J. Venturato, 2005. Real-Time Tsunami Forecasting: Challenges and Solutions. Nat. Hazards 35:41-58, doi:10.1007/1-4020-3607-8 3 3. E. Check, 2005. Natural disasters: Roots of recovery. Nature 438, 910-911, doi:10.1038/438910a. 4. A. M. Fridman, L. S. Alperovich, L. Shemer, L. Pustil'nik, D. Shtivelman, A. G. Marchuk, D. Liberzon, 2010. Tsunami wave suppression using submarine barriers. Phys. Usp. 53 809-816, doi:10.3367/UFNe.0180.201008d.0843. 5. U. Kadri, M. Stiassnie, 2013. Generation of an acoustic-gravity wave by two gravity waves, and their mutual interaction. J. Fluid Mech. 735, R6, doi:10.1017/jfm.2013.539. 6. U. Kadri, 2015. Wave motion in a heavy compressible fluid: revisited. European Journal of Mechanics - B/Fluids, 49(A), 50-57, doi:10.1016/j.euromechflu.2014.07.008 7. U. Kadri, T.R. Akylas, 2016. On resonant triad interactions of acoustic-gravity waves. J. Fluid Mech., 788, R1(12 pages), doi:10.1017/jfm.2015.721. 8. U. Kadri, 2016. Triad resonance between a surface-gravity wave and two high frequency hydro-acoustic waves. Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluid, 55(1), 157-161, doi:10.1016/j.euromechflu.2015.09.008.

Marshall Islands Fringing Reef and Atoll Lagoon Observations of the Tohoku Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, Murray; Becker, Janet M.; Merrifield, Mark A.; Song, Y. Tony

2014-12-01

The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 generated a tsunami which caused significant impacts throughout the Pacific Ocean. A description of the tsunami within the lagoons and on the surrounding fringing reefs of two mid-ocean atoll islands is presented using bottom pressure observations from the Majuro and Kwajalein atolls in the Marshall Islands, supplemented by tide gauge data in the lagoons and by numerical model simulations in the deep ocean. Although the initial wave arrival was not captured by the pressure sensors, subsequent oscillations on the reef face resemble the deep ocean tsunami signal simulated by two numerical models, suggesting that the tsunami amplitudes over the atoll outer reefs are similar to that in deep water. In contrast, tsunami oscillations in the lagoon are more energetic and long lasting than observed on the reefs or modelled in the deep ocean. The tsunami energy in the Majuro lagoon exhibits persistent peaks in the 30 and 60 min period bands that suggest the excitation of closed and open basin normal modes, while energy in the Kwajalein lagoon spans a broader range of frequencies with weaker, multiple peaks than observed at Majuro, which may be associated with the tsunami behavior within the more irregular geometry of the Kwajalein lagoon. The propagation of the tsunami across the reef flats is shown to be tidally dependent, with amplitudes increasing/decreasing shoreward at high/low tide. The impact of the tsunami on the Marshall Islands was reduced due to the coincidence of peak wave amplitudes with low tide; however, the observed wave amplitudes, particularly in the atoll lagoon, would have led to inundation at different tidal phases.

Near Field Modeling for the Maule Tsunami from DART, GPS and Finite Fault Solutions (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcas, D.; Chamberlin, C.; Lagos, M.; Ramirez-Herrera, M.; Tang, L.; Wei, Y.

2010-12-01

The earthquake and tsunami of February, 27, 2010 in central Chile has rekindled an interest in developing techniques to predict the impact of near field tsunamis along the Chilean coastline. Following the earthquake, several initiatives were proposed to increase the density of seismic, pressure and motion sensors along the South American trench, in order to provide field data that could be used to estimate tsunami impact on the coast. However, the precise use of those data in the elaboration of a quantitative assessment of coastal tsunami damage has not been clarified. The present work makes use of seismic, Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART®) systems, and GPS measurements obtained during the Maule earthquake to initiate a number of tsunami inundation models along the rupture area by expressing different versions of the seismic crustal deformation in terms of NOAA’s tsunami unit source functions. Translation of all available real-time data into a feasible tsunami source is essential in near-field tsunami impact prediction in which an impact assessment must be generated under very stringent time constraints. Inundation results from each different source are then contrasted with field and tide gauge data by comparing arrival time, maximum wave height, maximum inundation and tsunami decay rate, using field data collected by the authors.

Analysis of large boulders along the coast of south-eastern Sicily to discriminate between storm and tsunami deposits.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirrotta, Claudia; Serafina Barbano, Maria; Gerardi, Flavia

2010-05-01

We present a study to discriminate the kind of anomalous waves, storms or tsunamis, that were responsible for the large boulder accumulation in the Vendicari Reserve along the south-eastern Sicilian coast. These depositional and erosional indicators of the large wave impact have been already observed in some rocky coasts of the Mediterranean basin and associated to strong waves of tsunamigenic or meteorological origin. Distinguishing boulders deposited by tsunamis from that deposited by storms and determining the age of their deposition can help to evaluate the magnitude and frequency of tsunamis and the hazard along the coast also regarding extraordinarily violent storms. The Sicilian Ionian coast has been affected in historical time by large destructive earthquake-related tsunamis (e.g. the 1169, 1693 and 1908) and it is exposed to an intense wave motion coming from a NNE- SSE span direction . In the rocky coastal area of Vendicari Reserve, three different GPS surveys (from September 2006 until April 2009) have been performed with the aim to observe the distance of each boulders with respect to the shoreline and if storms removed boulders or deposited new ones. A morphological analysis aiming to identify boulder shapes, measuring their volumes, elongation axis azimuth, pre-transport setting and the probable transport mechanism on the platform, was also carried out. The calcarenitic boulders (specific weight about 2,3 g/cm3), reaching about 20 tons and a distance up to 60m from the shoreline, are generally carved out from the supratidal or mid-sublittoral zone, showing widespread biogenic encrustations sometimes so fresh that suggest a recent deposition. The GPS surveys allowed us to observed that, after a strong storm during January 2009, several boulders were removed while new have been deposited on the platform by the storm waves. Hydrodynamic equations jointly to statistical analysis of sea storms have been used to determine the extreme event, geological or meteorological, responsible for this singular accumulation. We computed the minimum wave height, of storm and tsunami, required to start the movement of each boulder from its initial position. Moreover, we calculated the maximum penetration of the waves for the two major storm waves estimated at Vendicari and for the 1693 and 1908 tsunami waves. Finally we compared the computed values with the boulder distribution. The results show that the strongest storms were probably responsible for the current distribution of many boulders but about the 30% of them need of stronger waves, likely tsunami waves, than the maximum assumed storms to be moved and transported in their final place. Radiocarbon dating, performed on three probably tsunami boulders, having weight of about 15 t and sited at a distance >40 m from the shoreline, suggests that two of them were probably deposited by the 1693 tsunami, and one by a tsunami occurred after 650-930 AD that could be an unknown event or one of the historical tsunamis occurred in the Ionian coast of Sicily. Absolute age dating, such as optical stimulated luminescence, should be necessary to gather a correct imprint of the paleotsunami event.

How can coastal parks contain the destructive impact of a tsunami? A numerical approach to the understanding of tsunami-triggered waves in the presence of coastal hills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marras, Simone; Suckale, Jenny; Lunghino, Brent; Giraldo, Francis X.; Constantinescu, Emil

2016-04-01

From the now common idea that vegetated shores may reduce the power of a destructive storm surge, an increasing number of coastal communities around the world are extending this thinking to the design of coastal parks as a way to limit the impact of a tsunami. Tsunamis and storm surges are significantly different in nature and behavior, and it is implausible that vegetation alone could act as a tsunami mitigation tool. A more comprehensive approach relies on the installation of vegetated, scattered mitigation hills in front of the shore to deviate the incoming tsunami wave instead. The analysis of how natural obstacles affect non-linear tsunami waves is still very limited and consists mostly of one-dimensional studies (e.g., [1, 2]). To that end, this work aims to extend the analysis of the interaction of waves of different shapes (solitary wave, N-wave), sizes (amplitude and wave length), and configurations with large obstacles to two-dimensional flows. The following metrics are used for a quantification of the results: 1) tsunami run-up and run-down and 2) a measure of channelization (via the flow kinetic energy and discharge). First, preliminary results show that the configuration of the obstacles is consequential as long as the amplitude of the incoming wave is large enough relative to the obstacles. In second instance, we also observed that the channelization of the flow between two neighboring obstacles may not be greatly affected solely by the distance between obstacles, but must be analyzed in relationship to the initial wave/wave train. This study is based on the numerical solution of the viscous shallow water equations via high order discontinuous finite elements method (DG) using a quadrilateral version of the model described in [3] and with fully implicit time integration [4]. Large and relatively massive hills appear to be a better solution than any offshore concrete walls, which have shown to possibly enhance the tsunami catastrophic power rather than reducing it. Nevertheless, without a thorough understanding of the behavior of non-linear waves when they approach coastal configurations such as hills, coastal parks may still be far from a safe reality. References [1] P. Lynett (2007) "Effect of shallow water obstruction on long wave run-up and overland flow velocity" J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Engrg. 136:455-462 [2] G. F. Carrier, T. T. Wu, H. Yeh (2003) "Tsunami run-up and draw-down on a plane beach" J. Fluid Mech. 475:79-99. [3] F. X. Giraldo and M. Restelli (2010) "High-order semi- implicit time-integrators for a triangular discontinuous Galerkin oceanic shallow water model" Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids, 63:1077-1102. [4] F X. Giraldo, J F.. Kelly, and E. Constantinescu. "Implicit-explicit formulations of a three-dimensional Nonhydrostatic Unified Model of the Atmosphere (NUMA)" SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 35:1162-1194, 2013.

EDITORIAL: The FDR Prize The FDR Prize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kida, Shigeo

2009-06-01

From the 45 papers published in the year 2008 in Fluid Dynamics Research the following paper has been selected for the second FDR prize: 'Propagation of very long water waves, with vorticity, over variable depth, with applications to tsunamis' by Adrian Constantin and Robin S Johnson, published in volume 40 (March 2008) pp 175-211. This paper takes, as its main theme, the analysis of the propagation of very long gravity waves in the ocean environment, with the possibility of applying the results to tsunamis. Both variable depth and some pre-existing vorticity are allowed in the model, but under the over-arching assumption of long waves; indeed, it is argued, the waves are so long that it is impossible for classical soliton theory to be the appropriate description of a developing tsunami. This aspect is supported by some simple scaling arguments, together with some observations associated with the tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. The formulation is based on two small scales: the slow scale on which the depth varies and the small amplitude of the wave (as initially generated in deep water). The technique adopted is that of matched asymptotic expansions. The solution, constructed for deep water, is not valid in suitably reduced depth of water; the solution in this shallow region (close inshore) is then matched to the deep-water solution. A novel feature of this work is the inclusion of a general distribution of vorticity in the absence of waves—intended to model the realistic ocean—which is based on the slow evolution scale for the bottom topography. Some general properties of such background flows are proved, and two specific examples have been obtained: constant vorticity everywhere (as far as the shoreline), and regions of isolated vorticity (for appropriate bottom profiles). The way in which the wave properties are modified in the presence of vorticity is described. The significant overall proposal in this theory, specifically applicable to tsunamis, is that it is the profile of the initial disturbance (generated by the seismic activity) that is the single most important ingredient in the formation of tsunami waves (provided, of course, the familiar requirement of a long, gently shelving beach is also present). This contention is described and developed, and supported by some graphical examples of the various types of solution that can be obtained; these include contributions from variable depth and suitable background vorticity.

Modeling Boulder Transport by Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karpytchev, M.

2017-12-01

Large coastal boulders are often believed to have been transported by strong tsunami andstorm waves. Understanding and quantifying the boulder transport processes is, therefore,crucial for evaluation of strength and timing of the past tsunamis and storms. Over the last10-15 year, a series of studies have obtained estimates of basic wave parameters neededto set in motion a boulder of given size, shape and mass by using simplified paramaterizationsof fluid-particle interactions. Although, parameterizing the principal hydraulic forces drivingboulder transport was succefull in reproducing effects of several historical tsunamis, someimportant details about initiation of boulder motion and the contribution of coastal wavetransformations as well as of suspended sediment to enhancing coastal currents are still lacking.These essentially non-linear processes can be particularly important for distingushing, in everyparticular case, whether it is a storm wave or a tsunami (or both) that was capable to transportspecific boulder to a given site.In this study, we employ the Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method in orderto get new insights on interaction of waves with boulders in the nearshore area.We first compare the SPH predictions with available laboratory experiments and thenexplore the effects of realistic 3D coastal bathymetry, non-linear behaviour of coastal waves,boulders shape and the impact of bedload and suspended sediment on dislodgement and initiationof boulder transport.

Development of a GNSS-Enhanced Tsunami Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bawden, G. W.; Melbourne, T. I.; Bock, Y.; Song, Y. T.; Komjathy, A.

2015-12-01

The past decade has witnessed a terrible loss of life and economic disruption caused by large earthquakes and resultant tsunamis impacting coastal communities and infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region. NASA has funded the early development of a prototype real-time Global Navigation Satellite System (RT-GNSS) based rapid earthquake and tsunami early warning (GNSS-TEW) system that may be used to enhance seismic tsunami early warning systems for large earthquakes. This prototype GNSS-TEW system geodetically estimates fault parameters (earthquake magnitude, location, strike, dip, and slip magnitude/direction on a gridded fault plane both along strike and at depth) and tsunami source parameters (seafloor displacement, tsunami energy scale, and 3D tsunami initials) within minutes after the mainshock based on dynamic numerical inversions/regressions of the real-time measured displacements within a spatially distributed real-time GNSS network(s) spanning the epicentral region. It is also possible to measure fluctuations in the ionosphere's total electron content (TEC) in the RT-GNSS data caused by the pressure wave from the tsunami. This TEC approach can detect if a tsunami has been triggered by an earthquake, track its waves as they propagate through the oceanic basins, and provide upwards of 45 minutes early warning. These combined real-time geodetic approaches will very quickly address a number of important questions in the immediate minutes following a major earthquake: How big was the earthquake and what are its fault parameters? Could the earthquake have produced a tsunami and was a tsunami generated?

Sedimentological effects of tsunamis, with particular reference to impact-generated and volcanogenic waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bourgeois, Joanne; Wiberg, Patricia L.

1988-01-01

Impulse-generated waves (tsunamis) may be produced, at varying scales and global recurrence intervals (RI), by several processes. Meteorite-water impacts will produce tsunamis, and asteroid-scale impacts with associated mega-tsunamis may occur. A bolide-water impact would undoubtedly produce a major tsunami, whose sedimentological effects should be recognizable. Even a bolide-land impact might trigger major submarine landslides and thus tsunamis. In all posulated scenarios for the K/T boundary event, then, tsunamis are expected, and where to look for them must be determined, and how to distinguish deposits from different tsunamis. Also, because tsunamis decrease in height as they move away from their source, the proximal effects will differ by perhaps orders of magnitude from distal effects. Data on the characteristics of tsunamis at their origin are scarce. Some observations exist for tsunamis generated by thermonuclear explosions and for seismogenic tsunamis, and experimental work was conducted on impact-generated tsunamis. All tsunamis of interest have wave-lengths of 0(100) km and thus behave as shallow-water waves in all ocean depths. Typical wave periods are 0(10 to 100) minutes. The effect of these tsunamis can be estimated in the marine and coastal realm by calculating boundary shear stresses (expressed as U*, the shear velocity). An event layer at the K/T boundary in Texas occurs in mid-shelf muds. Only a large, long-period wave with a wave height of 0(50) m, is deemed sufficient to have produced this layer. Such wave heights imply a nearby volcanic explosion on the scale of Krakatau or larger, or a nearby submarine landslide also of great size, or a bolide-water impact in the ocean.

CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX Caribbean and Western Atlantic Tsunami Exercises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Whitmore, P.; Aliaga, B.; Huerfano Moreno, V.

2013-12-01

Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions over the past 500 years. While most have been generated by local earthquakes, distant generated tsunamis can also affect the region. For example, waves from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami were observed in Cuba, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, as well as Antigua, Martinique, Guadalupe and Barbados in the Lesser Antilles. Since 1500, at least 4484 people are reported to have perished in these killer waves. Although the tsunami generated by the 2010 Haiti earthquake claimed only a few lives, in the 1530 El Pilar, Venezuela; 1602 Port Royale, Jamaica; 1918 Puerto Rico; and 1946 Samaná, Dominican Republic tsunamis the death tolls ranged to over a thousand. Since then, there has been an explosive increase in residents, visitors, infrastructure, and economic activity along the coastlines, increasing the potential for human and economic loss. It has been estimated that on any day, upwards of more than 500,000 people could be in harm's way just along the beaches, with hundreds of thousands more working and living in the tsunamis hazard zones. Given the relative infrequency of tsunamis, exercises are a valuable tool to test communications, evaluate preparedness and raise awareness. Exercises in the Caribbean are conducted under the framework of the UNESCO IOC Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) and the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. On March 23, 2011, 34 countries and territories participated in the first CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX regional tsunami exercise, while in the second exercise on March 20, 2013 a total of 45 countries and territories participated. 481 organizations (almost 200 more than in 2011) also registered to receive the bulletins issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center and/or the Puerto Rico Seismic Network. The CARIBE WAVE/LANTEX 13 scenario simulated a tsunami generated by a magnitude 8.5 earthquake originating north of Oranjestad, Aruba in the Caribbean Sea. For the first time earthquake impact was included in addition to expected tsunami impact. The initial message was issued by the warning centers over the established channels, while different mechanisms were then used by participants for further dissemination. The enhanced PTWC tsunami products for the Caribbean were also made available to the participants. To provide feedback on the exercise an online survey tool with 85 questions was used. The survey demonstrated satisfaction with exercise, timely receipt of bulletins and interest in the enhanced PTWC products. It also revealed that while 93% of the countries had an activation and response process, only 59% indicated that they also had an emergency response plan for tsunamis and even fewer had tsunami evacuation plans and inundation maps. Given that 80% of those surveyed indicated that CARIBE WAVE should be conducted annually, CARIBE EWS decided that the next exercise be held on March 26, 2014, instead of waiting until 2015.

Quantification of uncertainties in the tsunami hazard for Cascadia using statistical emulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guillas, S.; Day, S. J.; Joakim, B.

2016-12-01

We present new high resolution tsunami wave propagation and coastal inundation for the Cascadia region in the Pacific Northwest. The coseismic representation in this analysis is novel, and more realistic than in previous studies, as we jointly parametrize multiple aspects of the seabed deformation. Due to the large computational cost of such simulators, statistical emulation is required in order to carry out uncertainty quantification tasks, as emulators efficiently approximate simulators. The emulator replaces the tsunami model VOLNA by a fast surrogate, so we are able to efficiently propagate uncertainties from the source characteristics to wave heights, in order to probabilistically assess tsunami hazard for Cascadia. We employ a new method for the design of the computer experiments in order to reduce the number of runs while maintaining good approximations properties of the emulator. Out of the initial nine parameters, mostly describing the geometry and time variation of the seabed deformation, we drop two parameters since these turn out to not have an influence on the resulting tsunami waves at the coast. We model the impact of another parameter linearly as its influence on the wave heights is identified as linear. We combine this screening approach with the sequential design algorithm MICE (Mutual Information for Computer Experiments), that adaptively selects the input values at which to run the computer simulator, in order to maximize the expected information gain (mutual information) over the input space. As a result, the emulation is made possible and accurate. Starting from distributions of the source parameters that encapsulate geophysical knowledge of the possible source characteristics, we derive distributions of the tsunami wave heights along the coastline.

Numerical simulation of tsunami generation by cold volcanic mass flows at Augustine Volcano, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waythomas, C.F.; Watts, P.; Walder, J.S.

2006-01-01

Many of the world's active volcanoes are situated on or near coastlines. During eruptions, diverse geophysical mass flows, including pyroclastic flows, debris avalanches, and lahars, can deliver large volumes of unconsolidated debris to the ocean in a short period of time and thereby generate tsunamis. Deposits of both hot and cold volcanic mass flows produced by eruptions of Aleutian arc volcanoes are exposed at many locations along the coastlines of the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean, and Cook Inlet, indicating that the flows entered the sea and in some cases may have initiated tsunamis. We evaluate the process of tsunami generation by cold granular subaerial volcanic mass flows using examples from Augustine Volcano in southern Cook Inlet. Augustine Volcano is the most historically active volcano in the Cook Inlet region, and future eruptions, should they lead to debris-avalanche formation and tsunami generation, could be hazardous to some coastal areas. Geological investigations at Augustine Volcano suggest that as many as 12-14 debris avalanches have reached the sea in the last 2000 years, and a debris avalanche emplaced during an A.D. 1883 eruption may have initiated a tsunami that was observed about 80 km east of the volcano at the village of English Bay (Nanwalek) on the coast of the southern Kenai Peninsula. Numerical simulation of mass-flow motion, tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation for Augustine Volcano indicate only modest wave generation by volcanic mass flows and localized wave effects. However, for east-directed mass flows entering Cook Inlet, tsunamis are capable of reaching the more populated coastlines of the southwestern Kenai Peninsula, where maximum water amplitudes of several meters are possible.

Effects of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in the Republic of Seychelles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, L. E.; Barrie, J. V.; Forbes, D. L.; Shaw, J.; Manson, G. K.; Schmidt, M.

2005-12-01

The Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami impacted Mahé and Praslin islands as a sequence of waves at intervals of tens of minutes to hours. The first tsunami wave struck at low tide, but others occurred through several tidal cycles, so that some subsequent waves arrived at high tide. The first indication of the tsunami on the Mahé tide gauge (sampling interval 4 minutes) was a rise in water level to lower than higher high water at large tides between 08:08 and 08:12 UTC(between 12:08 and 12:12 local time). This was followed by a maximum withdrawal of water in all areas. This level was not recorded by the tide gauge at Mahé, because the stilling well went dry, but evidence from observers indicates that it dropped as much as 4 m below mean sea level. The subsequent highest water levels, highest run-ups, and maximum distances inland that tsunami flooding reached were in coastal lowlands generally facing east toward the source of the tsunami. The highest flood levels on Mahé ranged from ~1.6 m to >4.4 m above mean sea level. On Praslin, they ranged from ~1.8 m to 3.6 m. The shallow (<200 m) shelf platform surrounding the granitic islands played an important role in determining the tsunami wave direction and amplitude at the shoreline. The shoaling waves were refracted, causing them to approach the islands from various directions, and amplified so as to cause higher run-up in specific coastal embayments. Consequently, tsunami inundation and damage were not confined to east-facing shores. Run-up and damage were locally as severe along shores of Mahé and Praslin facing away from the source of the tsunami. Some observers on the west sides of both islands reported water approaching from two directions (northwest and southeast). Furthermore, the timing of maximum inundation varied around the archipelago as tsunami waves arrived at different times in the tidal cycle: the maximum inundation at Anse-à-la-Mouche (on the west side of Mahé) occurred about 4 hours after the initial tsunami wave reached the archipelago, whereas the highest water level in the city of Victoria (on the northeast side of Mahé) occurred about 16 hours after the first arrival (but with much lower wave energy). Damage to public works was greatest in the Victoria area. Lateral spread failures developed in artificial fills forming the fishing port. Liquefaction was induced in these fills by cyclic inundation, saturation and rapid draw-down. Washouts occurred on two sections of highway causeway crossing reclaimed land south of Victoria due to the rapid drainage of tsunami floodwaters. Similar erosion caused structural failure of hotel buildings on Praslin. Elsewhere, the greatest damage was coincident with preexisting modification of the coast by development including: removal of natural beach berms, construction of hotel structures adjacent to the high-water mark or seaward over the beach, and placement of roads immediately adjacent to beaches. The damaging effects of the tsunami were confined to the granitic islands of Seychelles archipelago. The lack of impact on the atolls is due to the deep water surrounding them: this resulted in minimal shoaling and amplification of the long wavelength and low-amplitude tsunami waves.

Analytical and Numerical Modeling of Tsunami Wave Propagation for double layer state in Bore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuvaraj, V.; Rajasekaran, S.; Nagarajan, D.

2018-04-01

Tsunami wave enters into the river bore in the landslide. Tsunami wave propagation are described in two-layer states. The velocity and amplitude of the tsunami wave propagation are calculated using the double layer. The numerical and analytical solutions are given for the nonlinear equation of motion of the wave propagation in a bore.

Challenges in Defining Tsunami Wave Height

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroker, K. J.; Dunbar, P. K.; Mungov, G.; Sweeney, A.; Arcos, N. P.

2017-12-01

The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and co-located World Data Service for Geophysics maintain the global tsunami archive consisting of the historical tsunami database, imagery, and raw and processed water level data. The historical tsunami database incorporates, where available, maximum wave heights for each coastal tide gauge and deep-ocean buoy that recorded a tsunami signal. These data are important because they are used for tsunami hazard assessment, model calibration, validation, and forecast and warning. There have been ongoing discussions in the tsunami community about the correct way to measure and report these wave heights. It is important to understand how these measurements might vary depending on how the data were processed and the definition of maximum wave height. On September 16, 2015, an 8.3 Mw earthquake located 48 km west of Illapel, Chile generated a tsunami that was observed all over the Pacific region. We processed the time-series water level data for 57 tide gauges that recorded this tsunami and compared the maximum wave heights determined from different definitions. We also compared the maximum wave heights from the NCEI-processed data with the heights reported by the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers. We found that in the near field different methods of determining the maximum tsunami wave heights could result in large differences due to possible instrumental clipping. We also found that the maximum peak is usually larger than the maximum amplitude (½ peak-to-trough), but the differences for the majority of the stations were <20 cm. For this event, the maximum tsunami wave heights determined by either definition (maximum peak or amplitude) would have validated the forecasts issued by the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers. Since there is currently only one field in the NCEI historical tsunami database to store the maximum tsunami wave height, NCEI will consider adding an additional field for the maximum peak measurement.

Challenges in Defining Tsunami Wave Heights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunbar, Paula; Mungov, George; Sweeney, Aaron; Stroker, Kelly; Arcos, Nicolas

2017-08-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and co-located World Data Service for Geophysics maintain the global tsunami archive consisting of the historical tsunami database, imagery, and raw and processed water level data. The historical tsunami database incorporates, where available, maximum wave heights for each coastal tide gauge and deep-ocean buoy that recorded a tsunami signal. These data are important because they are used for tsunami hazard assessment, model calibration, validation, and forecast and warning. There have been ongoing discussions in the tsunami community about the correct way to measure and report these wave heights. It is important to understand how these measurements might vary depending on how the data were processed and the definition of maximum wave height. On September 16, 2015, an 8.3 M w earthquake located 48 km west of Illapel, Chile generated a tsunami that was observed all over the Pacific region. We processed the time-series water level data for 57 coastal tide gauges that recorded this tsunami and compared the maximum wave heights determined from different definitions. We also compared the maximum wave heights from the NCEI-processed data with the heights reported by the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers. We found that in the near field different methods of determining the maximum tsunami wave heights could result in large differences due to possible instrumental clipping. We also found that the maximum peak is usually larger than the maximum amplitude (½ peak-to-trough), but the differences for the majority of the stations were <20 cm. For this event, the maximum tsunami wave heights determined by either definition (maximum peak or amplitude) would have validated the forecasts issued by the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers. Since there is currently only one field in the NCEI historical tsunami database to store the maximum tsunami wave height for each tide gauge and deep-ocean buoy, NCEI will consider adding an additional field for the maximum peak measurement.

Modelling of historical tsunami in Eastern Indonesia: 1674 Ambon and 1992 Flores case studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pranantyo, Ignatius Ryan; Cummins, Phil; Griffin, Jonathan; Davies, Gareth; Latief, Hamzah

2017-07-01

In order to reliably assess tsunami hazard in eastern Indonesia, we need to understand how historical events were generated. Here we consider two such events: the 1674 Ambon and the 1992 Flores tsunamis. Firstly, Ambon Island suffered a devastating earthquake that generated a tsunami with 100 m run-up height on the north coast of the island in 1674. However, there is no known active fault around the island capable of generating such a gigantic wave. Rumphius' report describes that the initial wave was coming from three villages that collapsed immediately after the earthquake with width as far as a musket shot. Moreover, a very high tsunami was only observed locally. We suspect that a submarine landslide was the main cause of the gigantic tsunami on the north side of Ambon Island. Unfortunately, there is no data available to confirm if landslide have occurred in this region. Secondly, several tsunami source models for the 1992 Flores event have been suggested. However, the fault strike is quite different compare to the existing Flores back-arc thrust and has not been well validated against a tide gauge waveform at Palopo, Sulawesi. We considered a tsunami model based on Griffin, et al., 2015, extended with high resolution bathymetry laround Palopo, in order to validate the latest tsunami source model available. In general, the model produces a good agreement with tsunami waveforms, but arrives 10 minutes late compared to observed data. In addition, the source overestimates the tsunami inundation west of Maumere, and does not account for the presumed landslide tsunami on the east side of Flores Island.

The role of porosity in discriminating between tsunami and hurricane emplacement of boulders — A case study from the Lesser Antilles, southern Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiske, Michaela; Böröcz, Zoltán; Bahlburg, Heinrich

2008-04-01

Coastal boulder deposits are a consequence of high-energy wave impacts, such as storms, hurricanes or tsunami. Parameters useful for distinguishing between hurricane and tsunami origins include distance of a deposit from the coast, boulder weight and inferred wave height. In order to investigate the role of porosity on boulder transport and elucidate the distinction between tsunami and hurricane impacts, we performed Archimedean and optical 3D-profilometry measurements for the determination of accurate physical parameters for porous reef and coral limestone boulders from the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Leeward Islands). Subsets of different coral species and lithotypes constituting the boulders were sampled, the physical parameters of boulders were analyzed, and each boulder component was attributed to a certain range of porosity and density. Lowest porosities were observed in calcarenite (5-8%), whereas highest porosities were measured for serpulid reef rock (47-68%). Porous serpulid reef rock (0.8-1.2 g/cm 3) and the coral Diploria sp. (0.6-1.0 g/cm 3) possess the lowest bulk densities, while less porous calcarenite (2.0-2.7 g/cm 3) and the coral Montastrea cavernosa yield the highest bulk density values (1.6-2.7 g/cm 3). The obtained physical parameters were used to calculate boulder weights and both hurricane and tsunami wave heights necessary to initiate transport of these boulders. Boulders are up to 5.6 times lighter than given in previously published data, and hence required minimum hurricane or tsunami waves are lower than hitherto assumed. The calculated wave heights, the high frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes in the southern Caribbean and the occurrence of boulders exclusively on the windward sides of the islands, implicate that for boulders on the ABC Islands a hurricane origin is more likely than a tsunami origin.

Evaluation of W Phase CMT Based PTWC Real-Time Tsunami Forecast Model Using DART Observations: Events of the Last Decade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, D.; Becker, N. C.; Weinstein, S.; Duputel, Z.; Rivera, L. A.; Hayes, G. P.; Hirshorn, B. F.; Bouchard, R. H.; Mungov, G.

2017-12-01

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) began forecasting tsunamis in real-time using source parameters derived from real-time Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) solutions in 2009. Both the USGS and PTWC typically obtain W-Phase CMT solutions for large earthquakes less than 30 minutes after earthquake origin time. Within seconds, and often before waves reach the nearest deep ocean bottom pressure sensor (DARTs), PTWC then generates a regional tsunami propagation forecast using its linear shallow water model. The model is initialized by the sea surface deformation that mimics the seafloor deformation based on Okada's (1985) dislocation model of a rectangular fault with a uniform slip. The fault length and width are empirical functions of the seismic moment. How well did this simple model perform? The DART records provide a very valuable dataset for model validation. We examine tsunami events of the last decade with earthquake magnitudes ranging from 6.5 to 9.0 including some deep events for which tsunamis were not expected. Most of the forecast results were obtained during the events. We also include events from before the implementation of the WCMT method at USGS and PTWC, 2006-2009. For these events, WCMTs were computed retrospectively (Duputel et al. 2012). We also re-ran the model with a larger domain for some events to include far-field DARTs that recorded a tsunami with identical source parameters used during the events. We conclude that our model results, in terms of maximum wave amplitude, are mostly within a factor of two of the observed at DART stations, with an average error of less than 40% for most events, including the 2010 Maule and the 2011 Tohoku tsunamis. However, the simple fault model with a uniform slip is too simplistic for the Tohoku tsunami. We note model results are sensitive to centroid location and depth, especially if the earthquake is close to land or inland. For the 2016 M7.8 New Zealand earthquake the initial forecast underestimated the tsunami because the initial WCMT centroid was on land (the epicenter was inland but most of the slips occurred offshore). Later WCMTs did provide better forecast. The model also failed to reproduce the observed tsunamis from earthquake-generated landslides. Sea level observations during the events are crucial in determining whether or not a forecast needs to be adjusted.

The 2011 Tohoku Tsunami on the Coast of Mexico: A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaytsev, Oleg; Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Thomson, Richard E.

2017-08-01

The Tohoku (East Japan) earthquake of 11 March 2011 ( M w 9.0) generated a great trans-oceanic tsunami that spread throughout the Pacific Ocean, where it was measured by numerous coastal tide gauges and open-ocean DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) stations. Statistical and spectral analyses of the tsunami waves recorded along the Pacific coast of Mexico have enabled us to estimate the principal parameters of the waves along the coast and to compare statistical features of the tsunami with other tsunamis recorded on this coast. We identify coastal "hot spots"—Manzanillo, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, and Ensenada—corresponding to sites having highest tsunami hazard potential, where wave heights during the 2011 event exceeded 1.5-2 m and tsunami-induced currents were strong enough to close port operations. Based on a joint spectral analysis of the tsunamis and background noise, we reconstructed the spectra of tsunami waves in the deep ocean and found that, with the exception of the high-frequency spectral band (>5 cph), the spectra are in close agreement with the "true" tsunami spectra determined from DART bottom pressure records. The departure of the high-frequency spectra in the coastal region from the deep-sea spectra is shown to be related to background infragravity waves generated in the coastal zone. The total energy and frequency content of the Tohoku tsunami is compared with the corresponding results for the 2010 Chilean tsunami. Our findings show that the integral open-ocean tsunami energy, I 0, was 2.30 cm2, or approximately 1.7 times larger than for the 2010 event. Comparison of this parameter with the mean coastal tsunami variance (451 cm2) indicates that tsunami waves propagating onshore from the open ocean amplified by 14 times; the same was observed for the 2010 tsunami. The "tsunami colour" (frequency content) for the 2011 Tohoku tsunami was "red", with about 65% of the total energy associated with low-frequency waves at frequencies <1.7 cph (periods >35 min). The "red colour" (i.e., the prevalence of low-frequency waves) in the 2011 Tohoku, as well as in the 2010 Chile tsunamis, is explained by the large extension of the source areas. In contrast, the 2014 and 2015 Chilean earthquakes had much smaller source areas and, consequently, induced "bluish" (high-frequency) tsunamis.

The tsunami phenomenon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Röbke, B. R.; Vött, A.

2017-12-01

With human activity increasingly concentrating on coasts, tsunamis (from Japanese tsu = harbour, nami = wave) are a major natural hazard to today's society. Stimulated by disastrous tsunami impacts in recent years, for instance in south-east Asia (2004) or in Japan (2011), tsunami science has significantly flourished, which has brought great advances in hazard assessment and mitigation plans. Based on tsunami research of the last decades, this paper provides a thorough treatise on the tsunami phenomenon from a geoscientific point of view. Starting with the wave features, tsunamis are introduced as long shallow water waves or wave trains crossing entire oceans without major energy loss. At the coast, tsunamis typically show wave shoaling, funnelling and resonance effects as well as a significant run-up and backflow. Tsunami waves are caused by a sudden displacement of the water column due to a number of various trigger mechanisms. Such are earthquakes as the main trigger, submarine and subaerial mass wastings, volcanic activity, atmospheric disturbances (meteotsunamis) and cosmic impacts, as is demonstrated by giving corresponding examples from the past. Tsunamis are known to have a significant sedimentary and geomorphological off- and onshore response. So-called tsunamites form allochthonous high-energy deposits that are left at the coast during tsunami landfall. Tsunami deposits show typical sedimentary features, as basal erosional unconformities, fining-upward and -landward, a high content of marine fossils, rip-up clasts from underlying units and mud caps, all reflecting the hydrodynamic processes during inundation. The on- and offshore behaviour of tsunamis and related sedimentary processes can be simulated using hydro- and morphodynamic numerical models. The paper provides an overview of the basic tsunami modelling techniques, including discretisation, guidelines for appropriate temporal and spatial resolution as well as the nesting method. Furthermore, the Boussinesq approximation-a simplification of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations-is presented as a basic theory behind numerical tsunami models, which adequately reflects the non-linear, dispersive wave behaviour of tsunamis. The fully non-linear Boussinesq equations allow the simulation of tsunamis e.g. in the form of N-waves. Based on the various subtopics presented, recommendations for future multidisciplinary tsunami research are made. It is especially discussed how the combination of sedimentary and geomorphological tsunami field traces and numerical modelling techniques can contribute to derive locally relevant tsunami sources and to improve the assessment of tsunami hazards considering the individual pre-/history and physiogeographical setting of a specific region.

Offshore Breaking of Impact Tsunami: Van Dorn was Right

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korycansky, D. G.; Lynett, P. J.

2005-01-01

Tsunami generated by the impacts of asteroids and comets into the Earth s oceans are widely recognized as a potentially catastrophic hazard to the Earth s population (e.g. Chapman and Morrison 1994, Nature, 367, 33; Hills et al. 1994, in Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids, (ed. T. Gehrels), 779; Atkinson et al. 2000, Report of the UK Task Force on Potentially Hazardous NEOs; Ward and Asphaug 2000, Icarus, 145, 64). A peculiarity of ocean impacts is the potential global effects of an impact that would otherwise be of only regional or local importance should it occur on land. This is, of course, due to the ability of waves to propagate globally, as seen by the terrible effects of the recent earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. The overall process of an impact tsunami is complex and falls into several distinct phases: 1) initial impact of the bolide into the ocean and formation of a transient cavity in the water, 2) collapse of the cavity and propagation of large waves from the impact center outward over deep water (typically several km in depth), 3) initial effects on wave amplitude as shallower water of the continental slope is reached ("wave shoaling"), possible breaking of waves in relatively shallow water (less than 100 m depth), on continental shelves, and 5) final contact of waves with the shore and their progression onto dry land ("run-up" and "run-in"). Here we report on numerical calculations (and semi-analytic theory) covering phases 3 and 4.

Tsunami simulation using submarine displacement calculated from simulation of ground motion due to seismic source model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyama, S.; Kawaji, K.; Fujihara, S.

2013-12-01

Since fault fracturing due to an earthquake can simultaneously cause ground motion and tsunami, it is appropriate to evaluate the ground motion and the tsunami by single fault model. However, several source models are used independently in the ground motion simulation or the tsunami simulation, because of difficulty in evaluating both phenomena simultaneously. Many source models for the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake are proposed from the inversion analyses of seismic observations or from those of tsunami observations. Most of these models show the similar features, which large amount of slip is located at the shallower part of fault area near the Japan Trench. This indicates that the ground motion and the tsunami can be evaluated by the single source model. Therefore, we examine the possibility of the tsunami prediction, using the fault model estimated from seismic observation records. In this study, we try to carry out the tsunami simulation using the displacement field of oceanic crustal movements, which is calculated from the ground motion simulation of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. We use two fault models by Yoshida et al. (2011), which are based on both the teleseismic body wave and on the strong ground motion records. Although there is the common feature in those fault models, the amount of slip near the Japan trench is lager in the fault model from the strong ground motion records than in that from the teleseismic body wave. First, the large-scale ground motion simulations applying those fault models used by the voxel type finite element method are performed for the whole eastern Japan. The synthetic waveforms computed from the simulations are generally consistent with the observation records of K-NET (Kinoshita (1998)) and KiK-net stations (Aoi et al. (2000)), deployed by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). Next, the tsunami simulations are performed by the finite difference calculation based on the shallow water theory. The initial wave height for tsunami generation is estimated from the vertical displacement of ocean bottom due to the crustal movements, which is obtained from the ground motion simulation mentioned above. The results of tsunami simulations are compared with the observations of the GPS wave gauges to evaluate the validity for the tsunami prediction using the fault model based on the seismic observation records.

Preliminary vulnerability evaluation by local tsunami and flood by Puerto Vallarta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trejo-Gómez, E.; Nunez-Cornu, F. J.; Ortiz, M.; Escudero, C. R.; CA-UdG-276 Sisvoc

2013-05-01

Jalisco coast is susceptible to local tsunami due to the occurrence of large earthquakes. In 1932 occurred three by largest earthquakes. Evidence suggests that one of them caused by offshore subsidence of sediments deposited by Armeria River. For the tsunamis 1932 have not been studied the seismic source. On October 9, 1995, occurred a large earthquake (Mw= 8.0) producing a tsunami with run up height up ≤ 5 m. This event affected Tenacatita Bay and many small villages along the coast of Jalisco and Colima. Using seismic source parameters, we simulated 1995 tsunami and estimated the maximum wave height. We compared the our results with 20 field measures 20 taked during 1995 along the south cost of Jalisco State, from Chalacatepec to Barra de Navidad. Similar seismic source parameters used for tsunami 1995 simulation was used as reference for simulating a hypothetical seismic source front Puerto Vallarta. We assumed that the fracture occurs in the gap for the north cost of Jalisco. Ten sites were distributed to cover the Banderas Bay, as theoretical pressure sensors, were estimated the maximum wave height and time to arrived at cost. After we delimited zones hazard zones by floods on digital model terrain, a graphic scale 1:20,000. At the moment, we have already included information by hazard caused by hypothetical tsunami in Puerto Vallarta. The hazard zones by flood were the north of Puerto Vallarta, as Ameca, El Salado, El Pitillal and Camarones. The initial wave height could be ≤ 1 m, 15 minutes after earthquake, in Pitillal zone. We estimated for Puerto Vallarta the maximum flood area was in El Salado zone, ≤ 2 km, with the maximum wave height > 3 m to ≤ 4.8 m at 25 and 75 minutes. We estimated a previous vulnerability evaluation by local tsunami and flood; it was based on the spatial distribution of socio-economic data from INEGI. We estimated a low vulnerability in El Salado and height vulnerability for El Pitillal and Ameca.

Widespread tsunami-like waves of 23-27 June in the Mediterranean and Black Seas generated by high-altitude atmospheric forcing.

PubMed

Šepić, Jadranka; Vilibić, Ivica; Rabinovich, Alexander B; Monserrat, Sebastian

2015-06-29

A series of tsunami-like waves of non-seismic origin struck several southern European countries during the period of 23 to 27 June 2014. The event caused considerable damage from Spain to Ukraine. Here, we show that these waves were long-period ocean oscillations known as meteorological tsunamis which are generated by intense small-scale air pressure disturbances. An unique atmospheric synoptic pattern was tracked propagating eastward over the Mediterranean and the Black seas in synchrony with onset times of observed tsunami waves. This pattern favoured generation and propagation of atmospheric gravity waves that induced pronounced tsunami-like waves through the Proudman resonance mechanism. This is the first documented case of a chain of destructive meteorological tsunamis occurring over a distance of thousands of kilometres. Our findings further demonstrate that these events represent potentially dangerous regional phenomena and should be included in tsunami warning systems.

Widespread tsunami-like waves of 23-27 June in the Mediterranean and Black Seas generated by high-altitude atmospheric forcing

PubMed Central

Šepić, Jadranka; Vilibić, Ivica; Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Monserrat, Sebastian

2015-01-01

A series of tsunami-like waves of non-seismic origin struck several southern European countries during the period of 23 to 27 June 2014. The event caused considerable damage from Spain to Ukraine. Here, we show that these waves were long-period ocean oscillations known as meteorological tsunamis which are generated by intense small-scale air pressure disturbances. An unique atmospheric synoptic pattern was tracked propagating eastward over the Mediterranean and the Black seas in synchrony with onset times of observed tsunami waves. This pattern favoured generation and propagation of atmospheric gravity waves that induced pronounced tsunami-like waves through the Proudman resonance mechanism. This is the first documented case of a chain of destructive meteorological tsunamis occurring over a distance of thousands of kilometres. Our findings further demonstrate that these events represent potentially dangerous regional phenomena and should be included in tsunami warning systems. PMID:26119833

Modeling the 16 September 2015 Chile tsunami source with the inversion of deep-ocean tsunami records by means of the r - solution method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronina, Tatyana; Romanenko, Alexey; Loskutov, Artem

2017-04-01

The key point in the state-of-the-art in the tsunami forecasting is constructing a reliable tsunami source. In this study, we present an application of the original numerical inversion technique to modeling the tsunami sources of the 16 September 2015 Chile tsunami. The problem of recovering a tsunami source from remote measurements of the incoming wave in the deep-water tsunameters is considered as an inverse problem of mathematical physics in the class of ill-posed problems. This approach is based on the least squares and the truncated singular value decomposition techniques. The tsunami wave propagation is considered within the scope of the linear shallow-water theory. As in inverse seismic problem, the numerical solutions obtained by mathematical methods become unstable due to the presence of noise in real data. A method of r-solutions makes it possible to avoid instability in the solution to the ill-posed problem under study. This method seems to be attractive from the computational point of view since the main efforts are required only once for calculating the matrix whose columns consist of computed waveforms for each harmonic as a source (an unknown tsunami source is represented as a part of a spatial harmonics series in the source area). Furthermore, analyzing the singular spectra of the matrix obtained in the course of numerical calculations one can estimate the future inversion by a certain observational system that will allow offering a more effective disposition for the tsunameters with the help of precomputations. In other words, the results obtained allow finding a way to improve the inversion by selecting the most informative set of available recording stations. The case study of the 6 February 2013 Solomon Islands tsunami highlights a critical role of arranging deep-water tsunameters for obtaining the inversion results. Implementation of the proposed methodology to the 16 September 2015 Chile tsunami has successfully produced tsunami source model. The function recovered by the method proposed can find practical applications both as an initial condition for various optimization approaches and for computer calculation of the tsunami wave propagation.

On the tsunami wave-submerged breakwater interaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Filianoti, P.; Piscopo, R.

The tsunami wave loads on a submerged rigid breakwater are inertial. It is the result arising from the simple calculation method here proposed, and it is confirmed by the comparison with results obtained by other researchers. The method is based on the estimate of the speed drop of the tsunami wave passing over the breakwater. The calculation is rigorous for a sinusoidal wave interacting with a rigid submerged obstacle, in the framework of the linear wave theory. This new approach gives a useful and simple tool for estimating tsunami loads on submerged breakwaters.An unexpected novelty come out from a workedmore » example: assuming the same wave height, storm waves are more dangerous than tsunami waves, for the safety against sliding of submerged breakwaters.« less

Source Rupture Models and Tsunami Simulations of Destructive October 28, 2012 Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia (Mw: 7.8) and September 16, 2015 Illapel, Chile (Mw: 8.3) Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taymaz, Tuncay; Yolsal-Çevikbilen, Seda; Ulutaş, Ergin

2016-04-01

The finite-fault source rupture models and numerical simulations of tsunami waves generated by 28 October 2012 Queen Charlotte Islands (Mw: 7.8), and 16 September 2015 Illapel-Chile (Mw: 8.3) earthquakes are presented. These subduction zone earthquakes have reverse faulting mechanisms with small amount of strike-slip components which clearly reflect the characteristics of convergence zones. The finite-fault slip models of the 2012 Queen Charlotte and 2015 Chile earthquakes are estimated from a back-projection method that uses teleseismic P- waveforms to integrate the direct P-phase with reflected phases from structural discontinuities near the source. Non-uniform rupture models of the fault plane, which are obtained from the finite fault modeling, are used in order to describe the vertical displacement on seabed. In general, the vertical displacement of water surface was considered to be the same as ocean bottom displacement, and it is assumed to be responsible for the initial water surface deformation gives rise to occurrence of tsunami waves. In this study, it was calculated by using the elastic dislocation algorithm. The results of numerical tsunami simulations are compared with tide gauges and Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoy records. De-tiding, de-trending, low-pass and high-pass filters were applied to detect tsunami waves in deep ocean sensors and tide gauge records. As an example, the observed records and results of simulations showed that the 2012 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake generated about 1 meter tsunami-waves in Maui and Hilo (Hawaii), 5 hours and 30 minutes after the earthquake. Furthermore, the calculated amplitudes and time series of the tsunami waves of the recent 2015 Illapel (Chile) earthquake are exhibiting good agreement with the records of tide and DART gauges except at stations Valparaiso and Pichidangui (Chile). This project is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK Project No: CAYDAG-114Y066).

Currents, drag, and sediment transport induced by a tsunami

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lacy, Jessica R.; Rubin, David M.; Buscombe, Daniel

2012-01-01

We report observations of water surface elevation, currents, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) from a 10-m deep site on the inner shelf in northern Monterey Bay during the arrival of the 2010 Chile tsunami. Velocity profiles were measured from 3.5 m above the bed (mab) to the surface at 2 min intervals, and from 0.1 to 0.7 mab at 1 Hz. SSC was determined from the acoustic backscatter of the near-bed profiler. The initial tsunami waves were directed cross shore and had a period of approximately 16 min. Maximum wave height was 1.1 m, and maximum current speed was 0.36 m/s. During the strongest onrush, near-bed velocities were clearly influenced by friction and a logarithmic boundary layer developed, extending more than 0.3 mab. We estimated friction velocity and bed shear stress from the logarithmic profiles. The logarithmic structure indicates that the flow can be characterized as quasi-steady at these times. At other phases of the tsunami waves, the magnitude of the acceleration term was significant in the near-bed momentum equation, indicating unsteady flow. The maximum tsunami-induced bed shear stress (0.4 N/m2) exceeded the critical shear stress for the medium-grained sand on the seafloor. Cross-shore sediment flux was enhanced by the tsunami. Oscillations of water surface elevation and currents continued for several days. The oscillations were dominated by resonant frequencies, the most energetic of which was the fundamental longitudinal frequency of Monterey Bay. The maximum current speed (hourly-timescale) in 18 months of observations occurred four hours after the tsunami arrived.

Fault Slip Distribution of the 2016 Fukushima Earthquake Estimated from Tsunami Waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusman, Aditya Riadi; Satake, Kenji; Shinohara, Masanao; Sakai, Shin'ichi; Tanioka, Yuichiro

2017-08-01

The 2016 Fukushima normal-faulting earthquake (Mjma 7.4) occurred 40 km off the coast of Fukushima within the upper crust. The earthquake generated a moderate tsunami which was recorded by coastal tide gauges and offshore pressure gauges. First, the sensitivity of tsunami waveforms to fault dimensions and depths was examined and the best size and depth were determined. Tsunami waveforms computed based on four available focal mechanisms showed that a simple fault striking northeast-southwest and dipping southeast (strike = 45°, dip = 41°, rake = -95°) yielded the best fit to the observed waveforms. This fault geometry was then used in a tsunami waveform inversion to estimate the fault slip distribution. A large slip of 3.5 m was located near the surface and the major slip region covered an area of 20 km × 20 km. The seismic moment, calculated assuming a rigidity of 2.7 × 1010 N/m2 was 3.70 × 1019 Nm, equivalent to Mw = 7.0. This is slightly larger than the moments from the moment tensor solutions (Mw 6.9). Large secondary tsunami peaks arrived approximately an hour after clear initial peaks were recorded by the offshore pressure gauges and the Sendai and Ofunato tide gauges. Our tsunami propagation model suggests that the large secondary tsunami signals were from tsunami waves reflected off the Fukushima coast. A rather large tsunami amplitude of 75 cm at Kuji, about 300 km north of the source, was comparable to those recorded at stations located much closer to the epicenter, such as Soma and Onahama. Tsunami simulations and ray tracing for both real and artificial bathymetry indicate that a significant portion of the tsunami wave was refracted to the coast located around Kuji and Miyako due to bathymetry effects.

Development of A Tsunami Magnitude Scale Based on DART Buoy Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leiva, J.; Polet, J.

2016-12-01

The quantification of tsunami energy has evolved through time, with a number of magnitude and intensity scales employed in the past century. Most of these scales rely on coastal measurements, which may be affected by complexities due to near-shore bathymetric effects and coastal geometries. Moreover, these datasets are generated by tsunami inundation, and thus cannot serve as a means of assessing potential tsunami impact prior to coastal arrival. With the introduction of a network of ocean buoys provided through the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) project, a dataset has become available that can be exploited to further our current understanding of tsunamis and the earthquakes that excite them. The DART network consists of 39 stations that have produced estimates of sea-surface height as a function of time since 2003, and are able to detect deep ocean tsunami waves. Data collected at these buoys for the past decade reveals that at least nine major tsunami events, such as the 2011 Tohoku and 2013 Solomon Islands events, produced substantial wave amplitudes across a large distance range that can be implemented in a DART data based tsunami magnitude scale. We present preliminary results from the development of a tsunami magnitude scale that follows the methods used in the development of the local magnitude scale by Charles Richter. Analogous to the use of seismic ground motion amplitudes in the calculation of local magnitude, maximum ocean height displacements due to the passage of tsunami waves will be related to distance from the source in a least-squares exponential regression analysis. The regression produces attenuation curves based on the DART data, a site correction term, attenuation parameters, and an amplification factor. Initially, single event based regressions are used to constrain the attenuation parameters. Additional iterations use the parameters of these event-based fits as a starting point to obtain a stable solution, and include the calculation of station corrections, in order to obtain a final amplification factor for each event, which is used to calculate its tsunami magnitude.

Modeling the mitigation effect of coastal forests on tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kh'ng, Xin Yi; Teh, Su Yean; Koh, Hock Lye

2017-08-01

As we have learned from the 26 Dec 2004 mega Andaman tsunami that killed 250, 000 lives worldwide, tsunami is a devastating natural disaster that can cause severe impacts including immense loss of human lives and extensive destruction of properties. The wave energy can be dissipated by the presence of coastal mangrove forests, which provide some degree of protection against tsunami waves. On the other hand, costly artificial structures such as reinforced walls can substantially diminish the aesthetic value and may cause environmental problems. To quantify the effectiveness of coastal forests in mitigating tsunami waves, an in-house 2-D model TUNA-RP is developed and used to quantify the reduction in wave heights and velocities due to the presence of coastal forests. The degree of reduction varies significantly depending on forest flow-resistant properties such as vegetation characteristics, forest density and forest width. The ability of coastal forest in reducing tsunami wave heights along the west coast of Penang Island is quantified by means of model simulations. Comparison between measured tsunami wave heights for the 2004 Andaman tsunami and 2-D TUNA-RP model simulated values demonstrated good agreement.

Influence of Earthquake Parameters on Tsunami Wave Height and Inundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulangara Madham Subrahmanian, D.; Sri Ganesh, J.; Venkata Ramana Murthy, M.; V, R. M.

2014-12-01

After Indian Ocean Tsunami (IOT) on 26th December, 2004, attempts are being made to assess the threat of tsunami originating from different sources for different parts of India. The Andaman - Sumatra trench is segmented by transcurrent faults and differences in the rate of subduction which is low in the north and increases southward. Therefore key board model with initial deformation calculated using different strike directions, slip rates, are used. This results in uncertainties in the earthquake parameters. This study is made to identify the location of origin of most destructive tsunami for Southeast coast of India and to infer the influence of the earthquake parameters in tsunami wave height travel time in deep ocean as well as in the shelf and inundation in the coast. Five tsunamigenic sources were considered in the Andaman - Sumatra trench taking into consideration the tectonic characters of the trench described by various authors and the modeling was carried out using TUNAMI N2 code. The model results were validated using the travel time and runup in the coastal areas and comparing the water elevation along Jason - 1's satellite track. The inundation results are compared from the field data. The assessment of the tsunami threat for the area south of Chennai city the metropolitan city of South India shows that a tsunami originating in Car Nicobar segment of the Andaman - Sumatra subduction zone can generate the most destructive tsunami. Sensitivity analysis in the modelling indicates that fault length influences the results significantly and the tsunami reaches early and with higher amplitude. Strike angle is also modifying the tsunami followed by amount of slip.

Rapid tsunami models and earthquake source parameters: Far-field and local applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, E.L.

2005-01-01

Rapid tsunami models have recently been developed to forecast far-field tsunami amplitudes from initial earthquake information (magnitude and hypocenter). Earthquake source parameters that directly affect tsunami generation as used in rapid tsunami models are examined, with particular attention to local versus far-field application of those models. First, validity of the assumption that the focal mechanism and type of faulting for tsunamigenic earthquakes is similar in a given region can be evaluated by measuring the seismic consistency of past events. Second, the assumption that slip occurs uniformly over an area of rupture will most often underestimate the amplitude and leading-wave steepness of the local tsunami. Third, sometimes large magnitude earthquakes will exhibit a high degree of spatial heterogeneity such that tsunami sources will be composed of distinct sub-events that can cause constructive and destructive interference in the wavefield away from the source. Using a stochastic source model, it is demonstrated that local tsunami amplitudes vary by as much as a factor of two or more, depending on the local bathymetry. If other earthquake source parameters such as focal depth or shear modulus are varied in addition to the slip distribution patterns, even greater uncertainty in local tsunami amplitude is expected for earthquakes of similar magnitude. Because of the short amount of time available to issue local warnings and because of the high degree of uncertainty associated with local, model-based forecasts as suggested by this study, direct wave height observations and a strong public education and preparedness program are critical for those regions near suspected tsunami sources.

The November 15, 2006 Kuril Islands-Generated Tsunami in Crescent City, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dengler, L.; Uslu, B.; Barberopoulou, A.; Yim, S. C.; Kelly, A.

2009-02-01

On November 15, 2006, Crescent City in Del Norte County, California was hit by a tsunami generated by a M w 8.3 earthquake in the central Kuril Islands. Strong currents that persisted over an eight-hour period damaged floating docks and several boats and caused an estimated 9.2 million in losses. Initial tsunami alert bulletins issued by the West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) in Palmer, Alaska were cancelled about three and a half hours after the earthquake, nearly five hours before the first surges reached Crescent City. The largest amplitude wave, 1.76-meter peak to trough, was the sixth cycle and arrived over two hours after the first wave. Strong currents estimated at over 10 knots, damaged or destroyed three docks and caused cracks in most of the remaining docks. As a result of the November 15 event, WCATWC changed the definition of Advisory from a region-wide alert bulletin meaning that a potential tsunami is 6 hours or further away to a localized alert that tsunami water heights may approach warning- level thresholds in specific, vulnerable locations like Crescent City. On January 13, 2007 a similar Kuril event occurred and hourly conferences between the warning center and regional weather forecasts were held with a considerable improvement in the flow of information to local coastal jurisdictions. The event highlighted the vulnerability of harbors from a relatively modest tsunami and underscored the need to improve public education regarding the duration of the tsunami hazards, improve dialog between tsunami warning centers and local jurisdictions, and better understand the currents produced by tsunamis in harbors.

Characterization of tsunamigenic earthquake in Java region based on seismic wave calculation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pribadi, Sugeng, E-mail: sugengpribadimsc@gmail.com; Afnimar,; Puspito, Nanang T.

This study is to characterize the source mechanism of tsunamigenic earthquake based on seismic wave calculation. The source parameter used are the ratio (Θ) between the radiated seismic energy (E) and seismic moment (M{sub o}), moment magnitude (M{sub W}), rupture duration (T{sub o}) and focal mechanism. These determine the types of tsunamigenic earthquake and tsunami earthquake. We calculate the formula using the teleseismic wave signal processing with the initial phase of P wave with bandpass filter 0.001 Hz to 5 Hz. The amount of station is 84 broadband seismometer with far distance of 30° to 90°. The 2 June 1994more » Banyuwangi earthquake with M{sub W}=7.8 and the 17 July 2006 Pangandaran earthquake with M{sub W}=7.7 include the criteria as a tsunami earthquake which distributed about ratio Θ=−6.1, long rupture duration To>100 s and high tsunami H>7 m. The 2 September 2009 Tasikmalaya earthquake with M{sub W}=7.2, Θ=−5.1 and To=27 s which characterized as a small tsunamigenic earthquake.« less

Comparison of maximum runup through analytical and numerical approaches for different fault parameters estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanoglu, U.; Wronna, M.; Baptista, M. A.; Miranda, J. M. A.

2017-12-01

The one-dimensional analytical runup theory in combination with near shore synthetic waveforms is a promising tool for tsunami rapid early warning systems. Its application in realistic cases with complex bathymetry and initial wave condition from inverse modelling have shown that maximum runup values can be estimated reasonably well. In this study we generate a simplistic bathymetry domains which resemble realistic near-shore features. We investigate the accuracy of the analytical runup formulae to the variation of fault source parameters and near-shore bathymetric features. To do this we systematically vary the fault plane parameters to compute the initial tsunami wave condition. Subsequently, we use the initial conditions to run the numerical tsunami model using coupled system of four nested grids and compare the results to the analytical estimates. Variation of the dip angle of the fault plane showed that analytical estimates have less than 10% difference for angles 5-45 degrees in a simple bathymetric domain. These results shows that the use of analytical formulae for fast run up estimates constitutes a very promising approach in a simple bathymetric domain and might be implemented in Hazard Mapping and Early Warning.

Ionospheric total electron content seismo-perturbation after Japan's March 11, 2011, M=9.0 Tohoku earthquake under a geomagnetic storm; a nonlinear principal component analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Jyh-Woei

2012-10-01

Nonlinear principal component analysis (NLPCA) is implemented to analyze the spatial pattern of total electron content (TEC) anomalies 3 hours after Japan's Tohoku earthquake that occurred at 05:46:23 on 11 March, 2011 (UTC) ( M w =9). A geomagnetic storm was in progress at the time of the earthquake. NLPCA and TEC data processing were conducted on the global ionospheric map (GIM) for the time between 08:30 to 09:30 UTC, about 3 hours after this devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Analysis results show stark earthquake-associated TEC anomalies that are widespread, and appear to have been induced by two acoustic gravity waves due to strong shaking (vertical acoustic wave) and the generation of the tsunami (horizontal Rayleigh mode gravity wave). The TEC anomalies roughly fit the initial mainshock and movement of the tsunami. Observation of the earthquake-associated TEC anomalies does not appear to be affected by a contemporaneous geomagnetic storm.

Paleo-tsunami history along the northern Japan Trench: evidence from Noda Village, northern Sanriku coast, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Taiga; Goto, Kazuhisa; Nishimura, Yuichi; Watanabe, Masashi; Iijima, Yasutaka; Sugawara, Daisuke

2017-12-01

Throughout history, large tsunamis have frequently affected the Sanriku area of the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region, Japan, which faces the Japan Trench. Although a few studies have examined paleo-tsunami deposits along the Sanriku coast, additional studies of paleo-earthquakes and tsunamis are needed to improve our knowledge of the timing, recurrence interval, and size of historical and pre-historic tsunamis. At Noda Village, in Iwate Prefecture on the northern Sanriku coast, we found at least four distinct gravelly sand layers based on correlation and chronological data. Sedimentary features such as grain size and thickness suggest that extreme waves from the sea formed these layers. Numerical modeling of storm waves further confirmed that even extremely large storm waves cannot account for the distribution of the gravelly sand layers, suggesting that these deposits are highly likely to have formed by tsunami waves. The numerical method of storm waves can be useful to identify sand layers as tsunami deposits if the deposits are observed far inland or at high elevations. The depositional age of the youngest tsunami deposit is consistent with the AD 869 Jogan earthquake tsunami, a possible predecessor of the AD 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami. If this is the case, then the study site currently defines the possible northern extent of the AD 869 Jogan tsunami deposit, which is an important step in improving the tsunami source model of the AD 869 Jogan tsunami. Our results suggest that four large tsunamis struck the Noda site between 1100 and 2700 cal BP. The local tsunami sizes are comparable to the AD 2011 and AD 1896 Meiji Sanriku tsunamis, considering the landward extent of each tsunami deposit.

Hydrodynamic modeling of tsunamis from the Currituck landslide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, E.L.; Lynett, P.J.; Chaytor, J.D.

2009-01-01

Tsunami generation from the Currituck landslide offshore North Carolina and propagation of waves toward the U.S. coastline are modeled based on recent geotechnical analysis of slide movement. A long and intermediate wave modeling package (COULWAVE) based on the non-linear Boussinesq equations are used to simulate the tsunami. This model includes procedures to incorporate bottom friction, wave breaking, and overland flow during runup. Potential tsunamis generated from the Currituck landslide are analyzed using four approaches: (1) tsunami wave history is calculated from several different scenarios indicated by geotechnical stability and mobility analyses; (2) a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the effects of both landslide failure duration during generation and bottom friction along the continental shelf during propagation; (3) wave history is calculated over a regional area to determine the propagation of energy oblique to the slide axis; and (4) a high-resolution 1D model is developed to accurately model wave breaking and the combined influence of nonlinearity and dispersion during nearshore propagation and runup. The primary source parameter that affects tsunami severity for this case study is landslide volume, with failure duration having a secondary influence. Bottom friction during propagation across the continental shelf has a strong influence on the attenuation of the tsunami during propagation. The high-resolution 1D model also indicates that the tsunami undergoes nonlinear fission prior to wave breaking, generating independent, short-period waves. Wave breaking occurs approximately 40-50??km offshore where a tsunami bore is formed that persists during runup. These analyses illustrate the complex nature of landslide tsunamis, necessitating the use of detailed landslide stability/mobility models and higher-order hydrodynamic models to determine their hazard.

Hydraulic experiment on tsunami sand deposits relating with grain size distribution and magnitude of incident waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, A.; Takahashi, T.; Harada, K.; Nojima, K.

2016-12-01

A huge earthquake occurred off the Tohoku district in Japan on March 11th, 2011. A massive tsunami generated by the earthquake attacked coastal areas and caused serious damage. The tsunami disaster requires to reconsider tsunami measures in the Nankai Trough. Many of the measures are based on histories of large earthquakes and tsunamis. Because they are low frequency disasters and their historical documents are limited, tsunami sand deposits have been expected to analyze paleotsunamis. Tsunami sand deposits, however, are only used to confirm the fact of tsunamis and to determine the relative magnitudes. The thickness of sand layer and the grain size may be clues to estimate the tsunami force. Further, it could reveal the tsunami source. These results are also useful to improve the present tsunami measures. The objective of this study is to investigate the formation mechanism of tsunami sand deposits by hydraulic experiment. A two-dimensional water channel consisted of a wave maker, a flat section and a slope section. A movable bed section with various grain sizes and distribution of sand was set at the end of flat section. Bore waves of several heights transported the sand to the slope section by run-up. Water surface elevation and velocity were measured at several points. Tsunami sand deposit distribution was also measured along the slope section. The experimental result showed that the amount of tsunami sand deposit was relating with the grain size distribution and the magnitude of incident waves. Further, the number of incident waves affected the profile of tsunami sand deposits.

A new physics-based modeling approach for tsunami-ionosphere coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, X.; Komjathy, A.; Verkhoglyadova, O. P.; Yang, Y.-M.; Deng, Y.; Mannucci, A. J.

2015-06-01

Tsunamis can generate gravity waves propagating upward through the atmosphere, inducing total electron content (TEC) disturbances in the ionosphere. To capture this process, we have implemented tsunami-generated gravity waves into the Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model (GITM) to construct a three-dimensional physics-based model WP (Wave Perturbation)-GITM. WP-GITM takes tsunami wave properties, including the wave height, wave period, wavelength, and propagation direction, as inputs and time-dependently characterizes the responses of the upper atmosphere between 100 km and 600 km altitudes. We apply WP-GITM to simulate the ionosphere above the West Coast of the United States around the time when the tsunami associated with the March 2011 Tohuku-Oki earthquke arrived. The simulated TEC perturbations agree with Global Positioning System observations reasonably well. For the first time, a fully self-consistent and physics-based model has reproduced the GPS-observed traveling ionospheric signatures of an actual tsunami event.

Reevaluation of tsunami formation by debris avalanche at Augustine Volcano, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waythomas, C.F.

2000-01-01

Debris avalanches entering the sea at Augustine Volcano, Alaska have been proposed as a mechanism for generating tsunamis. Historical accounts of the 1883 eruption of the volcano describe 6- to 9-meter-high waves that struck the coastline at English Bay (Nanwalek), Alaska about 80 kilometers east of Augustine Island. These accounts are often cited as proof that volcanigenic tsunamis from Augustine Volcano are significant hazards to the coastal zone of lower Cook Inlet. This claim is disputed because deposits of unequivocal tsunami origin are not evident at more than 50 sites along the lower Cook Inlet coastline where they might be preserved. Shallow water (<25 m) around Augustine Island, in the run-out zone for debris avalanches, limits the size of an avalanche-caused wave. If the two most recent debris avalanches, Burr Point (A.D. 1883) and West Island (<500 yr. B.P.) were traveling at velocities in the range of 50 to 100 meters per second, the kinetic energy of the avalanches at the point of impact with the ocean would have been between 1014 and 1015 joules. Although some of this energy would be dissipated through boundary interactions and momentum transfer between the avalanche and the sea, the initial wave should have possessed sufficient kinetic energy to do geomorphic work (erosion, sediment transport, formation of wave-cut features) on the coastline of lowwer Cook Inlet. Because widespread evidence of the effects of large waves cannot be found, it appears that the debris avalanches could not have been traveling very fast when they entered the sea, or they happened during low tide and displaced only small volumes of water. In light of these results, the hazard from volcanigenic tsunamis from Augustine Volcano appears minor, unless a very large debris avalanche occurs at high tide.

Voyager 1: Three "Tsunami Waves" in Interstellar Space

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-03-22

Voyager 1: Three "Tsunami Waves" in Interstellar Space. The Voyager 1 spacecraft has experienced three "tsunami waves" in interstellar space. Listen to how these waves cause surrounding ionized matter to ring. More details on this sound can be found here: www.nasa.gov/jpl/nasa-voyager-t…nterstellar-space/

Determination of source process and the tsunami simulation of the 2013 Santa Cruz earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, S. C.; Lee, J. W.; Park, E.; Kim, S.

2014-12-01

In order to understand the characteristics of large tsunamigenic earthquakes, we analyzed the earthquake source process of the 2013 Santa Cruz earthquake and simulated the following tsunami. We first estimated the fault length of about 200 km using 3-day aftershock distribution and the source duration of about 110 seconds using the duration of high-frequency energy radiation (Hara, 2007). Moment magnitude was estimated to be 8.0 using the formula of Hara (2007). From the results of 200 km of fault length and 110 seconds of source duration, we used the initial value of rupture velocity as 1.8 km/s for teleseismic waveform inversions. Teleseismic body wave inversion was carried out using the inversion package by Kikuchi and Kanamori (1991). Teleseismic P waveform data from 14 stations were used and band-pass filter of 0.005 ~ 1 Hz was applied. Our best-fit solution indicated that the earthquake occurred on the northwesterly striking (strike = 305) and shallowly dipping (dip = 13) fault plane. Focal depth was determined to be 23 km indicating shallow event. Moment magnitude of 7.8 was obtained showing somewhat smaller than the result obtained above and that of previous study (Lay et al., 2013). Large slip area was seen around the hypocenter. Using the slip distribution obtained by teleseismic waveform inversion, we calculated the surface deformations using formulas of Okada (1985) assuming as the initial change of sea water by tsunami. Then tsunami simulation was carred out using Conell Multi-grid Coupled Tsunami Model (COMCOT) code and 1 min-grid topographic data for water depth from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocenas (GEBCO). According to the tsunami simulation, most of tsunami waves propagated to the directions of southwest and northeast which are perpendicular to the fault strike. DART buoy data were used to verify our simulation. In the presentation, we will discuss more details on the results of source process and tsunami simulation and compare them with the previous study.

Development of new tsunami detection algorithms for high frequency radars and application to tsunami warning in British Columbia, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grilli, S. T.; Guérin, C. A.; Shelby, M. R.; Grilli, A. R.; Insua, T. L.; Moran, P., Jr.

2016-12-01

A High-Frequency (HF) radar was installed by Ocean Networks Canada in Tofino, BC, to detect tsunamis from far- and near-field seismic sources; in particular, from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This HF radar can measure ocean surface currents up to a 70-85 km range, depending on atmospheric conditions, based on the Doppler shift they cause in ocean waves at the Bragg frequency. In earlier work, we showed that tsunami currents must be at least 0.15 m/s to be directly detectable by a HF radar, when considering environmental noise and background currents (from tide/mesoscale circulation). This limits a direct tsunami detection to shallow water areas where currents are sufficiently strong due to wave shoaling and, hence, to the continental shelf. It follows that, in locations with a narrow shelf, warning times using a direct inversion method will be small. To detect tsunamis in deeper water, beyond the continental shelf, we proposed a new algorithm that does not require directly inverting currents, but instead is based on observing changes in patterns of spatial correlations of the raw radar signal between two radar cells located along the same wave ray, after time is shifted by the tsunami propagation time along the ray. A pattern change will indicate the presence of a tsunami. We validated this new algorithm for idealized tsunami wave trains propagating over a simple seafloor geometry in a direction normally incident to shore. Here, we further develop, extend, and validate the algorithm for realistic case studies of seismic tsunami sources impacting Vancouver Island, BC. Tsunami currents, computed with a state-of-the-art long wave model are spatially averaged over cells aligned along individual wave rays, located within the radar sweep area, obtained by solving the wave geometric optic equation; for long waves, such rays and tsunami propagation times along those are only function of the seafloor bathymetry, and hence can be precalculated for different incident tsunami directions. A model simulating the radar backscattered signal in space and time as a function of simulated tsunami currents is applied to the sweep area. Numerical experiments show that the new algorithm can detect a realistic tsunami further offshore than a direct detection method. Correlation thresholds for tsunami detection will be derived from the results.

How prepared individuals and communities are for evacuation in tsunami-prone areas in Europe? Findings from the ASTARTE EU Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavigne, Franck; Grancher, Delphine; Goeldner-Gianella, Lydie; Karanci, Nuray; Dogulu, Nilay; Kanoglu, Utku; Zaniboni, Filippo; Tinti, Stefano; Papageorgiou, Antonia; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos; Constantin, Angela; Moldovan, Iren; El Mouraouah, Azelarab; Benchekroun, Sabah; Birouk, Abdelouahad

2016-04-01

Understanding social vulnerability to tsunamis provides risk managers with the required information to determine whether individuals have the capacity to evacuate, and therefore to take mitigation measures to protect their communities. In the frame of the EU programme ASTARTE (Assessment, STrategy And Risk reduction for Tsunamis in Europe), we conducted a questionnaire-based survey among 1,661 people from 41 nationalities living in, working in, or visiting 10 Test Sites from 9 different countries. The questions, which have been translated in 11 languages, focused on tsunami hazard awareness, risk perception, and knowledge of the existing warning systems. Our results confirm our initial hypothesis that low attention is paid in Europe to tsunami risk. Among all type of hazards, either natural or not, tsunami rank first in only one site (Lyngen fjord in Norway), rank third in 3 other sites (Eforie Nord in Romania, Nice and Istanbul), rank 4 in Gulluk Bay, 5 in Sines and Heraklion, and 10 in Siracusa (Sicily) and San Jordi (Balearic Islands). Whatever the respondent's status (i.e. local population, local authorities, or tourists), earthquakes and drawdown of the sea are cited as tsunami warning signs by 43% and 39% of the respondents, respectively. Therefore self-evacuation is not expected for more than half of the population. Considering that most European countries have no early warning system for tsunamis, a disaster is likely to happen in any coastal area exposed to this specific hazard. Furthermore, knowledge of past tsunami events is also very limited: only 22% of people stated that a tsunami has occurred in the past, whereas a deadly tsunami occurs every century in the Mediterranean Sea (e.g. in AD 365, 1660, 1672 or 1956 in the eastern part, 1908, 1979 or 2003 in the western part), and high tsunami waves devastated the Portugal and Moroccan coasts in 1755. Despite this lack of knowledge and awareness of past events, 62% of the respondents think that the site of the interview could be affected by a tsunami in the future. Respondents were strongly influenced by the images of catastrophic tsunamis they have seen in 2004 and 2011, leading them to consider local wave heights >10 or 15m, even in low-exposed areas such as Nice or the Balearic Islands. Such overestimation of the wave heights could lead to confusion during an evacuation. This survey at the European scale underlines the need to better mitigation strategies, including but not limited to inform residents, local workers and tourists of each site about: (1) the reality of the tsunami risk; (2) the maximal wave height that has been modelled for the worst case; and (3) where to evacuate in case of a future tsunami. Key words: tsunami, coastal risk, hazard knowledge, risk perception, vulnerability, resilience, evacuation, Europe

Tsunami Risk for the Caribbean Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozelkov, A. S.; Kurkin, A. A.; Pelinovsky, E. N.; Zahibo, N.

2004-12-01

The tsunami problem for the coast of the Caribbean basin is discussed. Briefly the historical data of tsunami in the Caribbean Sea are presented. Numerical simulation of potential tsunamis in the Caribbean Sea is performed in the framework of the nonlinear-shallow theory. The tsunami wave height distribution along the Caribbean Coast is computed. These results are used to estimate the far-field tsunami potential of various coastal locations in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, five zones with tsunami low risk are selected basing on prognostic computations, they are: the bay "Golfo de Batabano" and the coast of province "Ciego de Avila" in Cuba, the Nicaraguan Coast (between Bluefields and Puerto Cabezas), the border between Mexico and Belize, the bay "Golfo de Venezuela" in Venezuela. The analysis of historical data confirms that there was no tsunami in the selected zones. Also, the wave attenuation in the Caribbean Sea is investigated; in fact, wave amplitude decreases in an order if the tsunami source is located on the distance up to 1000 km from the coastal location. Both factors wave attenuation and wave height distribution should be taken into account in the planned warning system for the Caribbean Sea.

Ocean waves and roadside spirits: Thai health service providers' post-tsunami psychosocial health.

PubMed

Varley, Emma; Isaranuwatchai, Wanrudee; Coyte, Peter C

2012-10-01

A massive earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami on 26 December 2004. At least five million people around the world were affected, and the total number of deaths exceeded 280,000. In Thailand, the tsunami struck six southern provinces, where the disaster's immediate impact was catastrophic. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Phang Nga Province (2007), this paper provides an overview of the disaster's psychosocial consequences for Thai health service providers, the vast majority of whom were bypassed by regional post-tsunami mental health initiatives. The available tsunami literature only briefly attends to health providers' experience of professional 'burn-out', rather than explores the tsunami's wide spectrum of psychosocial effects. This research aims to remedy such oversights through 'critical medical' and 'interpretive phenomenological' analysis of the diverse and culturally-situated ways in which health providers' experienced the tsunami. The paper concludes by arguing for disaster-related psychosocial interventions to involve health providers explicitly. © 2012 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

The U.S. East Coast Meteotsunami of June 13, 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knight, W. R.; Whitmore, P.; Kim, Y.; Wang, D.; Becker, N. C.; Weinstein, S.; Walker, K.

2013-12-01

NOAA's two Tsunami Warning Centers (TWCs) provide advance notification to coastal communities concerning tsunami hazards. While the focus is primarily on seismic sources, the U.S. East Coast event of June 13, 2013 indicates the importance of understanding and forecasting atmospherically-driven tsunamis, or meteotsunamis, as well. Here we describe an approach which explains the generation of this event by atmospheric processes, and suggests that the causative forces can be monitored and used to forecast meteotsunami occurrence. The U.S. East Coast tsunami of June 13, 2013 was well recorded at tide gauges from North Carolina to Massachusetts as well as at Bermuda and Puerto Rico. It also triggered DART 44402, just east of the Atlantic shelf break at 39.4N. As there was no seismic energy release associated with the tsunami and an eastward propagating major weather system crossed the Atlantic coast just before the tsunami, the focus turned to atmospheric forcing. Tsunami forecast models used at the two U.S. TWCs were modified to introduce moving atmospheric pressure distributions as sources. In a simple case, a north-south oriented line air pressure jump of width 50 km and pressure of 4 mb at sea level was moved eastward at 20 m/s. The speed matched both the storm speed at the coast and the long wave speed for 40 m deep water, thus allowing for resonant coupling of atmosphere to ocean in the shelf region (Proudman Resonance). Considering the simplicity of the source, a reasonable comparison between the modeled and observed tsunami was obtained with regards to arrival time and height. The proposed source also offers an explanation of the later wave arrivals at US tide gauges. These typically lagged the arrival at Bermuda - a location much further east. This pattern can be explained within the context of Proudman resonance if the waves arriving at coastal stations originated at the shelf break as reflected waves. Model animations of wave dynamics corroborate this phenomenon. The contribution of edge waves generated as the system moves over the coast is also examined. Remaining questions include the importance of shelf parameters in setting the wave fetch and the 'Q' of Proudman resonance along the Atlantic coastline. In other words, are some stretches of shelf more conducive to tsunami formation than others? Wind stress was disregarded in the initial modeling work leaving its possible importance as another unanswered question. Operational questions include how to detect likely meteotsunami conditions with real-time meteorological measurements, and what form alerts should take. The minimum necessary temporal resolution of the pressure sensors along with their density and siting needs to be determined. Because details of the source, such as direction and speed of propagation, will likely subject unique sections of coastline to tsunami attack, the detailed analysis of data from sensor arrays to be used in forecasting will be important.

Improved Phase Corrections for Transoceanic Tsunami Data in Spatial and Temporal Source Estimation: Application to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Tung-Cheng; Satake, Kenji; Watada, Shingo

2017-12-01

Systemic travel time delays of up to 15 min relative to the linear long waves for transoceanic tsunamis have been reported. A phase correction method, which converts the linear long waves into dispersive waves, was previously proposed to consider seawater compressibility, the elasticity of the Earth, and gravitational potential change associated with tsunami motion. In the present study, we improved this method by incorporating the effects of ocean density stratification, actual tsunami raypath, and actual bathymetry. The previously considered effects amounted to approximately 74% for correction of the travel time delay, while the ocean density stratification, actual raypath, and actual bathymetry, contributed to approximately 13%, 4%, and 9% on average, respectively. The improved phase correction method accounted for almost all the travel time delay at far-field stations. We performed single and multiple time window inversions for the 2011 Tohoku tsunami using the far-field data (>3 h travel time) to investigate the initial sea surface displacement. The inversion result from only far-field data was similar to but smoother than that from near-field data and all stations, including a large sea surface rise increasing toward the trench followed by a migration northward along the trench. For the forward simulation, our results showed good agreement between the observed and computed waveforms at both near-field and far-field tsunami gauges, as well as with satellite altimeter data. The present study demonstrates that the improved method provides a more accurate estimate for the waveform inversion and forward prediction of far-field data.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Soliton solutions of the KP equation with V-shape initial waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kodama, Y.; Oikawa, M.; Tsuji, H.

2009-08-01

We consider the initial value problems of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equation for symmetric V-shape initial waves consisting of two semi-infinite line solitons with the same amplitude. Those are particularly important for studies of large amplitude waves such as tsunami in shallow water. Numerical simulations show that the solutions of the initial value problem approach asymptotically to certain exact solutions of the KP equation found recently in [1]. We then use a chord diagram to explain the asymptotic result. This provides an analytical method to study asymptotic behavior for the initial value problem of the KP equation. We also demonstrate a real experiment of shallow water waves which may represent the solution discussed in this communication.

Source location impact on relative tsunami strength along the U.S. West Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, L.; Bromirski, P. D.; Miller, A. J.; Arcas, D.; Flick, R. E.; Hendershott, M. C.

2015-07-01

Tsunami propagation simulations are used to identify which tsunami source locations would produce the highest amplitude waves on approach to key population centers along the U.S. West Coast. The reasons for preferential influence of certain remote excitation sites are explored by examining model time sequences of tsunami wave patterns emanating from the source. Distant bathymetric features in the West and Central Pacific can redirect tsunami energy into narrow paths with anomalously large wave height that have disproportionate impact on small areas of coastline. The source region generating the waves can be as little as 100 km along a subduction zone, resulting in distinct source-target pairs with sharply amplified wave energy at the target. Tsunami spectral ratios examined for transects near the source, after crossing the West Pacific, and on approach to the coast illustrate how prominent bathymetric features alter wave spectral distributions, and relate to both the timing and magnitude of waves approaching shore. To contextualize the potential impact of tsunamis from high-amplitude source-target pairs, the source characteristics of major historical earthquakes and tsunamis in 1960, 1964, and 2011 are used to generate comparable events originating at the highest-amplitude source locations for each coastal target. This creates a type of "worst-case scenario," a replicate of each region's historically largest earthquake positioned at the fault segment that would produce the most incoming tsunami energy at each target port. An amplification factor provides a measure of how the incoming wave height from the worst-case source compares to the historical event.

Examination of the largest-possible tsunamis (Level 2) generated along the Nankai and Suruga troughs during the past 4000 years based on studies of tsunami deposits from the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitamura, Akihisa

2016-12-01

Japanese historical documents reveal that Mw 8 class earthquakes have occurred every 100-150 years along the Suruga and Nankai troughs since the 684 Hakuho earthquake. These earthquakes have commonly caused large tsunamis with wave heights of up to 10 m in the Japanese coastal area along the Suruga and Nankai troughs. From the perspective of tsunami disaster management, these tsunamis are designated as Level 1 tsunamis and are the basis for the design of coastal protection facilities. A Mw 9.0 earthquake (the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake) and a mega-tsunami with wave heights of 10-40 m struck the Pacific coast of the northeastern Japanese mainland on 11 March 2011, and far exceeded pre-disaster predictions of wave height. Based on the lessons learned from the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, the Japanese Government predicted the tsunami heights of the largest-possible tsunami (termed a Level 2 tsunami) that could be generated in the Suruga and Nankai troughs. The difference in wave heights between Level 1 and Level 2 tsunamis exceeds 20 m in some areas, including the southern Izu Peninsula. This study reviews the distribution of prehistorical tsunami deposits and tsunami boulders during the past 4000 years, based on previous studies in the coastal area of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The results show that a tsunami deposit dated at 3400-3300 cal BP can be traced between the Shimizu, Shizuoka and Rokken-gawa lowlands, whereas no geologic evidence related to the corresponding tsunami (the Rokken-gawa-Oya tsunami) was found on the southern Izu Peninsula. Thus, the Rokken-gawa-Oya tsunami is not classified as a Level 2 tsunami.

A Hybrid Tsunami Risk Model for Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haseemkunju, A. V.; Smith, D. F.; Khater, M.; Khemici, O.; Betov, B.; Scott, J.

2014-12-01

Around the margins of the Pacific Ocean, denser oceanic plates slipping under continental plates cause subduction earthquakes generating large tsunami waves. The subducting Pacific and Philippine Sea plates create damaging interplate earthquakes followed by huge tsunami waves. It was a rupture of the Japan Trench subduction zone (JTSZ) and the resultant M9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that caused the unprecedented tsunami along the Pacific coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. EQECAT's Japan Earthquake model is a fully probabilistic model which includes a seismo-tectonic model describing the geometries, magnitudes, and frequencies of all potential earthquake events; a ground motion model; and a tsunami model. Within the much larger set of all modeled earthquake events, fault rupture parameters for about 24000 stochastic and 25 historical tsunamigenic earthquake events are defined to simulate tsunami footprints using the numerical tsunami model COMCOT. A hybrid approach using COMCOT simulated tsunami waves is used to generate inundation footprints, including the impact of tides and flood defenses. Modeled tsunami waves of major historical events are validated against observed data. Modeled tsunami flood depths on 30 m grids together with tsunami vulnerability and financial models are then used to estimate insured loss in Japan from the 2011 tsunami. The primary direct report of damage from the 2011 tsunami is in terms of the number of buildings damaged by municipality in the tsunami affected area. Modeled loss in Japan from the 2011 tsunami is proportional to the number of buildings damaged. A 1000-year return period map of tsunami waves shows high hazard along the west coast of southern Honshu, on the Pacific coast of Shikoku, and on the east coast of Kyushu, primarily associated with major earthquake events on the Nankai Trough subduction zone (NTSZ). The highest tsunami hazard of more than 20m is seen on the Sanriku coast in northern Honshu, associated with the JTSZ.

Combining historical eyewitness accounts on tsunami-induced waves and numerical simulations for getting insights in uncertainty of source parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohmer, Jeremy; Rousseau, Marie; Lemoine, Anne; Pedreros, Rodrigo; Lambert, Jerome; benki, Aalae

2017-04-01

Recent tsunami events including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 Tohoku tsunami have caused many casualties and damages to structures. Advances in numerical simulation of tsunami-induced wave processes have tremendously improved forecast, hazard and risk assessment and design of early warning for tsunamis. Among the major challenges, several studies have underlined uncertainties in earthquake slip distributions and rupture processes as major contributor on tsunami wave height and inundation extent. Constraining these uncertainties can be performed by taking advantage of observations either on tsunami waves (using network of water level gauge) or on inundation characteristics (using field evidence and eyewitness accounts). Despite these successful applications, combining tsunami observations and simulations still faces several limitations when the problem is addressed for past tsunamis events like 1755 Lisbon. 1) While recent inversion studies can benefit from current modern networks (e.g., tide gauges, sea bottom pressure gauges, GPS-mounted buoys), the number of tide gauges can be very scarce and testimonies on tsunami observations can be limited, incomplete and imprecise for past tsunamis events. These observations often restrict to eyewitness accounts on wave heights (e.g., maximum reached wave height at the coast) instead of the full observed waveforms; 2) Tsunami phenomena involve a large span of spatial scales (from ocean basin scales to local coastal wave interactions), which can make the modelling very demanding: the computation time cost of tsunami simulation can be very prohibitive; often reaching several hours. This often limits the number of allowable long-running simulations for performing the inversion, especially when the problem is addressed from a Bayesian inference perspective. The objective of the present study is to overcome both afore-described difficulties in the view to combine historical observations on past tsunami-induced waves and numerical simulations. In order to learn the uncertainty information on source parameters, we treat the problem within the Bayesian setting, which enables to incorporate in a flexible manner the different uncertainty sources. We propose to rely on an emerging technique called Approximate Bayesian Computation ABC, which has been developed to estimate the posterior distribution in modelling scenarios where the likelihood function is either unknown or cannot be explicitly defined. To overcome the computational issue, we combine ABC with statistical emulators (aka meta-model). We apply the proposed approach on the case study of Ligurian (North West of Italy) tsunami (1887) and discuss the results with a special attention paid to the impact of the observational error.

Coastal changes in the Sendai area from the impact of the 2011 Tōhoku-oki tsunami: Interpretations of time series satellite images, helicopter-borne video footage and field observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tappin, David R.; Evans, Hannah M.; Jordan, Colm J.; Richmond, Bruce; Sugawara, Daisuke; Goto, Kazuhisa

2012-12-01

A combination of time-series satellite imagery, helicopter-borne video footage and field observation is used to identify the impact of a major tsunami on a low-lying coastal zone located in eastern Japan. A comparison is made between the coast protected by armoured 'engineered' sea walls and the coast without. Changes are mapped from before and after imagery, and sedimentary processes identified from the video footage. The results are validated by field observations. The impact along a 'natural' coast, with minimal defences, is erosion focussed on the back beach. Along coasts with hard engineered protection constructed to defend against erosion, the presence of three to six metre high concrete-faced embankments results in severe erosion on their landward faces. The erosion is due to the tsunami wave accelerating through a hydraulic jump as it passes over the embankment, resulting in the formation of a ditch into which the foundations collapse. Engineered coastal defences are thus found to be small defence against highly energetic tsunami waves that overtop them. There is little erosion (or sedimentation) of the whole beach, and where active, it mainly forms V-shaped channels. These channels are probably initiated during tsunami inflow and then further developed during tsunami backflow. Tsunami backflow on such a low lying area takes place energetically as sheet flow immediately after tsunami flooding has ceased. Subsequently, when the water level landward of the coastal dune ridges falls below their elevation, flow becomes confined to rivers and breaches in the coast formed during tsunami inflow. Enigmatic, short lived, 'strand lines' are attributed to the slow fall of sea level after such a major tsunami. Immediately after the tsunami coastal reconstruction begins, sourced from the sediment recently flushed into the sea by tsunami backflow.

Development, testing, and applications of site-specific tsunami inundation models for real-time forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, L.; Titov, V. V.; Chamberlin, C. D.

2009-12-01

The study describes the development, testing and applications of site-specific tsunami inundation models (forecast models) for use in NOAA's tsunami forecast and warning system. The model development process includes sensitivity studies of tsunami wave characteristics in the nearshore and inundation, for a range of model grid setups, resolutions and parameters. To demonstrate the process, four forecast models in Hawaii, at Hilo, Kahului, Honolulu, and Nawiliwili are described. The models were validated with fourteen historical tsunamis and compared with numerical results from reference inundation models of higher resolution. The accuracy of the modeled maximum wave height is greater than 80% when the observation is greater than 0.5 m; when the observation is below 0.5 m the error is less than 0.3 m. The error of the modeled arrival time of the first peak is within 3% of the travel time. The developed forecast models were further applied to hazard assessment from simulated magnitude 7.5, 8.2, 8.7 and 9.3 tsunamis based on subduction zone earthquakes in the Pacific. The tsunami hazard assessment study indicates that use of a seismic magnitude alone for a tsunami source assessment is inadequate to achieve such accuracy for tsunami amplitude forecasts. The forecast models apply local bathymetric and topographic information, and utilize dynamic boundary conditions from the tsunami source function database, to provide site- and event-specific coastal predictions. Only by combining a Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami-constrained tsunami magnitude with site-specific high-resolution models can the forecasts completely cover the evolution of earthquake-generated tsunami waves: generation, deep ocean propagation, and coastal inundation. Wavelet analysis of the tsunami waves suggests the coastal tsunami frequency responses at different sites are dominated by the local bathymetry, yet they can be partially related to the locations of the tsunami sources. The study also demonstrates the nonlinearity between offshore and nearshore maximum wave amplitudes.

Tsunami Detection by High-Frequency Radar Beyond the Continental Shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grilli, Stéphan T.; Grosdidier, Samuel; Guérin, Charles-Antoine

2016-12-01

Where coastal tsunami hazard is governed by near-field sources, such as submarine mass failures or meteo-tsunamis, tsunami propagation times may be too small for a detection based on deep or shallow water buoys. To offer sufficient warning time, it has been proposed to implement early warning systems relying on high-frequency (HF) radar remote sensing, that can provide a dense spatial coverage as far offshore as 200-300 km (e.g., for Diginext Ltd.'s Stradivarius radar). Shore-based HF radars have been used to measure nearshore currents (e.g., CODAR SeaSonde® system; http://www.codar.com/), by inverting the Doppler spectral shifts, these cause on ocean waves at the Bragg frequency. Both modeling work and an analysis of radar data following the Tohoku 2011 tsunami, have shown that, given proper detection algorithms, such radars could be used to detect tsunami-induced currents and issue a warning. However, long wave physics is such that tsunami currents will only rise above noise and background currents (i.e., be at least 10-15 cm/s), and become detectable, in fairly shallow water which would limit the direct detection of tsunami currents by HF radar to nearshore areas, unless there is a very wide shallow shelf. Here, we use numerical simulations of both HF radar remote sensing and tsunami propagation to develop and validate a new type of tsunami detection algorithm that does not have these limitations. To simulate the radar backscattered signal, we develop a numerical model including second-order effects in both wind waves and radar signal, with the wave angular frequency being modulated by a time-varying surface current, combining tsunami and background currents. In each "radar cell", the model represents wind waves with random phases and amplitudes extracted from a specified (wind speed dependent) energy density frequency spectrum, and includes effects of random environmental noise and background current; phases, noise, and background current are extracted from independent Gaussian distributions. The principle of the new algorithm is to compute correlations of HF radar signals measured/simulated in many pairs of distant "cells" located along the same tsunami wave ray, shifted in time by the tsunami propagation time between these cell locations; both rays and travel time are easily obtained as a function of long wave phase speed and local bathymetry. It is expected that, in the presence of a tsunami current, correlations computed as a function of range and an additional time lag will show a narrow elevated peak near the zero time lag, whereas no pattern in correlation will be observed in the absence of a tsunami current; this is because surface waves and background current are uncorrelated between pair of cells, particularly when time-shifted by the long-wave propagation time. This change in correlation pattern can be used as a threshold for tsunami detection. To validate the algorithm, we first identify key features of tsunami propagation in the Western Mediterranean Basin, where Stradivarius is deployed, by way of direct numerical simulations with a long wave model. Then, for the purpose of validating the algorithm we only model HF radar detection for idealized tsunami wave trains and bathymetry, but verify that such idealized case studies capture well the salient tsunami wave physics. Results show that, in the presence of strong background currents, the proposed method still allows detecting a tsunami with currents as low as 0.05 m/s, whereas a standard direct inversion based on radar signal Doppler spectra fails to reproduce tsunami currents weaker than 0.15-0.2 m/s. Hence, the new algorithm allows detecting tsunami arrival in deeper water, beyond the shelf and further away from the coast, and providing an early warning. Because the standard detection of tsunami currents works well at short range, we envision that, in a field situation, the new algorithm could complement the standard approach of direct near-field detection by providing a warning that a tsunami is approaching, at larger range and in greater depth. This warning would then be confirmed at shorter range by a direct inversion of tsunami currents, from which the magnitude of the tsunami would also estimated. Hence, both algorithms would be complementary. In future work, the algorithm will be applied to actual tsunami case studies performed using a state-of-the-art long wave model, such as briefly presented here in the Mediterranean Basin.

2015 Volcanic Tsunami Earthquake near Torishima Island: Array analysis of ocean bottom pressure gauge records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukao, Y.; Sugioka, H.; Ito, A.; Shiobara, H.; Sandanbata, O.; Watada, S.; Satake, K.

2016-12-01

An array of ocean bottom pressure gauges was deployed off east of Aogashima island of the Izu-Bonin arc from May 2014 to May 2015. The array consists of 10 ocean bottom pressure gauges using ParoScientific quartz resonators which can measure absolute water pressure at 7000m depth with nano-resolution. The array configures equilateral triangles with minimum and maximum lengths of 10 and 30km. This array recorded seismic and tsunami waves from the CLVD-type earthquake (M5.7) of May 02, 2015, that occurred near Torishima Island 100 km distant from the array. Comparison with records of ordinary thrust earthquakes with similar magnitudes at similar distances indicates that this event generated anomalously large tsunamis relative to seismic waves. We made an array analysis for the phase speed, propagating azimuth and travel time of tsunami wave in a frequency range 1-10 mHz, where the dispersion effect is significant. The results show excellent agreements with the frequency-dependent ray-tracing calculations. The tsunami trace apparently starts with positive onset (pressure increase) and reaches a maximum amplitude of about 200Pa (≈2cm in tsunami height). A closer inspection, however, shows a preceding negative small pulse (Fig. 1), suggesting that the seafloor deformation at the tsunami source consists of a central large uplift and a peripheral small depression. This mode of deformation is qualitatively consistent with a finite CLVD source uniformly shortened laterally and uniformly stretched vertically without volume change. The detection of weak initial motions is indebted to the array deployment of sensitive pressure gauges far away from coastal regions. The bandpass-filtered waveform is drastically different between the lower and higher frequency ranges. The waveform is single-peaked in the lower frequency range (<5 mHz) but is ringing in the higher frequency range (>5 mHz), corresponding to the tsunami spectrum that consists of the broad primary peak around 3.5 mHz and the sharp double peaks at around 6.5 and 9 mHz. We interpret the broad primary peak as due to the tsunami source associated with seafloor deformation and the sharp double peaks as due to wave resonance (seiche) inside the Smith Caldera.

Generation, propagation and run-up of tsunamis due to the Chicxulub impact event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisz, R.; Wuennenmann, K.; Bahlburg, H.

2003-04-01

The Chicxulub impact event can be investigated in (1) local, (2) regional and in (3) global scales. Our investigations focus on the regional scale, especially on the influence of tsunami waves on the coast around the Gulf of Mexico caused by the impact. During an impact two types of tsunamis are generated. The first wave is known as the "rim wave" and is generated in front of the ejecta curtain. The second one is linked to the late modification stage of the impact and results from the collapsing cavity of water. We designate this wave as "collapse wave". The "rim wave" and "collapse wave" are able to propagate over long distances, without a significant loss of wave amplitude. Corresponding to the amplitudes, the waves have a potentially large influence on the coastal areas. Run-up distance and run-up height can be used as parameters for describing this influence. We are utilizing a multimaterial hydrocode (SALE) to simulate the generation of tsunami waves. The propagation of the waves is based on the non-linear shallow water theory, because tsunami waves are defined to be long waves. The position of the coast line varies according to the tsunami run-up and is implemented with open boundary conditions. We show with our investigations (1) the generation of tsunami waves due to shallow water impacts, (2) wave damping during propagation, and (3) the influence of the "rim wave" and the "collapse wave" on the coastal areas. Here, we present our first results from numerical modeling of tsunami waves owing to a Chicxulub sized impactor. The characteristics of the “rim wave” depend on the size of the bolide and the water depth. However, the amplitude and velocity of the “collapse wave” is only determined by the water depth in the impact area. The numerical modeling of the tsunami propagation and run-up is calculated along a section from the impact point towards to the west and gives the moderate damping of both waves and the run-up on the coastal area. As a first approximation, the bathymetric data, used in the wave propagation and run-up, correspond to a linearized bathymetry of the Recent Gulf of Mexico. The linearized bathymetry allows to study the influence of the bathymetry on wave propagation and run-up. Additionally, we give preliminary results of the implementation of the two-dimensional propagation and run-up model for arbitrary bathymetries. The two-dimensional wave propagation model will enable us to more realistically asses the influence of the impact-related tsunamis on the coasts around the Gulf of Mexico due to the Chicxulub impact event.

Recent Advances in Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards-Induced Atmospheric and Ionospheric Perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y. M.; Komjathy, A.; Meng, X.; Verkhoglyadova, O. P.; Langley, R. B.; Mannucci, A. J.

2015-12-01

Traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) induced by acoustic-gravity waves in the neutral atmosphere have significant impact on trans-ionospheric radio waves such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS, including Global Position System (GPS)) measurements. Natural hazards and solid Earth events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions are actual sources that may trigger acoustic and gravity waves resulting in traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) in the upper atmosphere. Trans-ionospheric radio wave measurements sense the total electron content (TEC) along the signal propagation path. In this research, we introduce a novel GPS-based detection and estimation technique for remote sensing of atmospheric wave-induced TIDs including space weather phenomena induced by major natural hazard events, using TEC time series collected from worldwide ground-based dual-frequency GNSS (including GPS) receiver networks. We demonstrate the ability of using ground- and space-based dual-frequency GPS measurements to detect and monitor tsunami wave propagation from the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami. Major wave trains with different propagation speeds and wavelengths were identified through analysis of the GPS remote sensing observations. Dominant physical characteristics of atmospheric wave-induced TIDs are found to be associated with specific tsunami propagations and oceanic Rayleigh waves. In this research, we compared GPS-based observations, corresponding model simulations and tsunami wave propagation. Results are shown to lead to a better understanding of the tsunami-induced ionosphere responses. Based on current distribution of Plate Boundary Observatory GPS stations, the results indicate that tsunami-induced TIDs may be detected about 60 minutes prior to tsunamis arriving at the U.S. west coast. It is expected that this GNSS-based technology will become an integral part of future early-warning systems.

Deep Ocean Tsunami Waves off the Sri Lankan Coast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The initial tsunami waves resulting from the undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on December 26, 2004, off the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, took a little over 2 hours to reach the teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka. Additional waves continued to arrive for many hours afterward. At approximately 05:15 UTC, as NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) captured this image of deep ocean tsunami waves about 30-40 kilometers from Sri Lanka's southwestern coast. The waves are made visible due to the effects of changes in sea-surface slope on the reflected sunglint pattern, shown here in MISR's 46-degree-forward-pointing camera. Sunglint occurs when sunlight reflects off a water surface in much the same way light reflects off a mirror, and the position of the Sun, angle of observation, and orientation of the sea surface determines how bright each part of the ocean appears in the image. These large wave features were invisible to MISR's nadir (vertical-viewing) camera. The image covers an area of 208 kilometers by 207 kilometers. The greatest impact of the tsunami was generally in an east-west direction, so the havoc caused by the tsunami along the southwestern shores of Sri Lanka was not as severe as along the eastern coast. However, substantial damage did occur in this region' as evidenced by the brownish debris in the water' because tsunami waves can diffract around land masses. The ripple-like wave pattern evident in this MISR image roughly correlates with the undersea boundary of the continental shelf. The surface wave pattern is likely to have been caused by interaction of deep waves with the ocean floor, rather than by the more usually observed surface waves, which are driven by winds. It is possible that this semi-concentric pattern represents wave reflection from the continental land mass; however, a combination of wave modeling and detailed bathymetric data is required to fully understand the dynamics. Examination of other MISR images of this area, taken under similar illumination conditions, has not uncovered any surface patterns resembling those seen here. This image is an example of how MISR's multi-angular capability provides unique information for understanding how tsunamis propagate. Another application of MISR data enabled scientists to measure the motion of breaking tsunami waves along the eastern shores of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees North and 82 degrees South latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 26720 and utilize data from within blocks 85 to 86 within World Reference System-2 path 142. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon ITSS/JPL); Michael Garay and David J. Diner (JPL, California Institute of Technology); and Vasily Titov (NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and University of Washington/Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Oceans).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gisler, Galen R.; Weaver, R. P.; Mader, Charles L.

Kick-em Jenny, in the Eastern Caribbean, is a submerged volcanic cone that has erupted a dozen or more times since its discovery in 1939. The most likely hazard posed by this volcano is to shipping in the immediate vicinity (through volcanic missiles or loss-of-buoyancy), but it is of interest to estimate upper limits on tsunamis that might be produced by a catastrophic explosive eruption. To this end, we have performed two-dimensional simulations of such an event in a geometry resembling that of Kick-em Jenny with our SAGE adaptive mesh Eulerian multifluid compressible hydrocode. We use realistic equations of state formore » air, water, and basalt, and follow the event from the initial explosive eruption, through the generation of a transient water cavity and the propagation of waves away from the site. We find that even for extremely catastrophic explosive eruptions, tsunamis from Kick-em Jenny are unlikely to pose significant danger to nearby islands. For comparison, we have also performed simulations of explosive eruptions at the much larger shield volcano Vailuluu in the Samoan chain, where the greater energy available can produce a more impressive wave. In general, however, we conclude that explosive eruptions do not couple well to water waves. The waves that are produced from such events are turbulent and highly dissipative, and don't propagate well. This is consistent with what we have found previously in simulations of asteroid-impact generated tsunamis. Non-explosive events, however, such as landslides or gas hydrate releases, do couple well to waves, and our simulations of tsunamis generated by subaerial and sub-aqueous landslides demonstrate this.« less

Observation and Modeling of Tsunami-Generated Gravity Waves in the Earth’s Upper Atmosphere

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-08

Observation and modeling of tsunami -generated gravity waves in the earth’s upper atmosphere 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...ABSTRACT Build a compatible set of models which 1) calculate the spectrum of atmospheric GWs excited by a tsunami (using ocean model data as input...for public release; distribution is unlimited. Observation and modeling of tsunami -generated gravity waves in the earth’s upper atmosphere Sharon

Observing Tsunamis in the Ionosphere Using Ground Based GPS Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galvan, D. A.; Komjathy, A.; Song, Y. Tony; Stephens, P.; Hickey, M. P.; Foster, J.

2011-01-01

Ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) show variations consistent with atmospheric internal gravity waves caused by ocean tsunamis following recent seismic events, including the Tohoku tsunami of March 11, 2011. We observe fluctuations correlated in time, space, and wave properties with this tsunami in TEC estimates processed using JPL's Global Ionospheric Mapping Software. These TEC estimates were band-pass filtered to remove ionospheric TEC variations with periods outside the typical range of internal gravity waves caused by tsunamis. Observable variations in TEC appear correlated with the Tohoku tsunami near the epicenter, at Hawaii, and near the west coast of North America. Disturbance magnitudes are 1-10% of the background TEC value. Observations near the epicenter are compared to estimates of expected tsunami-driven TEC variations produced by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Spectral Full Wave Model, an atmosphere-ionosphere coupling model, and found to be in good agreement. The potential exists to apply these detection techniques to real-time GPS TEC data, providing estimates of tsunami speed and amplitude that may be useful for future early warning systems.

Confirmation and calibration of computer modeling of tsunamis produced by Augustine volcano, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beget, James E.; Kowalik, Zygmunt

2006-01-01

Numerical modeling has been used to calculate the characteristics of a tsunami generated by a landslide into Cook Inlet from Augustine Volcano. The modeling predicts travel times of ca. 50-75 minutes to the nearest populated areas, and indicates that significant wave amplification occurs near Mt. Iliamna on the western side of Cook Inlet, and near the Nanwelak and the Homer-Anchor Point areas on the east side of Cook Inlet. Augustine volcano last produced a tsunami during an eruption in 1883, and field evidence of the extent and height of the 1883 tsunamis can be used to test and constrain the results of the computer modeling. Tsunami deposits on Augustine Island indicate waves near the landslide source were more than 19 m high, while 1883 tsunami deposits in distal sites record waves 6-8 m high. Paleotsunami deposits were found at sites along the coast near Mt. Iliamna, Nanwelak, and Homer, consistent with numerical modeling indicating significant tsunami wave amplification occurs in these areas. 

Tsunami Simulators in Physical Modelling Laboratories - From Concept to Proven Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allsop, W.; Chandler, I.; Rossetto, T.; McGovern, D.; Petrone, C.; Robinson, D.

2016-12-01

Before 2004, there was little public awareness around Indian Ocean coasts of the potential size and effects of tsunami. Even in 2011, the scale and extent of devastation by the Japan East Coast Tsunami was unexpected. There were very few engineering tools to assess onshore impacts of tsunami, so no agreement on robust methods to predict forces on coastal defences, buildings or related infrastructure. Modelling generally used substantial simplifications of either solitary waves (far too short durations) or dam break (unrealistic and/or uncontrolled wave forms).This presentation will describe research from EPI-centre, HYDRALAB IV, URBANWAVES and CRUST projects over the last 10 years that have developed and refined pneumatic Tsunami Simulators for the hydraulic laboratory. These unique devices have been used to model generic elevated and N-wave tsunamis up to and over simple shorelines, and at example defences. They have reproduced full-duration tsunamis including the Mercator trace from 2004 at 1:50 scale. Engineering scale models subjected to those tsunamis have measured wave run-up on simple slopes, forces on idealised sea defences and pressures / forces on buildings. This presentation will describe how these pneumatic Tsunami Simulators work, demonstrate how they have generated tsunami waves longer than the facility within which they operate, and will highlight research results from the three generations of Tsunami Simulator. Of direct relevance to engineers and modellers will be measurements of wave run-up levels and comparison with theoretical predictions. Recent measurements of forces on individual buildings have been generalized by separate experiments on buildings (up to 4 rows) which show that the greatest forces can act on the landward (not seaward) buildings. Continuing research in the 70m long 4m wide Fast Flow Facility on tsunami defence structures have also measured forces on buildings in the lee of a failed defence wall.

Effects of fringing reefs on tsunami inundation: American Samoa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gelfenbaum, G.; Apotsos, A.; Stevens, A.W.; Jaffe, B.

2011-01-01

A numerical model of tsunami inundation, Delft3D, which has been validated for the 29 September 2009 tsunami in Tutuila, American Samoa, is used to better understand the impact of fringing coral reefs and embayments on tsunami wave heights, inundation distances, and velocities. The inundation model is used to explore the general conditions under which fringing reefs act as coastal buffers against incoming tsunamis. Of particular interest is the response of tsunamis to reefs of varying widths, depths, and roughness, as well as the effects of channels incised in the reef and the focusing effect of embayments. Model simulations for conditions similar to Tutuila, yet simplified to be uniform in the alongshore, suggest that for narrow reefs, less than about 200 m wide, the shoaling owing to shallow water depths over the fringing reef dominates, inducing greater wave heights onshore under some conditions and farther inundation inland. As the reef width increases, wave dissipation through bottom friction begins to dominate and the reef causes the tsunami wave heights to decrease and the tsunami to inundate less far inland. A sensitivity analysis suggests that coral reef roughness is important in determining the manner in which a fringing reef affects tsunami inundation. Smooth reefs are more likely to increase the onshore velocity within the tsunami compared to rough reefs. A larger velocity will likely result in an increased impact of the tsunami on structures and buildings. Simulations developed to explore 2D coastal morphology show that incised channels similar to those found around Tutuila, as well as coastal embayments, also affect tsunami inundation, allowing larger waves to penetrate farther inland. The largest effect is found for channels located within embayments, and for embayments that narrow landward. These simulations suggest that embayments that narrow landward, such as Fagafue Bay on the north side of Tutuila, and that have an incised deep channel, can cause a significant increase in tsunami wave heights, inundation distances, and velocities. Wide embayments, similar in size to Massacre Bay, induce some tsunami amplification, but not as much as for the narrowing embayment.

TIDE TOOL: Open-Source Sea-Level Monitoring Software for Tsunami Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinstein, S. A.; Kong, L. S.; Becker, N. C.; Wang, D.

2012-12-01

A tsunami warning center (TWC) typically decides to issue a tsunami warning bulletin when initial estimates of earthquake source parameters suggest it may be capable of generating a tsunami. A TWC, however, relies on sea-level data to provide prima facie evidence for the existence or non-existence of destructive tsunami waves and to constrain tsunami wave height forecast models. In the aftermath of the 2004 Sumatra disaster, the International Tsunami Information Center asked the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) to develop a platform-independent, easy-to-use software package to give nascent TWCs the ability to process WMO Global Telecommunications System (GTS) sea-level messages and to analyze the resulting sea-level curves (marigrams). In response PTWC developed TIDE TOOL that has since steadily grown in sophistication to become PTWC's operational sea-level processing system. TIDE TOOL has two main parts: a decoder that reads GTS sea-level message logs, and a graphical user interface (GUI) written in the open-source platform-independent graphical toolkit scripting language Tcl/Tk. This GUI consists of dynamic map-based clients that allow the user to select and analyze a single station or groups of stations by displaying their marigams in strip-chart or screen-tiled forms. TIDE TOOL also includes detail maps of each station to show each station's geographical context and reverse tsunami travel time contours to each station. TIDE TOOL can also be coupled to the GEOWARE™ TTT program to plot tsunami travel times and to indicate the expected tsunami arrival time on the marigrams. Because sea-level messages are structured in a rich variety of formats TIDE TOOL includes a metadata file, COMP_META, that contains all of the information needed by TIDE TOOL to decode sea-level data as well as basic information such as the geographical coordinates of each station. TIDE TOOL can therefore continuously decode theses sea-level messages in real-time and display the time-series data in the GUI as well. This GUI also includes mouse-clickable functions such as zooming or expanding the time-series display, measuring tsunami signal characteristics (arrival time, wave period and amplitude, etc.), and removing the tide signal from the time-series data. De-tiding of the time series is necessary to obtain accurate measurements of tsunami wave parameters and to maintain accurate historical tsunami databases. With TIDE TOOL, de-tiding is accomplished with a set of tide harmonic coefficients routinely computed and updated at PTWC for many of the stations in PTWC's inventory (~570). PTWC also uses the decoded time series files (previous 3-5 days' worth) to compute on-the-fly tide coefficients. The latter is useful in cases where the station is new and a long-term stable set of tide coefficients are not available or cannot be easily obtained due to various non-astronomical effects. The international tsunami warning system is coordinated globally by the UNESCO IOC, and a number of countries in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, and Caribbean depend on Tide Tool to monitor tsunamis in real time.

Tsunami inundation, sediment transport, and subsequent deposits on topography with a dune

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshii, T.; Tanaka, S.; Matsuyama, M.

2017-12-01

The processes of tsunami inundation, sediment transport, and subsequent deposits on topography with a dune were investigated as part of Tsunami Sediment Transport Large-scale experiments (TSTLE) project. The inundation process on topography with a dune was categorized into first and second phase flows. The first phase flow was governed by the wave speed at the shoreline and the land slope, whereas the second phase flow was governed by the difference in water level at the dune. The deposits caused by the first phase flow (near the inundation limit) were constant regardless of the presence of the dune. Thus, there was no direct relationship between the substantial erosion and deposition near the dune caused by the second phase flow and the inundation limit determined by the initial phase flow. It is impossible to measure hydraulic parameters beyond these governing parameters from the deposits without assumption of waveform. Therefore, if the inundation limit is determined by the initial phase flow, the only way to reconstruct the inundation limit (height) is to investigate the deposits near the limit. The nearshore deposit, which could be sufficiently thick to observe sedimentary structures, would enable us to estimate the wave level in front of the dune.

Spatiotemporal Visualization of Tsunami Waves Using Kml on Google Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, H.; Delavar, M. R.; Sharifi, M. A.; Pirooz, M. D.

2017-09-01

Disaster risk is a function of hazard and vulnerability. Risk is defined as the expected losses, including lives, personal injuries, property damages, and economic disruptions, due to a particular hazard for a given area and time period. Risk assessment is one of the key elements of a natural disaster management strategy as it allows for better disaster mitigation and preparation. It provides input for informed decision making, and increases risk awareness among decision makers and other stakeholders. Virtual globes such as Google Earth can be used as a visualization tool. Proper spatiotemporal graphical representations of the concerned risk significantly reduces the amount of effort to visualize the impact of the risk and improves the efficiency of the decision-making process to mitigate the impact of the risk. The spatiotemporal visualization of tsunami waves for disaster management process is an attractive topic in geosciences to assist investigation of areas at tsunami risk. In this paper, a method for coupling virtual globes with tsunami wave arrival time models is presented. In this process we have shown 2D+Time of tsunami waves for propagation and inundation of tsunami waves, both coastal line deformation, and the flooded areas. In addition, the worst case scenario of tsunami on Chabahar port derived from tsunami modelling is also presented using KML on google earth.

The El Salvador and Philippines Tsunamis of August 2012: Insights from Sea Level Data Analysis and Numerical Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heidarzadeh, Mohammad; Satake, Kenji

2014-12-01

We studied two tsunamis from 2012, one generated by the El Salvador earthquake of 27 August ( Mw 7.3) and the other generated by the Philippines earthquake of 31 August ( Mw 7.6), using sea level data analysis and numerical modeling. For the El Salvador tsunami, the largest wave height was observed in Baltra, Galapagos Islands (71.1 cm) located about 1,400 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 9 and 19 min. Numerical modeling indicated that most of the tsunami energy was directed towards the Galapagos Islands, explaining the relatively large wave height there. For the Philippines tsunami, the maximum wave height of 30.5 cm was observed at Kushimoto in Japan located about 2,700 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 8, 12 and 29 min. Numerical modeling showed that a significant part of the far-field tsunami energy was directed towards the southern coast of Japan. Fourier and wavelet analyses as well as numerical modeling suggested that the dominant period of the first wave at stations normal to the fault strike is related to the fault width, while the period of the first wave at stations in the direction of fault strike is representative of the fault length.

Tsunami Simulators in Physical Modelling - Concept to Practical Solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandler, Ian; Allsop, William; Robinson, David; Rossetto, Tiziana; McGovern, David; Todd, David

2017-04-01

Whilst many researchers have conducted simple 'tsunami impact' studies, few engineering tools are available to assess the onshore impacts of tsunami, with no agreed methods available to predict loadings on coastal defences, buildings or related infrastructure. Most previous impact studies have relied upon unrealistic waveforms (solitary or dam-break waves and bores) rather than full-duration tsunami waves, or have used simplified models of nearshore and over-land flows. Over the last 10+ years, pneumatic Tsunami Simulators for the hydraulic laboratory have been developed into an exciting and versatile technology, allowing the forces of real-world tsunami to be reproduced and measured in a laboratory environment for the first time. These devices have been used to model generic elevated and N-wave tsunamis up to and over simple shorelines, and at example coastal defences and infrastructure. They have also reproduced full-duration tsunamis including Mercator 2004 and Tohoku 2011, both at 1:50 scale. Engineering scale models of these tsunamis have measured wave run-up on simple slopes, forces on idealised sea defences, pressures / forces on buildings, and scour at idealised buildings. This presentation will describe how these Tsunami Simulators work, demonstrate how they have generated tsunami waves longer than the facilities within which they operate, and will present research results from three generations of Tsunami Simulators. Highlights of direct importance to natural hazard modellers and coastal engineers include measurements of wave run-up levels, forces on single and multiple buildings and comparison with previous theoretical predictions. Multiple buildings have two malign effects. The density of buildings to flow area (blockage ratio) increases water depths and flow velocities in the 'streets'. But the increased building densities themselves also increase the cost of flow per unit area (both personal and monetary). The most recent study with the Tsunami Simulators therefore focussed on the influence of multiple buildings (up to 4 rows) which showed (for instance) that the greatest forces can act on the landward (not seaward) rows of buildings. Studies in the 70m long, 4m wide main channel of the Fast Flow Facility on tsunami defence structures have also measured forces on buildings in the lee of a failed defence wall and tsunami induced scour. Supporting presentations at this conference: McGovern et al on tsunami induced scour at coastal structures and Foster et al on building loads.

Development of jacket platform tsunami risk rating system in waters offshore North Borneo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H. E.; Liew, M. S.; Mardi, N. H.; Na, K. L.; Toloue, Iraj; Wong, S. K.

2016-09-01

This work details the simulation of tsunami waves generated by seaquakes in the Manila Trench and their effect on fixed oil and gas jacket platforms in waters offshore North Borneo. For this study, a four-leg living quarter jacket platform located in a water depth of 63m is modelled in SACS v5.3. Malaysia has traditionally been perceived to be safe from the hazards of earthquakes and tsunamis. Local design practices tend to neglect tsunami waves and include no such provisions. In 2004, a 9.3 M w seaquake occurred off the northwest coast of Aceh, which generated tsunami waves that caused destruction in Malaysia totalling US 25 million and 68 deaths. This event prompted an awareness of the need to study the reliability of fixed offshore platforms scattered throughout Malaysian waters. In this paper, we present a review of research on the seismicity of the Manila Trench, which is perceived to be high risk for Southeast Asia. From the tsunami numerical model TUNA-M2, we extract computer-simulated tsunami waves at prescribed grid points in the vicinity of the platforms in the region. Using wave heights as input, we simulate the tsunami using SACS v5.3 structural analysis software of offshore platforms, which is widely accepted by the industry. We employ the nonlinear solitary wave theory in our tsunami loading calculations for the platforms, and formulate a platform-specific risk quantification system. We then perform an intensive structural sensitivity analysis and derive a corresponding platform-specific risk rating model.

Computerized Workstation for Tsunami Hazard Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavrentiev-Jr, Mikhail; Marchuk, Andrey; Romanenko, Alexey; Simonov, Konstantin; Titov, Vasiliy

2010-05-01

We present general structure and functionality of the proposed Computerized Workstation for Tsunami Hazard Monitoring (CWTHM). The tool allows interactive monitoring of hazard, tsunami risk assessment, and mitigation - at all stages, from the period of strong tsunamigenic earthquake preparation to inundation of the defended coastal areas. CWTHM is a software-hardware complex with a set of software applications, optimized to achieve best performance on hardware platforms in use. The complex is calibrated for selected tsunami source zone(s) and coastal zone(s) to be defended. The number of zones (both source and coastal) is determined, or restricted, by available hardware resources. The presented complex performs monitoring of selected tsunami source zone via the Internet. The authors developed original algorithms, which enable detection of the preparation zone of the strong underwater earthquake automatically. For the so-determined zone the event time, magnitude and spatial location of tsunami source are evaluated by means of energy of the seismic precursors (foreshocks) analysis. All the above parameters are updated after each foreshock. Once preparing event is detected, several scenarios are forecasted for wave amplitude parameters as well as the inundation zone. Estimations include the lowest and the highest wave amplitudes and the least and the most inundation zone. In addition to that, the most probable case is calculated. In case of multiple defended coastal zones, forecasts and estimates can be done in parallel. Each time the simulated model wave reaches deep ocean buoys or tidal gauge, expected values of wave parameters and inundation zones are updated with historical events information and pre-calculated scenarios. The Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) software package is used for mathematical simulation. The authors suggest code acceleration for deep water wave propagation. As a result, performance is 15 times faster compared to MOST, original version. Performance gain is achieved by compiler options, use of optimized libraries, and advantages of OpenMP parallel technology. Moreover, it is possible to achieve 100 times code acceleration by using modern Graphics Processing Units (GPU). Parallel evaluation of inundation zones for multiple coastal zones is also available. All computer codes can be easily assembled under MS Windows and Unix OS family. Although software is virtually platform independent, the most performance gain is achieved while using the recommended hardware components. When the seismic event occurs, all valuable parameters are updated with seismic data and wave propagation monitoring is enabled. As soon as the wave passes each deep ocean tsunameter, parameters of the initial displacement at source are updated from direct calculations based on original algorithms. For better source reconstruction, a combination of two methods is used: optimal unit source linear combination from preliminary calculated database and direct numerical inversion along the wave ray between real source and particular measurement buoys. Specific dissipation parameter along with the wave ray is also taken into account. During the entire wave propagation process the expected wave parameters and inundation zone(s) characteristics are updated with all available information. If recommended hardware components are used, monitoring results are available in real time. The suggested version of CWTHM has been tested by analyzing seismic precursors (foreshocks) and the measured tsunami waves at North Pacific for the Central Kuril's tsunamigenic earthquake of November 15, 2006.

Uncertainty Estimation in Tsunami Initial Condition From Rapid Bayesian Finite Fault Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benavente, R. F.; Dettmer, J.; Cummins, P. R.; Urrutia, A.; Cienfuegos, R.

2017-12-01

It is well known that kinematic rupture models for a given earthquake can present discrepancies even when similar datasets are employed in the inversion process. While quantifying this variability can be critical when making early estimates of the earthquake and triggered tsunami impact, "most likely models" are normally used for this purpose. In this work, we quantify the uncertainty of the tsunami initial condition for the great Illapel earthquake (Mw = 8.3, 2015, Chile). We focus on utilizing data and inversion methods that are suitable to rapid source characterization yet provide meaningful and robust results. Rupture models from teleseismic body and surface waves as well as W-phase are derived and accompanied by Bayesian uncertainty estimates from linearized inversion under positivity constraints. We show that robust and consistent features about the rupture kinematics appear when working within this probabilistic framework. Moreover, by using static dislocation theory, we translate the probabilistic slip distributions into seafloor deformation which we interpret as a tsunami initial condition. After considering uncertainty, our probabilistic seafloor deformation models obtained from different data types appear consistent with each other providing meaningful results. We also show that selecting just a single "representative" solution from the ensemble of initial conditions for tsunami propagation may lead to overestimating information content in the data. Our results suggest that rapid, probabilistic rupture models can play a significant role during emergency response by providing robust information about the extent of the disaster.

Sediments from the Boxing Day tsunami on the coasts of southeastern India and Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, R.; Bahlburg, H.

2006-12-01

On the Boxing Day 2004, the world community experienced a catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean and could also saw how unprepared and unaware countries along the Indian ocean were. Beyond the tragedy of the tremendous loss of lives, the result of this event is an opportunity to study a global tsunami (mega-tsunami) in many regards. Here, we report on tsunami sediments left behind on beaches at the coast of Tamil Nadu (India) and on beaches between Malindi and Lamu (Kenya). Characteristic debris accumulations on the beach surface at Tamil Nadu (India) showed the impact of three tsunami waves. In this area, the tsunami climbed ~5 m up the beach; the last traces of a tsunami wave were found ~580 m away from the shoreline. Palm trees indicated an overland flow depth of 3.5 m, ~50 m from the shoreline. The tsunami deposits were up to 30 cm thick. They had an erosional base to the underlying soil and pre-tsunami beach deposits and were made up of moderately well- to well-sorted coarse and medium sand. The sand sheet thins inland, but without a decrease in grain size. Three distinct layers could be identified within the tsunami deposit. The lower one occasionally displayed cross-bedding with foresets dipping landward indicating deposition during run-up. The two upper layers were graded or parallel-laminated without indicators of flow directions. The boundaries between the different layers were marked by dark laminae, rich in heavy minerals. Also, the presence of benthic foraminifera indicates entrainment of sediment into the water column by the incoming tsunami wave in water depths less than 30 m. On beaches between Malindi and Lamu, Kenya, the traces of only one tsunami wave could be found, which attained a run-up height of about 3 m and traveled ~35 m inland with respect to the tidal stage at tsunami impact. The tsunami sediments consist of one layer of fine sand and are predominantly composed of heavy minerals supplied to the sea by nearby rivers. A slight fining-inland trend could be identified in the thinning- inland sand layer. Benthic foraminifera also indicate an entrainment of sediment by the incoming tsunami wave in a water depth less than 30 m, however there are indications that sediment might be entrained in a water depth of 80 m. The fact that only one sand layer occurs in Kenya as opposed to three at Tamil Nadu might lead to the conclusion that only one wave approached the Kenyan coast. This interpretation is misleading because the Kenyan coast is several thousand kilometers away from source area of the tsunami; the non-linear behavior of the incoming tsunami waves, especially the interaction with the nearby reef, may have resulted in the discovered sedimentologic evidence of the tsunami impact on the Kenyan coast.

Tsunami-Generated Atmospheric Gravity Waves and Their Atmospheric and Ionospheric Effects: a Review and Some Recent Modeling Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hickey, M. P.

2017-12-01

Tsunamis propagate on the ocean surface at the shallow water phase speed which coincides with the phase speed of fast atmospheric gravity waves. The forcing frequency also corresponds with those of internal atmospheric gravity waves. Hence, the coupling and effective forcing of gravity waves due to tsunamis is particularly effective. The fast horizontal phase speeds of the resulting gravity waves allows them to propagate well into the thermosphere before viscous dissipation becomes strong, and the waves can achieve nonlinear amplitudes at these heights resulting in large amplitude traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). Additionally, because the tsunami represents a moving source able to traverse large distances across the globe, the gravity waves and associated TIDs can be detected at large distances from the original tsunami (earthquake) source. Although it was during the mid 1970s when the tsunami source of gravity waves was first postulated, only relatively recently (over the last ten to fifteen years) has there has been a surge of interest in this research arena, driven largely by significant improvements in measurement technologies and computational capabilities. For example, the use of GPS measurements to derive total electron content has been a particularly powerful technique used to monitor the propagation and evolution of TIDs. Monitoring airglow variations driven by atmospheric gravity waves has also been a useful technique. The modeling of specific events and comparison with the observed gravity waves and/or TIDs has been quite revealing. In this talk I will review some of the most interesting aspects of this research and also discuss some interesting and outstanding issues that need to be addressed. New modeling results relevant to the Tohoku tsunami event will also be presented.

The Waves and Tsunamis Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavin, M.; Strohschneider, D.; Maichle, R.; Frashure, K.; Micozzi, N.; Stephen, R. A.

2005-12-01

The goals of the Waves and Tsunamis Project are "to make waves real" to middle school students and to teach them some fundamental concepts of waves. The curriculum was designed in Fall 2004 (before the Sumatra Tsunami) and involves an ocean scientist classroom visit, hands-on demonstrations, and an interactive website designed to explain ocean wave properties. The website is called 'The Plymouth Wave Lab' and it has had more than 40,000 hits since the Sumatra event. One inexpensive and interesting demonstration is based on a string composed of alternating elastic bands and paper clips. Washers can be added to the paper clips to construct strings with varying mass. For example, a tapered string with mass decreasing in the wave propagation direction is an analog of tsunami waves propagating from deep to shallow water. The Waves and Tsunamis Project evolved as a collaborative effort involving an ocean science researcher and middle school science teachers. It was carried out through the direction of the Centers of Ocean Science Education Excellence New England (COSEE-NE) Ocean Science Education Institute (OSEI). COSEE-NE is involved in developing models for sustainable involvement of ocean science researchers in K-12 education ( http://necosee.net ). This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Tsunami hazard assessment in the Colombian Caribbean Coast with a deterministic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otero Diaz, L.; Correa, R.; Ortiz R, J. C.; Restrepo L, J. C.

2014-12-01

For the Caribbean Sea, we propose six potential tectonic sources of tsunami, defining for each source the worst credible earthquake from the analysis of historical seismicity, tectonics, pasts tsunami, and review of IRIS, PDE, NOAA, and CMT catalogs. The generation and propagation of tsunami waves in the selected sources were simulated with COMCOT 1.7, which is a numerical model that solves the linear and nonlinear long wave equations in finite differences in both Cartesian, and spherical coordinates. The results of the modeling are presented in maps of maximum displacement of the free surface for the Colombian Caribbean coast and the island areas, and they show that the event would produce greater impact is generated in the source of North Panama Deformed Belt (NPDB), where the first wave train reaches the central Colombian coast in 40 minutes, generating wave heights up to 3.7 m. In San Andrés and Providencia island, tsunami waves reach more than 4.5 m due effects of edge waves caused by interactions between waves and a barrier coral reef around of each island. The results obtained in this work are useful for planning systems and future regional and local warning systems and to identify priority areas to conduct detailed research to the tsunami threat.

Errors in Tsunami Source Estimation from Tide Gauges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcas, D.

2012-12-01

Linearity of tsunami waves in deep water can be assessed as a comparison of flow speed, u to wave propagation speed √gh. In real tsunami scenarios this evaluation becomes impractical due to the absence of observational data of tsunami flow velocities in shallow water. Consequently the extent of validity of the linear regime in the ocean is unclear. Linearity is the fundamental assumption behind tsunami source inversion processes based on linear combinations of unit propagation runs from a deep water propagation database (Gica et al., 2008). The primary tsunami elevation data for such inversion is usually provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) deep-water tsunami detection systems known as DART. The use of tide gauge data for such inversions is more controversial due to the uncertainty of wave linearity at the depth of the tide gauge site. This study demonstrates the inaccuracies incurred in source estimation using tide gauge data in conjunction with a linear combination procedure for tsunami source estimation.

First tsunami gravity wave detection in ionospheric radio occultation data

DOE PAGES

Coïsson, Pierdavide; Lognonné, Philippe; Walwer, Damian; ...

2015-05-09

After the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Tohoku, the ionospheric signature of the displacements induced in the overlying atmosphere has been observed by ground stations in various regions of the Pacific Ocean. We analyze here the data of radio occultation satellites, detecting the tsunami-driven gravity wave for the first time using a fully space-based ionospheric observation system. One satellite of the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) recorded an occultation in the region above the tsunami 2.5 h after the earthquake. The ionosphere was sounded from top to bottom, thus providing themore » vertical structure of the gravity wave excited by the tsunami propagation, observed as oscillations of the ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC). The observed vertical wavelength was about 50 km, with maximum amplitude exceeding 1 total electron content unit when the occultation reached 200 km height. We compared the observations with synthetic data obtained by summation of the tsunami-coupled gravity normal modes of the Earth/Ocean/atmosphere system, which models the associated motion of the ionosphere plasma. These results provide experimental constraints on the attenuation of the gravity wave with altitude due to atmosphere viscosity, improving the understanding of the propagation of tsunami-driven gravity waves in the upper atmosphere. They demonstrate that the amplitude of the tsunami can be estimated to within 20% by the recorded ionospheric data.« less

Tsunami Research driven by Survivor Observations: Sumatra 2004, Tohoku 2011 and the Lituya Bay Landslide (Plinius Medal Lecture)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritz, Hermann M.

2014-05-01

The 10th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami recalls the advent of tsunami video recordings by eyewitnesses. The tsunami of December 26, 2004 severely affected Banda Aceh along the North tip of Sumatra (Indonesia) at a distance of 250 km from the epicenter of the Magnitude 9.0 earthquake. The tsunami flow velocity analysis focused on two survivor videos recorded within Banda Aceh more than 3km from the open ocean. The exact locations of the tsunami eyewitness video recordings were revisited to record camera calibration ground control points. The motion of the camera during the recordings was determined. The individual video images were rectified with a direct linear transformation (DLT). Finally a cross-correlation based particle image velocimetry (PIV) analysis was applied to the rectified video images to determine instantaneous tsunami flow velocity fields. The measured overland tsunami flow velocities were within the range of 2 to 5 m/s in downtown Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The March 11, 2011, magnitude Mw 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Japan caused catastrophic damage and loss of life. Fortunately many survivors at evacuation sites recorded countless tsunami videos with unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage. Numerous tsunami reconnaissance trips were conducted in Japan. This report focuses on the surveys at selected tsunami eyewitness video recording locations along Japan's Sanriku coast and the subsequent tsunami video image analysis. Locations with high quality survivor videos were visited, eyewitnesses interviewed and detailed site topography scanned with a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). The analysis of the tsunami videos followed the four step procedure developed for the analysis of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami videos at Banda Aceh. Tsunami currents up to 11 m/s were measured in Kesennuma Bay making navigation impossible. Further tsunami height and runup hydrographs are derived from the videos to discuss the complex effects of coastal structures on inundation and outflow flow velocities. Tsunamis generated by landslides and volcanic island collapses account for some of the most catastrophic events. On July 10, 1958, an earthquake Mw 8.3 along the Fairweather fault triggered a major subaerial landslide into Gilbert Inlet at the head of Lituya Bay on the south coast of Alaska. The landslide impacted the water at high speed generating a giant tsunami and the highest wave runup in recorded history. This event was observed by eyewitnesses on board the sole surviving fishing boat, which managed to ride the tsunami. The mega-tsunami runup to an elevation of 524 m caused total forest destruction and erosion down to bedrock on a spur ridge in direct prolongation of the slide axis. A cross-section of Gilbert Inlet was rebuilt in a two dimensional physical laboratory model. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) provided instantaneous velocity vector fields of decisive initial phase with landslide impact and wave generation as well as the runup on the headland. Three dimensional source and runup scenarios based on real world events are physically modeled in the NEES tsunami wave basin (TWB) at Oregon State University (OSU). The measured landslide and tsunami data serve to validate and advance numerical landslide tsunami models. This lecture encompasses multi-hazard aspects and implications of recent tsunami and cyclonic events around the world such as the November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines.

Tsunami Wave Run-up on a Vertical Wall in Tidal Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didenkulova, Ira; Pelinovsky, Efim

2018-04-01

We solve analytically a nonlinear problem of shallow water theory for the tsunami wave run-up on a vertical wall in tidal environment. Shown that the tide can be considered static in the process of tsunami wave run-up. In this approximation, it is possible to obtain the exact solution for the run-up height as a function of the incident wave height. This allows us to investigate the tide influence on the run-up characteristics.

The New Method of Tsunami Source Reconstruction With r-Solution Inversion Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronina, T. A.; Romanenko, A. A.

2016-12-01

Application of the r-solution method to reconstructing the initial tsunami waveform is discussed. This methodology is based on the inversion of remote measurements of water-level data. The wave propagation is considered within the scope of a linear shallow-water theory. The ill-posed inverse problem in question is regularized by means of a least square inversion using the truncated Singular Value Decomposition method. As a result of the numerical process, an r-solution is obtained. The method proposed allows one to control the instability of a numerical solution and to obtain an acceptable result in spite of ill posedness of the problem. Implementation of this methodology to reconstructing of the initial waveform to 2013 Solomon Islands tsunami validates the theoretical conclusion for synthetic data and a model tsunami source: the inversion result strongly depends on data noisiness, the azimuthal and temporal coverage of recording stations with respect to the source area. Furthermore, it is possible to make a preliminary selection of the most informative set of the available recording stations used in the inversion process.

Marine natural hazards in coastal zone: observations, analysis and modelling (Plinius Medal Lecture)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didenkulova, Ira

2010-05-01

Giant surface waves approaching the coast frequently cause extensive coastal flooding, destruction of coastal constructions and loss of lives. Such waves can be generated by various phenomena: strong storms and cyclones, underwater earthquakes, high-speed ferries, aerial and submarine landslides. The most famous examples of such events are the catastrophic tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which occurred on 26 December 2004 and hurricane Katrina (28 August 2005) in the Atlantic Ocean. The huge storm in the Baltic Sea on 9 January 2005, which produced unexpectedly long waves in many areas of the Baltic Sea and the influence of unusually high surge created by long waves from high-speed ferries, should also be mentioned as examples of regional marine natural hazards connected with extensive runup of certain types of waves. The processes of wave shoaling and runup for all these different marine natural hazards (tsunami, coastal freak waves, ship waves) are studied based on rigorous solutions of nonlinear shallow-water theory. The key and novel results presented here are: i) parameterization of basic formulas for extreme runup characteristics for bell-shape waves, showing that they weakly depend on the initial wave shape, which is usually unknown in real sea conditions; ii) runup analysis of periodic asymmetric waves with a steep front, as such waves are penetrating inland over large distances and with larger velocities than symmetric waves; iii) statistical analysis of irregular wave runup demonstrating that wave nonlinearity nearshore does not influence on the probability distribution of the velocity of the moving shoreline and its moments, and influences on the vertical displacement of the moving shoreline (runup). Wave runup on convex beaches and in narrow bays, which allow abnormal wave amplification is also discussed. Described analytical results are used for explanation of observed extreme runup of tsunami, freak (sneaker) waves and ship waves on different coasts along different bottom profiles.

The Role of Porosity in the Formation of Coastal Boulder Deposits - Hurricane Versus Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiske, M.; Boeroecz, Z.; Bahlburg, H.

2007-12-01

Coastal boulder deposits are a consequence of high-energy wave impacts, such as storms, hurricanes or tsunami. Distinguishing parameters between storm, hurricane and tsunami origin are distance of a deposit from the coast, boulder weight and inferred wave height. Formulas to calculate minimum wave heights of both storm and tsunami waves depend on accurate determination of boulder dimensions and lithology from the respective deposits. At present however, boulder porosity appears to be commonly neglected, leading to significant errors in determined bulk density, especially when boulders consist of reef or coral limestone. This limits precise calculations of wave heights and hampers a clear distinction between storm, hurricane and tsunami origin. Our study uses Archimedean and optical 3D-profilometry measurements for the determination of porosities and bulk densities of reef and coral limestone boulders from the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (ABC Islands, Netherlands Antilles). Due to the high porosities (up to 68 %) of the enclosed coral species, the weights of the reef rock boulders are as low as 20 % of previously calculated values. Hence minimum calculated heights both for tsunami and hurricane waves are smaller than previously proposed. We show that hurricane action appears to be the likely depositional mechanism for boulders on the ABC Islands, since 1) our calculations result in tsunami wave heights which do not permit the overtopping of coastal platforms on the ABC Islands, 2) boulder fields lie on the windward (eastern) sides of the islands, 3) recent hurricanes transported boulders up to 35 m3 and 4) the scarcity of tsunami events affecting the coasts of the ABC Islands compared to frequent impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Far-field tsunami of 2017 Mw 8.1 Tehuantepec, Mexico earthquake recorded by Chilean tide gauge network: Implications for tsunami warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Carrasco, J. F.; Benavente, R. F.; Zelaya, C.; Núñez, C.; Gonzalez, G.

2017-12-01

The 2017 Mw 8.1, Tehuantepec earthquake generated a moderated tsunami, which was registered in near-field tide gauges network activating a tsunami threat state for Mexico issued by PTWC. In the case of Chile, the forecast of tsunami waves indicate amplitudes less than 0.3 meters above the tide level, advising an informative state of threat, without activation of evacuation procedures. Nevertheless, during sea level monitoring of network we detect wave amplitudes (> 0.3 m) indicating a possible change of threat state. Finally, NTWS maintains informative level of threat based on mathematical filtering analysis of sea level records. After 2010 Mw 8.8, Maule earthquake, the Chilean National Tsunami Warning System (NTWS) has increased its observational capabilities to improve early response. Most important operational efforts have focused on strengthening tide gauge network for national area of responsibility. Furthermore, technological initiatives as Integrated Tsunami Prediction and Warning System (SIPAT) has segmented the area of responsibility in blocks to focus early warning and evacuation procedures on most affected coastal areas, while maintaining an informative state for distant areas of near-field earthquake. In the case of far-field events, NTWS follow the recommendations proposed by Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), including a comprehensive monitoring of sea level records, such as tide gauges and DART (Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys, to evaluate the state of tsunami threat in the area of responsibility. The main objective of this work is to analyze the first-order physical processes involved in the far-field propagation and coastal impact of tsunami, including implications for decision-making of NTWS. To explore our main question, we construct a finite-fault model of the 2017, Mw 8.1 Tehuantepec earthquake. We employ the rupture model to simulate a transoceanic tsunami modeled by Neowave2D. We generate synthetic time series at tide gauge stations and compare them with recorded sea level data, to dismiss meteorological processes, such as storms and surges. Resonance analysis is performed by wavelet technique.

Non-linear resonant coupling of tsunami edge waves using stochastic earthquake source models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.

2016-01-01

Non-linear resonant coupling of edge waves can occur with tsunamis generated by large-magnitude subduction zone earthquakes. Earthquake rupture zones that straddle beneath the coastline of continental margins are particularly efficient at generating tsunami edge waves. Using a stochastic model for earthquake slip, it is shown that a wide range of edge-wave modes and wavenumbers can be excited, depending on the variability of slip. If two modes are present that satisfy resonance conditions, then a third mode can gradually increase in amplitude over time, even if the earthquake did not originally excite that edge-wave mode. These three edge waves form a resonant triad that can cause unexpected variations in tsunami amplitude long after the first arrival. An M ∼ 9, 1100 km-long continental subduction zone earthquake is considered as a test case. For the least-variable slip examined involving a Gaussian random variable, the dominant resonant triad includes a high-amplitude fundamental mode wave with wavenumber associated with the along-strike dimension of rupture. The two other waves that make up this triad include subharmonic waves, one of fundamental mode and the other of mode 2 or 3. For the most variable slip examined involving a Cauchy-distributed random variable, the dominant triads involve higher wavenumbers and modes because subevents, rather than the overall rupture dimension, control the excitation of edge waves. Calculation of the resonant period for energy transfer determines which cases resonant coupling may be instrumentally observed. For low-mode triads, the maximum transfer of energy occurs approximately 20–30 wave periods after the first arrival and thus may be observed prior to the tsunami coda being completely attenuated. Therefore, under certain circumstances the necessary ingredients for resonant coupling of tsunami edge waves exist, indicating that resonant triads may be observable and implicated in late, large-amplitude tsunami arrivals.

Physical Observations of the Tsunami during the September 8th 2017 Tehuantepec, Mexico Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez-Herrera, M. T.; Corona, N.; Ruiz-Angulo, A.; Melgar, D.; Zavala-Hidalgo, J.

2017-12-01

The September 8th 2017, Mw8.2 earthquake offshore Chiapas, Mexico, is the largest earthquake recorded history in Chiapas since 1902. It caused damage in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco; it had more than 100 fatalities, over 1.5 million people were affected, and 41,000 homes were damaged in the state of Chiapas alone. This earthquake, a deep intraplate event on a normal fault on the oceanic subducting plate, generated a tsunami recorded at several tide gauge stations in Mexico and on the Pacific Ocean. Here we report the physical effects of the tsunami on the Chiapas coast and analyze the societal implications of this tsunami on the basis of our field observations. Tide gauge data indicate 11.3 and 8.2 cm of coastal subsidence at Salina Cruz and Puerto Chiapas stations. The associated tsunami waves were recorded first at Salina Cruz tide gauge station at 5:13 (GMT). We covered ground observations along 41 km of the coast of Chiapas, encompassing the sites with the highest projected wave heights based on the preliminary tsunami model (maximum tsunami amplitudes between -94.5 and -93.0 W). Runup and inundation distances were measured with an RTK GPS and using a Sokkia B40 level along 8 sites. We corrected runup data with estimated astronomical tide levels at the time of the tsunami. The tsunami occurred at low tide. The maximum runup was 3 m at Boca del Cielo, and maximum inundation distance was 190 m in Puerto Arista, corresponding to the coast directly opposite the epicenter and in the central sector of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. In general, our field data agree with the predicted results from the preliminary tsunami model. Tsunami scour and erosion was evident on the Chiapas coast. Tsunami deposits, mainly sand, reached up to 32 cm thickness thinning landwards up to 172 m distance. Even though the Mexican tsunami early warning system (CAT) issued several warnings, the tsunami arrival struck the Chiapas coast prior to the arrival of official warnings to the residents of small coastal towns, owing to the multi-ranked notification system. Thus, a tsunami early warning system with a direct warning to all coastal communities is needed. Some people evacuated under their own initiative, but some did not evacuate. Therefore, community-based education and awareness programs are needed.

Impacts of the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami along the Sendai coast protected by hard and soft seawalls; interpretations of satellite images, helicopter-borne video footage and field studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tappin, D. R.; Jordan, H. M.; Jordan, C. J.; Richmond, B. M.; Sugawara, D.; Goto, K.

2012-12-01

A combination of time-series satellite imagery, helicopter-borne video footage and field observation is used to identify the impact of a major tsunami on a low-lying coastal zone located in eastern Japan. A comparison is made between the coast protected by hard sea walls and the coast without. Changes to the coast are mapped from before and after imagery, and sedimentary processes identified from the video footage. The results are validated by field observations. The impact along a 'natural' coast, with minimal defences, is erosion focussed on the back beach. There is little erosion (or sedimentation) of the whole beach, and where active, erosion mainly forms V-shaped channels that are initiated during the tsunami flood and then further developed during backwash. Enigmatic, short lived, 'strand lines' are attributed to the slow fall of sea level after such a major tsunami. Backwash on such a low lying area takes place as sheet flood immediately after tsunami flooding has ceased, and then subsequently, when the water level landward of coastal ridges falls below their elevation, becomes confined to channels formed on the coastal margin by the initial tsunami impact. Immediately after the tsunami coastal reconstruction begins, sourced from the sediment recently flushed into the sea by tsunami backwash. Hard engineering structures are found to be small defence against highly energetic tsunami waves that overtop them. The main cause of damage is scouring at the landward base of concrete-faced embankments constructed to defend the coast from erosion, that results in foundation-weakening and collapse.

Toward the Real-Time Tsunami Parameters Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavrentyev, Mikhail; Romanenko, Alexey; Marchuk, Andrey

2013-04-01

Today, a wide well-developed system of deep ocean tsunami detectors operates over the Pacific. Direct measurements of tsunami-wave time series are available. However, tsunami-warning systems fail to predict basic parameters of tsunami waves on time. Dozens examples could be provided. In our view, the lack of computational power is the main reason of these failures. At the same time, modern computer technologies such as, GPU (graphic processing unit) and FPGA (field programmable gates array), can dramatically improve data processing performance, which may enhance timely tsunami-warning prediction. Thus, it is possible to address the challenge of real-time tsunami forecasting for selected geo regions. We propose to use three new techniques in the existing tsunami warning systems to achieve real-time calculation of tsunami wave parameters. First of all, measurement system (DART buoys location, e.g.) should be optimized (both in terms of wave arriving time and amplitude parameter). The corresponding software application exists today and is ready for use [1]. We consider the example of the coastal line of Japan. Numerical tests show that optimal installation of only 4 DART buoys (accounting the existing sea bed cable) will reduce the tsunami wave detection time to only 10 min after an underwater earthquake. Secondly, as was shown by this paper authors, the use of GPU/FPGA technologies accelerates the execution of the MOST (method of splitting tsunami) code by 100 times [2]. Therefore, tsunami wave propagation over the ocean area 2000*2000 km (wave propagation simulation: time step 10 sec, recording each 4th spatial point and 4th time step) could be calculated at: 3 sec with 4' mesh 50 sec with 1' mesh 5 min with 0.5' mesh The algorithm to switch from coarse mesh to the fine grain one is also available. Finally, we propose the new algorithm for tsunami source parameters determination by real-time processing the time series, obtained at DART. It is possible to approximate the measured time series by a linear combination of synthetic marigrams. Coefficients of such linear combination are calculated with the help of orthogonal decomposition. The algorithm is very fast and demonstrates good accuracy. Summing up, using the example of the coastal line of Japan, wave height evaluation will be available in 12-14 minutes after the earthquake even before the wave approaches the nearest shore point (usually, it takes places in about 20 minutes). The determination of the optimal sensors' location using genetic algorithm / A.S.Astrakova, D.V.Bannikov, S.G.Cherny, M.M.Lavrentiev // 3rd Nordic EMW Summer School, Turku, Finland, June, 2009: proceedings - Finland: TUSC General Publications, 2009. - N 53. - P.5-22. M.Lavrentiev Jr., A.Romanenko, "Modern Hardware Solutions to Speed Up Tsunami Simulation Codes", Geophysical research abstracts, Vol. 12, EGU2010-3835, 2010

Observations and Numerical Modeling of the 2012 Haida Gwaii Tsunami off the Coast of British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fine, Isaac V.; Cherniawsky, Josef Y.; Thomson, Richard E.; Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Krassovski, Maxim V.

2015-03-01

A major ( M w 7.7) earthquake occurred on October 28, 2012 along the Queen Charlotte Fault Zone off the west coast of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands). The earthquake was the second strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Canadian history and generated the largest local tsunami ever recorded on the coast of British Columbia. A field survey on the Pacific side of Haida Gwaii revealed maximum runup heights of up to 7.6 m at sites sheltered from storm waves and 13 m in a small inlet that is less sheltered from storms (L eonard and B ednarski 2014). The tsunami was recorded by tide gauges along the coast of British Columbia, by open-ocean bottom pressure sensors of the NEPTUNE facility at Ocean Networks Canada's cabled observatory located seaward of southwestern Vancouver Island, and by several DART stations located in the northeast Pacific. The tsunami observations, in combination with rigorous numerical modeling, enabled us to determine the physical properties of this event and to correct the location of the tsunami source with respect to the initial geophysical estimates. The initial model results were used to specify sites of particular interest for post-tsunami field surveys on the coast of Moresby Island (Haida Gwaii), while field survey observations (L eonard and B ednarski 2014) were used, in turn, to verify the numerical simulations based on the corrected source region.

Local tsunamis and earthquake source parameters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.; Dmowska, Renata; Saltzman, Barry

1999-01-01

This chapter establishes the relationship among earthquake source parameters and the generation, propagation, and run-up of local tsunamis. In general terms, displacement of the seafloor during the earthquake rupture is modeled using the elastic dislocation theory for which the displacement field is dependent on the slip distribution, fault geometry, and the elastic response and properties of the medium. Specifically, nonlinear long-wave theory governs the propagation and run-up of tsunamis. A parametric study is devised to examine the relative importance of individual earthquake source parameters on local tsunamis, because the physics that describes tsunamis from generation through run-up is complex. Analysis of the source parameters of various tsunamigenic earthquakes have indicated that the details of the earthquake source, namely, nonuniform distribution of slip along the fault plane, have a significant effect on the local tsunami run-up. Numerical methods have been developed to address the realistic bathymetric and shoreline conditions. The accuracy of determining the run-up on shore is directly dependent on the source parameters of the earthquake, which provide the initial conditions used for the hydrodynamic models.

NOAA Propagation Database Value in Tsunami Forecast Guidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eble, M. C.; Wright, L. M.

2016-02-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR) has developed a tsunami forecasting capability that combines a graphical user interface with data ingestion and numerical models to produce estimates of tsunami wave arrival times, amplitudes, current or water flow rates, and flooding at specific coastal communities. The capability integrates several key components: deep-ocean observations of tsunamis in real-time, a basin-wide pre-computed propagation database of water level and flow velocities based on potential pre-defined seismic unit sources, an inversion or fitting algorithm to refine the tsunami source based on the observations during an event, and tsunami forecast models. As tsunami waves propagate across the ocean, observations from the deep ocean are automatically ingested into the application in real-time to better define the source of the tsunami itself. Since passage of tsunami waves over a deep ocean reporting site is not immediate, we explore the value of the NOAA propagation database in providing placeholder forecasts in advance of deep ocean observations. The propagation database consists of water elevations and flow velocities pre-computed for 50 x 100 [km] unit sources in a continuous series along all known ocean subduction zones. The 2011 Japan Tohoku tsunami is presented as the case study

Role of Compressibility on Tsunami Propagation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdolali, Ali; Kirby, James T.

2017-12-01

In the present paper, we aim to reduce the discrepancies between tsunami arrival times evaluated from tsunami models and real measurements considering the role of ocean compressibility. We perform qualitative studies to reveal the phase speed reduction rate via a modified version of the Mild Slope Equation for Weakly Compressible fluid (MSEWC) proposed by Sammarco et al. (2013). The model is validated against a 3-D computational model. Physical properties of surface gravity waves are studied and compared with those for waves evaluated from an incompressible flow solver over realistic geometry for 2011 Tohoku-oki event, revealing reduction in phase speed.