A Note on Tsunami Bore Front

A note is presented on tsunami bore front. This tsunami bore front is an old dynamical problem but also a new problem to be understood. The tsunami event on 2004 December 26 has raised this is an urgent problem. The author introduces here a model in order to see a hydrodynamical specific property of the tsunami bore front. This modeling gives us a new understanding about what mechanics is for the interested tsunami bore front, especially, around a coastal zone. This work adds a new understanding about mechanics of water motions as the tsunamis generated by the earthquake undersea at a distant area from the coast. The model in this work points out a specific transitional pattern as a function of time and space of tsunami bore front. This modeling gives what is essential at considering tsunami bore front.     

Experimental investigation of tsunami bore impact pressure on a perforated seawall

Catastrophic failures of many tsunami barriers along the affected coasts during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami has prompted extensive investigation into improving and revising design codes for tsunami defence structures. To date, researchers and coastal engineers are investigating to understand the failure mechanisms and to find solutions so that the structures merely remain intact in the extreme event such as tsunami. Thus, the present work is motivated to experimentally study tsunami-induced bore pressures exerted on vertical seawalls; a solid vertical wall and a porous vertical seawall that consisted of a perforated front wall and a solid rear wall. Bores with various heights and velocities were generated by using the dam-break method. A porous seawall with 20% porosity of perforated front wall was used in this study. Bore pressures exerted on the solid rear wall and chamber oscillations that occurred in the experiments were also discussed. The experimental results showed that multiple peak pressures were observed during bore run-up phase in the time series of bore impacts. A predictive equation to estimate the maximum bore pressure on a perforated seawall was developed using multiple regression analysis. The proposed equation was also compared with previous empirical formulas.     

Tsunami inundation modeling in constructed environments: A physical and numerical comparison of free-surface elevation,velocity, and momentum flux

A laboratory benchmark test for tsunami inundation through an urban waterfront including free surface elevation, velocity, and specific momentum flux is presented and compared with a numerical model (COULWAVE). The physical model was a 1:50 scale idealization of the town Seaside, Oregon, designed to observe the complex tsunami flow around the macro-roughness such as buildings idealized as impermeable, rectangular blocks. Free surface elevation and velocity time series were measured and analyzed at 31 points along 4 transects. Optical measurements of the leading bore front were used in conjunction with the in-situ velocity and free surface measurements to estimate the time-dependent specific momentum flux at each location. The maximum free surface elevation and specific momentum flux sharply decreased from the shoreline to the landward measurement locations, while the cross-shore velocity slowly decreased linearly. The experimental results show that the maximum specific momentum flux is overestimated by 60 to 260%, if it is calculated using the each maximum values of the free surface elevation and cross-shore velocity. Comparisons show that the numerical model is in good agreement with the physical model at most locations when tuned to a friction factor of 0.005. When the friction factor decreased by a factor of 10 (from 0.01 to 0.001), the average maximum free surface elevation increased 15%, and the average cross-shore velocity and specific momentum flux increased 95 and 208%, respectively. This highlights the importance of comparing velocity in the validation and verification process of numerical models of tsunami inundation.     

Modeling of 500-year tsunamis for probabilistic design of coastal infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest

This paper describes the development of tsunami scenarios from the National Seismic Hazard Maps for design of coastal infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest. The logic tree of Cascadia earthquakes provides four 500-year rupture configurations at moment magnitude 8.8, 9.0, and 9.2 for development of probabilistic design criteria. A planar fault model describes the rupture configurations and determines the earth surface deformation for tsunami modeling. A case study of four bridge sites at Siletz Bay, Oregon illustrates the challenges in modeling of tsunamis on the Pacific Northwest coast. A nonlinear shallow-water model with a shock-capturing scheme describes tsunami propagation across the northeastern Pacific as well as barrier beach overtopping, bore formation, and detailed flow conditions at Siletz Bay. The results show strong correlation with geological evidence from the six paleotsunamis during the last 2800 years. The proposed approach allows determination of tsunami loads that are consistent with the seismic loads currently in use for design of buildings and structures.     

Optical measurements of tsunami inundation through an urban waterfront modeled in a large-scale laboratory basin

This paper presents optical measurements of tsunami inundation through an urban waterfront in a laboratory wave basin. The physical model was constructed at 1:50 scale and was an idealization of the town of Seaside, Oregon. The fixed-bed model was designed to study the initial inundation zone along an urban waterfront, such that the flow around several large buildings could be observed. This paper presents an analysis of the optical measurements made with two overhead video cameras, focusing on tracking the leading edge of the tsunami inundation through the urban waterfront and quantifies the accuracy of the algorithm used to track the edge. The results show that the methodology provides high-resolution information in both time and space of the leading edge position, and that these data can be used to quantify the influence of large macro-roughness features on the tsunami inundation processes in laboratory settings. The overall effect of the macro-roughness was to decrease the bore propagation speed relative to the control section with no macro-roughness. The bore speed could be reduced by as much as 40% due to the presence of the macro-roughness relative to the control section.     

Deep water signature of a tsunami

The dynamics of tsunamis can be divided, for convenience, into three parts: tsunami generation, tsunami propagation, and the coastal problems. Out of these three, the problem of tsunami propagation is probably better understood than the other two. One of the main hindrances to the quantitative prediction of tsunami amplitudes at various coastal locations is a lack of detailed knowledge about the deep water signature of a tsunami. Here, the present understanding of this problem is discussed.     

Retrospective short-term forecast of the 1996 Andreanov (Aleutian Islands) tsunami

A brief review of the problem of short-term (operative) tsunami forecasting is presented. A method of short-term tsunami forecasting based on the sea level data at remote points is described. The forecast is based only on the seismological information about the coordinates of the earthquake’s epicenter. The application of this method for a retrospective forecast of the 1996 Andreanov tsunami demonstrates a satisfactory coincidence with the predicted and observed tsunami waveforms. The results are compared with the modeling prediction of the same event by other authors. The suggested method of the operative tsunami forecast can serve a basis for the development of a unique programming complex for operative forecasting and can be realized within regional and local tsunami warning services. The method can be used in tsunami warning systems at the stage of their development.     

Numerical Study of Dam-Break Induced Tsunami-Like Bore with A Hump of Different Slopes

Numerical simulation of dam-break wave, as an imitation of tsunami hydraulic bore, with a hump of different slopes is performed in this paper using an in-house code, named a Constrained Interpolation Profile (CIP)-based model. The model is built on a Cartesian grid system with the Navier Stokes equations using a CIP method for the flow solver, and employs an immersed boundary method (IBM) for the treatment of solid body boundary. A more accurate interface capturing scheme, the Tangent of hyperbola for interface capturing/Slope weighting (THINC/SW) scheme, is adopted as the interface capturing method. Then, the CIP-based model is applied to simulate the dam break flow problem in a bumpy channel. Considerable attention is paid to the spilling type reflected bore, the following spilling type wave breaking, free surface profiles and water level variations over time. Computations are compared with available experimental data and other numerical results quantitatively and qualitatively. Further investigation is conducted to analyze the influence of variable slopes on the flow features of the tsunami-like bore.     

Numerical modeling of the long surface waves scattering for the 2011 Japan tsunami: Case study

The March 11, 2011, megaquake caused a catastrophic tsunami recorded throughout the Pacific. This paper presents an analysis of the sea-level records obtained from deep-water tsunami meters (DART and NEPTUNE). To evaluate the effect of the sea-level oscillations’ decay, a statistical analysis of observations and numerical modeling of tsunami generation and propagation have been conducted. The main goal is to uncover physical mechanisms of the tsunami wave field formation and evolution at scales up to tens of thousands of kilometers in space and a few days in time. It is shown that the tsunami lifetime is related to the wave-energy diffusion and dissipation processes. The decay time of the variance of the tsunami-generated level oscillations is about 1 day. Multiple reflections and scattering by irregularities of the bottom topography make the field of the secondary tsunami waves stochastic and incoherent: the distribution of the wave energy in the ocean reaches a statistical equilibrium in accordance with the Rayleigh-Jeans law of equipartition of the wave energy per degree of freedom. After the tsunami front has passed, the secondary-wave energy density turns out to be inversely proportional to the water depth.     

Tsunami observations in the open ocean

Deep-sea tsunami measurements play a major role in understanding the physics of tsunami wave generation and propagation, and in the creation of an effective tsunami warning system. The paper provides an overview of the history of tsunami recording in the open ocean from the beginning (about 50 years ago) to the present day. It describes modern tsunami monitoring systems, including the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART), innovative Japanese bottom cable projects, and the NEPTUNE-Canada geophysical bottom observatory. The specific peculiarities of seafloor longwave observations in the deep ocean are discussed and compared with those recorded in coastal regions. Tsunami detection in bottom presure observations is exemplified based on analysis of distant (22000 km) records of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami in the northeastern Pacific.     

Numerical Modeling of Sediment Mass Sliding and Tsunami Generation: The Case of February 7, 1963, in Corinth Gulf, Greece

Numerical modeling of a landslide process at the continental slope by taking into account slope parameters is performed for the tsunami event of February 7, 1963, reported in the Corinth Gulf, central Greece. A layered sediment structure was considered, and an initial external dynamic action at the landslide process was introduced. The results obtained were quite consistent with the observational runup data as well as with the results arrived at by conventional rigid-body and viscous-fluid models. However, this approach permits to describe in detail the formation of several wave groups and particular tsunami characteristics that are strongly dependent on the landslide model.     

Numerical Modeling of Sediment Mass Sliding and Tsunami Generation: The Case of February 7, 1963, in Corinth Gulf,Greece

Numerical modeling of a landslide process at the continental slope by taking into account slope parameters is performed for the tsunami event of February 7, 1963, reported in the Corinth Gulf, central Greece. A layered sediment structure was considered, and an initial external dynamic action at the landslide process was introduced. The results obtained were quite consistent with the observational runup data as well as with the results arrived at by conventional rigid-body and viscous-fluid models. However, this approach permits to describe in detail the formation of several wave groups and particular tsunami characteristics that are strongly dependent on the landslide model.     

Wave dispersion study for tsunami propagation in the Sea of Marmara

In this paper the aim is to investigate whether there are differences between the dispersion and non-dispersion solutions on tsunami propagation. For this purpose, two numerical models of tsunami propagation are compared. One of these numerical models is a nondispersive model that uses Saint Venant equations and the other is a dispersive model that uses Boussinesq equations. The tsunamis resulting from a submarine mass failure (SMF) which is settled at the bottom of the north eastern Sea of Marmara are examined. An analytical solution considering wave dispersion is developed for obtaining near-field tsunami amplitudes above the submarine mass failure. Numerical modeling is used at the sea surface from the common boundary called as liquid boundary with incident waves up to the coastal regions to get the tsunami amplitudes. The output of the analytical model is taken as the disturbances for the numerical method. In the numerical solutions TELEMAC-2D software system is used for both dispersive and nondispersive modeling. The results of the dispersive and nondispersive models are compared to each other. Both temporal and spatial differences in the amplitudes and wave shapes are examined. The obtained results demonstrate that there are no noticeable differences between the dispersion and non-dispersion solutions except some special cases and some special landslide velocities.     

深圳海域潮汐海啸波耦合数值研究

以COMCOT海啸模式和TPXO7.1全球潮汐模式为基础,采用三层嵌套网格,建立了南海海啸与潮汐耦合计算模型,分析深圳海域海啸和潮汐相互作用。潮汐计算结果与实测数据吻合较好,高、低潮位平均误差小于15 cm,20 cm;在潮汐验证的基础上,以马尼拉海沟潜在地震海啸源为案例,进行8.0,9.0级地震海啸与潮汐耦合情景模拟计算,计算结果表明,9级地震海啸在深圳海域外海波高为140~150 cm,如先行波为正波发生在高潮时将产生异常高潮位,负波发生在低潮时将产生异常低潮位,线性叠加计算结果偏大,在25.0 cm之内,到达时间差异小于6 min。     

Non-hydrostatic finite element model for coastal wave processes

This paper presents the application of the depth-integrated non-hydrostatic finite element model, CCHE2D-NHWAVE (Wei and Jia, 2014), for simulating several types of coastal wave processes. Specifically, the model is applied to (1) predict the swash zone hydrodynamics involving wave bore propagation, (2) resolve wave propagation, breaking, and overtopping in fringing reef environments, (3) study the vegetation effect on wave height reduction through both submerged and emergent vegetation zones using the drag force term technique, and (4) simulate tsunami wave breaking in the nearshore zone and inundation in the coastal area. Satisfactory agreement between numerical results and benchmark data shows that the non-hydrostatic model is capable of modeling a wide range of coastal wave processes. Furthermore, thanks to its simple numerical formulation, the non-hydrostatic model also demonstrates a better computation efficiency when comparing with other numerical models.     

COMCOT数值模式的介绍和应用

介绍了一个成熟的海啸数值模式-COMCOT模式.COMCOT模式是一个能够模拟海啸产生、传播和增水全过程的基于浅水波方程的有限差分模型.模型采用多层网格嵌套,根据海啸在不同区域的传播特点和要求,分别选用不同的分辨率和计算设置,从而兼顾了模式的精度和计算效率.利用此模式模拟了2006年12月26日台湾南部7.2级地震产生海啸波的传播情况,结果与两个潮位站的海啸波监测数据相吻合.     

Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)

The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not necessarily suggest a subduction process. We tested the hypothesized subduction of the Caribbean plate’s interior beneath the eastern Greater Antilles island arc using gravity modeling. Gravity models simulating a subduction process yield a regional mass deficit beneath the island arc independently of the geometry and depth of the subducted slab used in the models. This mass deficit results from sinking of the less dense Caribbean slab beneath the lithospheric mantle replacing denser mantle materials and suggests that there is not a subducted Caribbean plateau beneath the island arc. The geologically more realistic gravity model which would explain the N–S shortening observed in the upper crust requires an overthrusted Caribbean slab extending at least 60 km northward from the deformation front, a progressive increase in the thrusting angle from 8° to 30° reaching a maximum depth of 22 km beneath the insular slope. This new tectonic model for the Muertos Margin, defined as a retroarc thrusting, will help to assess the seismic and tsunami hazard in the region. The use of gravity modeling has provided targets for future wide-angle seismic surveys in the Muertos Margin.     

Construction of response operators to small external forcings for atmospheric general circulation models with time periodic right-hand sides

Fluctuation-dissipation relations make it possible to connect the response operators of system statistical characteristics to small external perturbations with the statistical characteristics of the unperturbed system (providing statistical stationary of the system). This gives a possibility to estimate the sensitivity of the system directly from modeling or observational data. The problem becomes much more complex if the right hand side of the system contains a component periodically dependent on time (as applied to the problems of modeling the atmosphere, this corresponds to the annual cycle regime experiments). Recently obtained generalized fluctuation-dissipation relations (see Majda and Wang, 2010 [11]) allow (at least theoretically) to construct response operators in the former case as well. In this work we formulate the algorithm for constructing an approximate response operator and test it numerically on the example of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) CAM3 atmospheric general circulation model.     

The Komandor seismic gap: Earthquake prediction and tsunami computation

The “seismic silence” period in the seismic gap in the region of the Komandor Islands (hereinafter, the Komandor seismic gap) is close to the duration of the maximal recurrence interval for the strongest earthquakes of the Aleutian Islands. This indicates the possibility of a strong earthquake occurring here in the nearest time. In the present work, the results of simulation for a tsunami from such an earthquake are presented. The scheme successfully used by the authors for the nearest analog—the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake—is applied. The magnitude of the supposed earthquake is assumed to be 9.0; the tsunamigenic source is about 650 km long and consists of 9 blocks. The parameters of the tsunami propagation in the Pacific Ocean and the characteristics of the waves on the coasts are computed for several possible scenarios of blocks’ motion. The spectral analysis of the obtained wave characteristics is made and the effects of the wave front interference are found. Simulation has shown that the wave heights at some coastal sites can reach 9 m and, thus, may cause considerable destruction and deaths.