Spectra of the Black-Sea tsunamis

We perform the analysis of the time spectra of four tsunamis generated in the Black Sea by the earthquakes of 26.07.1927, 11.09.1927, 26.12.1939, and 12.07.1966. For the analysis of the spectra, we used digitized marigrams obtained for 12 points of the Black-Sea coast. The obtained spectra are, as a rule, multimode and have 1–4 spectral maxima. One maximum corresponds to the periods typical of tsunami waves and the other maxima correspond to the oscillations of the sea level with lower frequencies. It seems likely that the events of tsunami are accompanied by low-frequency oscillations of the level caused by the atmospheric forcing, seiches, or other factors. In numerous cases, the oscillations from the predominant energy range lie outside the characteristic range of periods of the tsunami waves. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 5, pp. 21–30, September–October, 2007.     

Specific Features of the Propagation of Tsunamis in the Northwest Part of the Black Sea

We perform the numerical analysis of the propagation of tsunamis in the Black Sea from the zones of seismic generation located to the south of the Crimea and in the northwest part of the sea. It is shown that the tsunamis induced by earthquakes in the Crimean seismic zone are entrapped by the nearest part of the shelf and do not result in noticeable oscillations of level in the northwest part of the sea. This enables us to explain the absence of manifestations of tsunamis in 1927, 1939, and 1966 near Odessa. The tsunami waves generated by earthquakes in the northwest part of the sea are characterized by the directivity of their propagation. The wave height is maximum in the areas corresponding to the north and east directions of propagation. Hence, the north coast of the sea and the Kalamit Bay (Crimean Peninsula) are characterized by elevated tsunami hazard for earthquakes occurring in the northwest part of the Black Sea. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 46–53, November–December, 2005.     

Run-Up of a Solitary Tsunami Wave on a Sloping Coast

Within the framework of the nonlinear theory of long waves, we perform the numerical analysis of the one-dimensional run-up of solitary tsunami waves upon a plane sloping coast. We study the dependences of the run-up heights on the parameters of waves at the entrance of the shelf zone and on the slope of the coast. The run-up heights of tsunami waves are estimated for the bottom topography typical of the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 11–18, July–August, 2005.     

The possibility of tsunami in the Sea of Okhotsk caused by deep-focus earthquakes

The earthquake that occurred on May 24, 2013, in the basin of the Sea of Okhotsk with a magnitude of 8.3 was the strongest in this region. We have modeled a possible tsunami caused by such an earthquake. The simulations confirm that the wave heights were sufficiently small because the earthquake epicenter depth was 640 km. We analyze the oscillations of the DART buoys in the vicinity of the earthquake source and show that they were not associated with the tsunami waves. Analysis of the available pressure gauge records at different points of the Sea of Okhotsk show that only in one case (Iturup Island) can the observed oscillations of the sea level with a height of approximately 4 cm be classified as tsunami waves.     

Evaluation of the Parameters of Tsunami Waves along the South Coast of the Crimean Peninsula

Within the framework of a nonlinear model of long waves, we present the estimates of the parameters of tsunami waves along the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula (from Cape Khersones to Cape Meganom) with a space resolution of 2.5 km. The numerical analysis is carried out for four typical positions of the elliptic zones of generation and the range of magnitudes 6.5–7.5. We study the space structure of waves and determine the amplitudes and periods of oscillations of the level at 11 points of the analyzed part of the coastline of the Black Sea. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 3, pp. 3 – 10, May–June, 2005.     

Numerical analysis of the propagation and amplification of tsunami waves of seismic generation in the Sea of Azov

The numerical analysis of the evolution of tsunamis is performed for the Sea of Azov. Our calculations are carried out on a grid with steps of 500 m, as applied to seaquakes with magnitudes within the range 6–7 for 18 circular zones of generation covering almost the entire water area of the sea. It is shown that the oscillations of the sea level in the form of cellular waves are formed as a result of the wave reflections from the coasts. Small areas of the elevated activity of waves are formed in the zones of irregularity of the coastline on the north coast of the sea and in the zones of shoals in the southeast part of the basin. On the basis of the determined values of extreme elevations and lowerings of the sea level, we can make a conclusion that the tsunami hazard is quite low for the coast of the Sea of Azov.     

Numerical analysis of the propagation and amplification of tsunami waves on the northwest shelf of the Black Sea

We perform the numerical analysis of the process of propagation of long waves in the northwest part of the Black Sea and consider ten possible zones of the seismic generation of tsunamis. The numerical analysis is performed on a grid with steps of 500 m. It is shown that the location of the tsunami source significantly affects the distribution of the heights of waves along the coast. As a rule, the most intense waves are formed in the closest part of the coast. The earthquakes in the South-Coast seismic zone do not lead to the formation of tsunamis in the west part of the sea. Only strong earthquakes in the northwest part of the sea can be responsible for noticeable oscillations of the Black-Sea level. The period of tsunamis near Odessa is close to 1 h and depends on the magnitude of the earthquake. In the region of Sevastopol, this period is 2--3 times smaller. In the major part of the coastal points, the extreme elevations and lowerings of the sea level do not exceed (in modulus) the initial displacements of the sea surface at the source of tsunamis. An intensification of waves emitted from the zones of generation located in the deeper part of the investigated region was observed for some parts of the Romanian coast and the west coast of Crimea. As the magnitude of the earthquake increases, the intensification of waves near the coast becomes more pronounced.     

Propagating tsunami wave and subsequent resonant response signals detected by HF radar in the Kii Channel,Japan

Signals from the tsunami waves induced by the March 11, 2011 moment magnitude (M_w) 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and from subsequent resonances were detected as radial velocity variability by a high-frequency ocean surface radar (HF radar) installed on the eastern coast of the Kii Channel, at a range of about 1000 km from the epicenter along the eastern to southern coasts of Honshu Island. A time–distance diagram of band-passed (9–200 min) radial velocity along the beam reveals that the tsunami waves propagated from the continental shelf slope to the inner channel as progressive waves for the first three waves, and then natural oscillations were excited by the waves; and that the direction of the tsunami wave propagation and the axis of the natural oscillations differed from that of the radar beam. In addition, spectral analyses of the radial velocities and sea surface heights obtained in the channel and on the continental shelf slope suggest complex natural oscillation modes excited by the tsunami waves.     

Reconstructing tsunami run-up from the characteristics of tsunami deposits on the Thai Andaman Coast

Tsunamis can leave deposits on the land surface they inundate. The characteristics of tsunami deposits can be used to calculate tsunami run-up height and velocity. This paper presents a reconstruction of tsunami run-up from tsunami deposit characteristics in a simple mathematical model. The model is modified and applied to reconstruct tsunami run-ups at Ao Kheuy beach and Khuk Khak beach, Phangnga province, Thailand. The input parameters are grain-size and maximum run-up distance of the sediment. The reconstructed run-up heights are 4.16–4.91 m at Ao Kheuy beach and 5.43–9.46 m at Khuk Khak beach. The estimated run-up velocities (maximum velocity) at the still water level are 12.78–19.21 m/s. In the area located 70–140 m inland to the end of run-up inundation, estimated mean run-up velocities decrease from approximately 1.93 m/s to 0 m/s. Reasonably good agreements are found between reconstructed and observed run-up heights. The tsunami run-up height and velocity can be used for risk assessment and coastal development programs in the tsunami affected area. The results show that the area from 0 to 140 m inland was flooded by high velocity run-ups and those run-up energies were dissipated mainly in this area. The area should be designated as either an area where settlement is not permitted or an area where effective protection is provided, for example with flood barriers or forest.     

How the tide influences dangerous level rises on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and adjacent areas in cases of tsunami and storm surges

A long-term sea level series were analyzed, recorded at 12 coastal tide gauges located on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific coast of the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. Estimates for the maximum heights of the tidal level, storm surges, and tsunamis were obtained separately, as well as for the rare recurrence of the total sea level height with the probability of these individual components superposition. The maximum total height of the sea level without a tsunami were obtained for the Magadan station, where the main factor is anomalously large tides, as well as for Iturup and Matua islands, where the highest storm surges were recorded. The minimum values were obtained for Ust’-Kamchatsk and Malokuril’sk (Shikotan Island) on different flanks of the study area. When a tsunami is included, the maximum values of possible total sea level rises were observed on the Pacific coast of the Kuril Ridge and the influence of tides and meteorologically induced oscillations are small. On the east coast of Kamchatka adjacent to the considered closed area, the role of tsunamis is much smaller. At the Kuril’sk station, where the height of the largest tsunami (Chilean, May 1960) was about a half the strongest surge height, the contribution of the tsunami scarcely affected the resulting estimates. As a rule, the contribution of a tsunami becomes significant at other stations on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk with a recurrence period of 100 years.     

How does multiscale modelling and inclusion of realistic palaeobathymetry affect numerical simulation of the Storegga Slide tsunami?

The ∼8.15 ka Storegga submarine slide was a large (∼3000 km³), tsunamigenic slide off the coast of Norway. The resulting tsunami had run-up heights of around 10–20 m on the Norwegian coast, over 12 m in Shetland, 3–6 m on the Scottish mainland coast and reached as far as Greenland. Accurate numerical simulations of Storegga require high spatial resolution near the coasts, particularly near tsunami run-up observations, and also in the slide region. However, as the computational domain must span the whole of the Norwegian-Greenland sea, employing uniformly high spatial resolution is computationally prohibitive. To overcome this problem, we present a multiscale numerical model of the Storegga slide-generated tsunami where spatial resolution varies from 500 m to 50 km across the entire Norwegian-Greenland sea domain to optimally resolve the slide region, important coastlines and bathymetric changes. We compare results from our multiscale model to previous results using constant-resolution models and show that accounting for changes in bathymetry since 8.15 ka, neglected in previous numerical studies of the Storegga slide-tsunami, improves the agreement between the model and inferred run-up heights in specific locations, especially in the Shetlands, where maximum run-up height increased from 8 m (modern bathymetry) to 13 m (palaeobathymetry). By tracking the Storegga tsunami as far south as the southern North sea, we also found that wave heights were high enough to inundate Doggerland, an island in the southern North Sea prior to sea level rise over the last 8 ka.     

Steepness and asymmetry of extreme waves and the highest waves in deep water

Traditional wave steepness s=H/L does not define steep asymmetric waves in a random sea uniquey. Three additional parameters characterising single zero-downcross waves in a time series are crest front steepness, vertical asymmetry factor and horizontal asymmetry factor. Results for steepness and asymmetry from zero-downcross analysis of wave data obtained from full scale measurements in deep water on the Norwegian continental shelf in 58 time series are presented. The analysis demonstrates clearly the asymmetry of both “extreme waves” and the highest waves. The period and height of the highest waves are also given together with their correlation to spectral parameters. The measured maximum wave heights are also compared with predicted values of maximum wave heights showing good agreement.     

Worst scenarios of tsunami effects along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt

Scenarios of tsunami effects represent a very useful technique for the definition and evaluation of tsunami hazard and risk for the Egyptian coast. This paper is an attempt to develop different worst scenarios of tsunamigenesis toward the Egyptian Coast for five segment localities along three different sub-regions (Hellenic Arc, Cyprean Arc and Levantine Coast) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These segments are the southwest Hellenic Arc, southeast Hellenic Arc, northeast Hellenic Arc, west of Cyprean Arc and Levantine. For each of them, the scenario takes into account a seismic fault capable of generating an earthquake with magnitude equal to or larger than the highest magnitude registered in that region in historical times. Then the ensuing tsunamis are simulated numerically, highlighting the basic features of the wave propagation and roughly identifying the coastal sectors that are expected to suffer the heaviest tsunami effects. The output data indicated that the first wave of tsunamis from different segments attacked the nearest reference localities (city located nearest each segment) along the Egyptian shore between 28 and 50 min after an earthquake. Tsunamis from these earthquake scenarios produced maximum run-up heights ranging from 1.7 to 9.4 m at the shore. A Beirut Thrust scenario (Levantine segment) included the fact that only a small portion of the fault extended out into the sea, leading to a small effective tsunami source area. In contrast, the southwest Hellenic Arc segment (as in the A.D. 365 earthquake) has high displacement (15 m) and a long extensional fault, forming a highly effective tsunami source area.     

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.     

The impact of sea level rise and climate change on inshore wave climate: A case study for East Anglia (UK)

In coastal areas, offshore wave propagation towards the shore is influenced by water depth variations, due to sea bed bathymetry, tides and surges. Considering implications of climate change both on atmospheric forcing and sea level rise, a simple methodology involving numerical modelling is implemented to compute inshore waves from 1960 to 2099. Simulations take into account five scenarios of linear sea level rise and one climatic scenario for storm surges and offshore waves. The methodology is applied to the East Anglia coast (UK). Extreme event analysis is performed to estimate climate change implication on inshore waves and the occurrence of extreme events. It is shown, for this coastal region, that wave statistics are sensitive to the trend in sea level rise, and that the climate change scenario leads to a significant increase of extreme wave heights in the northern part of the domain. For nearshore points, the increase of the mean sea level alters not only extreme wave heights but also the frequency of occurrence of extreme wave conditions.     

Extreme storms in 2006–2007 on Shikotan Island and their impact on the coastal relief and deposits

This paper describes the results of investigations of the consequences of the storms on the Pacific coast of Shikotan Island that occurred on October 7–10, 2006 and January 6–8, 2007. These storms and their impact on the coastal zone can be considered as extreme events for the last 40–50 years. The heights and flooding area of the storm surges within bay coasts of different types were measured. The coastal relief’s changes are described. During the storms, a cover of deposits was formed having a size of up to 30 m outside the beach zone and up to 52 m in the near-mouth zones. The grain-size composition of the storm deposits is analyzed and their difference from other coastal facies, including tsunami sands, are established.     

The 26 December 2004 Sumatra tsunami recorded on the coast of West Africa

Analysis of sea-level data obtained from the Atlantic Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS) sea-level station at Takoradi, Ghana, West Africa, clearly reveals a tsunami signal associated with the M_w = 9.3 Sumatra earthquake of 26 December 2004 in the Indian Ocean. The tsunami arrived at this location on 27 December 2004 at approximately 01:38 UTC (which is close to the expected tsunami arrival time at that site), after travelling for more than 24 hours. The first wave was negative (trough), in contrast with the South African stations where the first wave was mainly positive (crest). The dominant observed period at Takoradi was about 42 minutes. The maximum trough-to-crest wave height (41cm) was observed on 28 December at 00:15 UTC. There were two distinct tsunami 'bursts', separated in time by about 14 hours, the larger being the second burst. A small residual lowering of the sea level (～15cm) during the tsunami and for several days afterwards, and a delayed (～4.5 days) lowering of seawater temperature (up to ～4.5°C), was observed, possibly indicating the presence of internal waves through the Gulf of Guinea associated with propagating tsunami waves. The prominent tsunami signal found in the Takoradi record suggests that tsunami waves could also be found at other sites off the West African coast.     

2010 年智利和2011 年日本地震海啸在我国东南沿岸诱导的波流特征及危险性分析

本文基于有限断层模型和OKADA 位错模型计算海表变形场作为初始条件，利用MOST 海啸数值模型模拟分析了2010年智利和2011 年日本地震海啸在我国东南沿海地区的海啸传播特征，海啸波模拟结果与观测数据吻合较好。重点研究分析了沈家门港口海域的海啸波流特征及其诱导的涡旋结构。研究结果表明：尽管两次事件的海啸源位置及破裂特征完全不同，但海啸波流在我国东南沿岸的分布特征大致相似；另外相对于海啸波幅而言，港湾中海啸流具有更强的空间差异性，港口入口、岬角地形处和岛屿间水道中往往会有强流存在。尽管这两次越洋海啸均未能在我国东南沿海引发淹没情形，但通过数值计算发现局部均存在超过3 m/s 以上的强流，因此进行海啸预警及风险管理时应综合考虑海啸波流的影响。     

Typical fields of wind waves and swells in the Northern Pacific

Using all of the atmospheric patterns classified by Polyakova A.M., we accomplished calculations of the surface wind fields over the North Pacific for wind waves observable 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours after a storm and the swell waves observable 24, 48, and 72 hours after a storm. The considerable extension of the ocean creates quasi-unlimited speeding up of the wind waves during continuous strong winds (over 20 meters per second). This determines the presence of wide areas of highly developed wind waves with a 5% probability that the wave heights will exceed the 10–12 meter estimates. The swell waves decay faster: their height reduces by half in 24 h, while, in 72 h, they achieve the background level of the ocean’s swell waves.     

基于震级上限估计的渤海海啸危险性与共振特征研究

根据渤海区域地质断层特征和历史地震活动规律,分析得出渤海内潜在最大震级上限为8.1级,并对该海啸源可能的两组震源机制分别进行了数值模拟。模拟结果显示：渤海局部区域海啸波幅最大可达 1.5 m,最大流速可达2.8~3.0 m/s,具备造成灾害损失的风险。在该海啸源情景下,渤海海盆内易激发长期的水位自由振荡,部分区域水位振荡可持续 20 h以上,振荡波幅的大小与海啸首波波幅相当或更大。基于快速傅里叶变换方法对海啸波进行频谱分析,部分长周期频谱成分满足区域固有共振特征。因此,渤海内一旦发生海啸,不仅要关注海啸首波可能造成的灾害性影响,还要密切关注海啸首波到达后,可能产生的长时间、长周期的海啸波共振以及往复式海啸流造成的影响。