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.     

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.     

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。     

Tsunami Inundation Modelling for the Coast of Kerala,India

The disastrous tsunami of December 26, 2004, exposed the urgent need for implementing a tsunami warning system. One of the essential requirements of a tsunami warning system is the set up of tsunami inundation models which can predict inundation and run-up along a coastline for a given set of seismic parameters. The Tsunami Warning Centre and the State/District level Disaster Management Centres should have tsunami inundations maps for different scenarios of tsunami generation. In the event of a tsunamigenic earthquake, appropriate decisions on issue of warnings and/or evacuation of coastal population are made by referring to such maps. The nature of tsunami inundation and run-up along the Kerala coast for the 2004 Sumatra and 1945 Makran, and a hypothetical worst-case scenario are simulated using the TUNAMI N2 model and the results are presented in this paper. Further, scenarios of tsunami inundation arising out of possible rise in sea level as projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2001) are also simulated and analysed in the paper. For the study, three representative sectors of the Kerala coast including the Neendakara-Kayamkulam coast, which was the worst hit by the 2004 tsunami, are chosen. The results show that the southern locations and certain locations of central Kerala coast are more vulnerable for Sumatra when compared to Makran 1945 tsunami. From the results of numerical modelling for future scenarios it can be concluded that sea level rise can definitely make pronounced increase in inundation in some of the stretches where the backshore elevation is comparatively low.     

浙江沿海潜在区域地震海啸风险分析

采用COMCOT海啸模型建立三重网格模型模拟了2011年3月11日日本东北部9.0级地震引发的海啸发生、发展以及在我国东南沿海传播过程。震源附近浮标站以及浙江沿海的潮位站实测资料验证结果显示,大部分监测站首波到达时间和海啸波的计算值相差在15%以内,表明模型可较好的模拟海啸在计算域内的传播过程。研究表明日本南海海槽、冲绳海槽以及琉球海沟南部是影响浙江沿海主要的区域潜在震源,通过情景计算分别模拟3个潜在震源9.1级、8.0级和8.7级地震引发的海啸对浙江沿海的海啸风险,计算结果表明,海啸波产生后可在3~8h内传至浙江省沿岸,海啸波达1~3m,最大可达4m,此时浙江沿岸面临Ⅲ~Ⅳ级海啸风险,达到淹没至严重淹没等级。     

Correlation between the intensity of tsunami in the Black Sea and the magnitude of underwater earthquakes

We perform the analysis of tsunami waves in the shelf zone of the Crimean peninsula generated by underwater earthquakes whose epicentres are located near the lower boundary of the continental slope. For this purpose, we use a one-dimensional nonlinear dissipative numerical model of long waves. The investigated distributions of the depth of the basin correspond to four points of the south coast of the Crimean peninsula. We use the empirical dependences of parameters of the sources of tsunami waves on the magnitude of the earthquake obtained earlier for the Pacific Ocean. It is shown that the height, vertical climb, and duration of tsunami waves increase with the magnitude of the earthquake. For equal magnitudes of the earthquake, the highest tsunamis on the south coast of the Crimea are observed between Alushta and Yalta. We also deduced a generalized regression dependence of the height of tsunami waves near the coast on the magnitude of the earthquake. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

“3.11”日本地震海啸及南海和琉球群岛假想地震海啸对福建近海影响的数值模拟

福建地处西北太平洋沿岸,在环太平洋地震带附近,是海啸灾害潜在风险区.＂3.11＂日本地震海啸,福建沿岸验潮站就监测到其海啸波.利用CTSU地震海啸数值模式,模拟了＂3.11＂日本地震海啸对福建近海的影响,模拟结果与实况较吻合.同时,利用该数值模式模拟分析了可能来自于琉球群岛和南海附近海域的地震海啸对福建近海的影响,分析表明,如果在琉球群岛海域（28.0°N,129.0°E）发生8.8级地震,引发的海啸波将在4.5 h左右抵达福建北部海岸,最大海啸波幅可达2 m;如果在马尼拉海沟附近海域（17.5°N,119.0°E）发生8.8级地震,引发的海啸波将在4 h左右抵达福建南部海岸,最大海啸波幅可达3 m,均会给福建沿海地区带来灾害性影响.为此,本文亦针对性提出了防范地震海啸的一些措施与建议,为福建省海洋防灾减灾提供参考.     

Seismic and Meteorological Tsunami Contributions in the Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas Seiches of September 14, 1995

Seismic generated sea waves from the September 14, 1995, Mexico earthquake are favored over the waves generated by hurricane Ismael to be the cause of the increase in seiche amplitudes in Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas tide stations. The arguments are based on travel time computations from the seismic source and the moving meteorological source. A relatively sudden increase in seiche amplitudes is consistent with the arrival time of the seismic tsunami, and previously existent background is likely produced by incoming waves from the hurricane.     

Seismic and Meteorological Tsunami Contributions in the Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas Seiches of September 14, 1995

Seismic generated sea waves from the September 14, 1995, Mexico earthquake are favored over the waves generated by hurricane Ismael to be the cause of the increase in seiche amplitudes in Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas tide stations. The arguments are based on travel time computations from the seismic source and the moving meteorological source. A relatively sudden increase in seiche amplitudes is consistent with the arrival time of the seismic tsunami, and previously existent background is likely produced by incoming waves from the hurricane.     

Tsunami hazard and mitigation analysis for bathing beaches in China based on numerical simulations

Bathing beaches are usually the first to suffer disasters when tsunamis occur, owing to their proximity to the sea. Several large seismic fault zones are located off the coast of China. The impact of each tsunami scenario on Chinese bathing beaches is different. In this study, numerical models of the worst tsunami scenarios associated with seismic fault zones were considered to assess the tsunami hazard of bathing beaches in China. Numerical results show that tsunami waves from the Pacific Ocean could affect the East China Sea coast through gaps between the Ryukyu Islands. The Zhejiang and Shanghai coasts would be threatened by a tsunami from Ryukyu Trench, and the coasts of Hainan and Guangdong provinces would be threatened by a tsunami from the Manila Trench. The tsunami hazard associated with the Philippine Trench scenario needs particular attention. Owing to China’s offshore topography, the sequential order of tsunami arrival times to coastal provinces in several tsunami scenarios is almost the same. According to the tsunami hazard analysis results, Yalongwan Beach and eight other bathing beaches are at the highest hazard level. A high-resolution numerical calculation model was established to analyze the tsunami physical characteristics for the high-risk bathing beaches. To explore mitigating effects of a tsunami disaster, this study simulated tsunami propagation with the addition of seawalls. The experimental results show that the tsunami prevention seawalls constructed in an appropriate shallow water location have some effect on reducing tsunami hazard. Seawalls separated by a certain distance work even better. The analysis results can provide a scientific reference for subsequent preventive measures such as facility construction and evacuation.     

On the near-bottom pressure variations in the region of the 2003 Tokachi-Oki tsunami source

The Tokachi-Oki earthquake was the strongest seismic event in 2003. The tsunami caused by the earthquake reached a height of four meters at the northeastern coast of Hokkaido. The JAMSTEC successfully recorded the variations of the near-bottom pressure in the region of the tsunami source. An analysis of the data reveals low-frequency (～ 0.15 Hz) elastic vibrations of the water layer. Estimates of the amplitude, velocity, and duration of the bottom deformation at the tsunami source were obtained.     

海上丝绸之路海啸灾害危险分析

海上丝绸之路不仅是商业和贸易的通道, 也是东西方文化友谊的道路。2004年印度洋海啸对丝路沿线的多个沿海国家造成了重大破坏。因此需要对海啸发生规律和危害进行分析, 以确保海上丝绸之路上经济和文化交流的安全。为探索和识别海上丝绸之路上的海啸灾害, 本文给出了历史海啸事件的特征和规律。从震源震级、震源深度和水深等震源参数中发现了一些历史海啸数据背后的有用信息。本文还探讨了不同震级引起海啸的概率问题。分析结果表明：海上丝绸之路上的海啸主要发生在8个主要构造断层, 每个断层都有不同的海啸发生规律。在统计分析的基础上, 本文采用数值模型模拟了海上丝绸之路沿岸的潜在海啸,计算结果展示了海上丝绸之路沿岸的潜在海啸灾害程度。本文的研究成果有助于海啸灾害预警, 能够为保证海上丝绸之路贸易交流的安全提供科学参考。     

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.     

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.     

2017年9月8日墨西哥沿岸Mw8.2级地震海啸观测数据分析与模拟

2017年9月8日4时49分（UTC）,墨西哥瓦哈卡州沿岸海域（15.21°N,93.64°W）发生M_w8.2级地震,震源深度30 km。强震在该海域引发海啸,海啸对震源附近数百千米范围内造成了严重影响。位于太平洋上的多个海啸监测网络捕捉到了海啸信号并详细记录了此次海啸的传播过程。本文选用了近场2个DART浮标和6个验潮站的水位数据,通过潮汐调和分析和滤波分离出海啸信号,对近场海啸特征值进行了统计分析,并采用小波变换分析方法进一步分析了海啸的波频特征。基于Okada弹性位错理论断层模型计算得到了强震引发的海底形变分布,并采用MOST海啸模式对本次海啸事件近场传播特征进行了模拟,模拟结果与观测吻合较好。最后,基于实测和模拟结果,详细分析了此次地震海啸的近场分布特征,发现除受海啸源的强度和几何分布特征影响外,近岸海啸波还主要受地形特征控制,在与特定地形相互作用后波幅产生放大效应,会进一步加剧海啸造成的灾害。     

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.     

The Kuril Earthquakes and tsunamis of November 15, 2006, and January 13, 2007: Observations,analysis, and numerical modeling

Major earthquakes occurred in the region of the Central Kuril Islands on November 15, 2006 (M _w = 8.3) and January 13, 2007 (M _w = 8.1). These earthquakes generated strong tsunamis recorded throughout the entire Pacific Ocean. The first was the strongest trans-Pacific tsunami of the past 42 years (since the Alaska tsunami in 1964). The high probability of a strong earthquake (M _w ≥ 8.5) and associated destructive tsunami occurring in this region was predicted earlier. The most probable earthquake source region was investigated and possible scenarios for the tsunami generation were modeled. Investigations of the events that occurred on November 15, 2006, and January 13, 2007, enabled us to estimate the validity of the forecast and compare the parameters of the forecasted and observed earthquakes and tsunamis. In this paper, we discuss the concept of “seismic gaps,” which formed the basis for the forecast of these events, and put forward further assumptions about the expected seismic activity in the region. We investigate the efficiency of the tsunami warning services and estimate the statistical parameters for the observed tsunami waves that struck the Far Eastern coast of Russia and Northern Japan. The propagation and transformation of the 2006 and 2007 tsunamis are studied using numerical hydrodynamic modeling. The spatial characteristics of the two events are compared.     

An investigation of tsunami source mechanism off the coast of central Peru

The source mechanism of the tsunami generated by the earthquake of 17 October, 1966 off the coast of central Peru was inferred by studying the seismic and oceanic phenomena associated with this event. The seismic mechanism was deduced from geologic structure, seismic intensities, energy releases, spatial distribution of aftershocks, and fault-plane solutions. Using this information and empirical relationships of seismic parameters, the fault length, azimuthal orientation of the tsunamigenic area, and initial tsunami height, were obtained. From the tsunami arrival times at selected stations and from a reverse wave-refraction technique, the limits of the tsunami-generating area were estimated. Using these source dimensions, an estimate of the tsunami energy was obtained. The spatial distribution of aftershocks associated with the main earthquake and the earthquake strain-release pattern correlated well with known seismotectonic trends and the seismic-velocity structure anomalies which are characteristic of thrust fault systems at continent-ocean boundaries. The investigation revealed that the tsunamigenic area was on the continental shelf off Peru, northwest of Lima, in the western part of an active seismic belt between the Andean Mountain block and the Peru-Chile trench. This area is considered to be one of three distinct seismic zones in the Peruvian upper mantle and has been responsible for a number of tsunamigenic earthquakes within recorded history. The aftershock distribution and strain-release patterns suggest that the earthquake fault was a seaward extension of a fault system which has a pronounced surface expression in the Tertiary formations of the area near Ancon, Peru. The limits of the tectonic displacements and the tsunami-generating area were determined by a reverse wave-refraction method, refracting waves from Chimbote, Callao-Lima, San Juan, and Honolulu. The investigation revealed that the tsunami was generated by displacements of crustal blocks with a total area of 13,000 sq. km. Seismic and water motion data indicated that the uplifted portion of the crustal block was on the continental side of the rift. The energy of the main earthquake was estimated to be 1.122·10²³ ergs. The energy of the aftershocks was estimated to be 2.357·10²⁰ ergs. The tsunami energy was calculated to be 6.8·10¹⁹ ergs, or $\text{1}\text{1,650}$ of the earthquake energy.     

The tsunami hypothesis—comparisons of the field evidence against the effects, on the Western Australian coast, of some of the most powerful storms on Earth

The tsunami hypothesis proposes that prehistoric tsunamis may have been larger than historic ones along coasts normally (historically) not associated with major tsunamis. The evidence for the hypothesis rests with the types of unusual sedimentary deposits and erosional forms along coasts where the largest historic and prehistoric storm waves do not appear capable of forming the features. This is especially the case at locations where boundary conditions, i.e. offshore water depth, coastal geomorphology and meteorological limitations, are not conducive to the propagation of sufficiently large storm waves at the shore. The tsunami hypothesis has been barely debated in the literature. This is despite the view of some, who suggest that storms have been overlooked, or underestimated, as a cause. Few comparisons have been made of the supposed tsunami generated features and the impacts on coasts of extreme intensity storms. Four of the most powerful tropical cyclones anywhere in the world in recent times struck the Western Australian coast between 1999 and 2002. The results of post-event surveys of these storms showed that none of them produced the enigmatic forms attributed elsewhere to tsunamis.     

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.