Tsunami: a research perspective

Over the past several years, tsunami research has been growing strongly, stimulated by an increasing interest in extreme events amongst geologists and geographers and supported by improved levels of funding from both public and private sectors in a number of countries. These developments are timely, and should ultimately result in a better perspective than we might otherwise have had on the origins and nature of the Sumatra tsunami that resulted in the loss of so many lives. This account summarizes the origins of tsunami in general and outlines the terminology used before describing some recent developments in tsunami research.     

Tsunami bore runup

Nearshore behaviors of tsunamis, specifically those formed as a single uniform bore, are investigated experimentally in a laboratory environment. The transition process from tsunami bore to runup is described by the momentum exchange process between the bore and the small wedge-shaped water body along the shore: the bore front itself does not reach the shoreline directly, but the large bore mass pushes the small, initially quiescent water in front of it. The fluid motions near the runup water line appear to be complex. The complex flow pattern must be caused by irregularities involved in the driving bore and turbulence advected into the runup flow. Those experimental results suggest that the tsunami actions at the shoreline involve significant mean kinetic energy together with violent turbulence. Even though the behaviors of bore motion were found to be different from those predicted by the shallow-water wave theory, the maximum runup height appears to be predictable by the theory if the value of the initial runup velocity is modified (reduced). Besides the friction effect, this reduction of the initial runup velocity must be related to the transition process as well as the highly interacting three-dimensional runup motion.     

Tsunami Hazard and Risk in Canada

Tsunamis have occurred in Canada due to earthquakes, landslides, and a large chemical explosion. The Pacific coast is at greatest risk from tsunamis because of the high incidence of earthquakes and landslides in that region. The most destructive historical tsunamis, however, have been in Atlantic Canada – one in 1917 in Halifax Harbour, which was triggered by a catastrophic explosion on a munitions ship, and another in 1929 in Newfoundland, caused by an earthquake-triggered landslide at the edge of the Grand Banks. The tsunami risk along Canada's Arctic coast and along the shores of the Great Lakes is low in comparison to that of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Public awareness of tsunami hazard and risk in Canada is low because destructive tsunamis are rare events.     

Tsunami deposits in the geological record

A review is presented here of tsunami deposits in the geological record. It begins with a discussion of the relationships between the processes of tsunami generation and propagation and the sedimentary responses. This is followed by a consideration of the sedimentary processes associated with the passage of tsunami waves across coastlines. Attention is also given to the sedimentary processes associated with tsunami-triggered gravity backwash flows and comparisons are made with turbidity current action. We observe that despite sedimentary evidence for recent tsunamiites, geological research on ancient tsunamis has not identified stratigraphic units associated with onshore tsunami sedimentation. Equally, it is noted that nearly all published studies of sedimentary processes associated with modern tsunamis have not considered patterns of sediment transport and deposition in the offshore zone.     

The 1996 Sulawesi Tsunami

On 1 January, 1996 at 16:05 p.m. local time, an earthquake of magnitude M = 7.8 struck the central part of Sulawesi Island (Indonesia). It was accompanied by tsunami waves 2–4 m high. Nine people were killed and 63 were injured. A tsunami survey was conducted by Indonesian and Russian specialists. The measured tsunami runup heights and eyewitness accounts are reported and discussed. Historical data on the Sulawesi Island tsunamis are analysed and tsunami risk prediction in the central part of Sulawesi Island carried out for the first time.     

海啸和海啸沉积

综述海啸沉积特征,认为岸上细粒海啸沉积物具有以下特点:（1）地层层序上向上变细、减薄;（2）水流方向的重复反向（即重复的双向水流）;（3）含有撕裂的碎屑;（4）较差的分选性;（5）向陆地延伸更远;但将以上任何单一特征看成是海啸沉积的特征性依据都是不恰当的,需要将以上特征结合起来判断,才能作为海啸沉积的依据。而有关岸上巨砾的海啸或是风暴来源,至今仍争论不清,但较一致认为巨砾堤坝复合体是风暴成因。浅水碎屑海啸岩通常为夹在低能稳定状态的背景沉积粉砂—黏土层内的一套独特砂层,可以根据海啸能量的增加到衰减分为Tna—Tnd四个不同单元;而地震海啸岩通常具有震积岩—海啸岩的沉积序列;碳酸盐海啸岩则显示了与海啸入射流和回流相关的冲刷—充填结构。深海的海啸沉积作用机制仍然不清。尽管海啸传播阶段可以产生地中海A型均质岩,但深海海啸岩可能主要与海啸回流有关,如目前讨论最多的K—T撞击海啸岩。尽管目前的研究促进了对海啸的认识,但存在诸如海啸沉积机制仍然不明确,海啸沉积识别依然困难等许多问题,海啸沉积学的进一步发展将为解决这些问题提供坚实基础。     

Tsunamis and Tsunami Hazards in Central America

A tsunami catalogue for Central America is compiledcontaining 49 tsunamis for the period 1539–1996,thirty seven of them are in the Pacific and twelve inthe Caribbean. The number of known tsunamis increaseddramatically after the middle of the nineteenth century,since 43 events occurred between 1850 and 1996. This isprobably a consequence of the lack of populationliving near the coast in earlier times.The preliminary regionalization of the earthquakessources related to reported tsunamis shows that, inthe Pacific, most events were generated by theCocos-Caribbean Subduction Zone (CO-CA). At theCaribbean side, 5 events are related with the NorthAmerican-Caribbean Plate Boundary (NA-CA) and 7 withthe North Panama Deformed Belt (NPDB).There are ten local tsunamis with a specific damagereport, seven in the Pacific and the rest in theCaribbean. The total number of casualties due to localtsunamis is less than 455 but this number could behigher. The damages reported range from coastal andship damage to destruction of small towns, and theredoes not exist a quantification of them.A preliminary empirical estimation of tsunami hazardindicates that 43% of the large earthquakes (Ms 7.0) along the Pacific Coast of Central America and100% along the Caribbean, generate tsunamis. On thePacific, the Guatemala–Nicaragua coastal segment hasa 32% probability of generating tsunamis after largeearthquakes while the probability is 67% for theCosta Rica–Panama segment. Sixty population centers onthe Pacific Coast and 44 on the Caribbean are exposedto the impact of tsunamis. This estimation alsosuggests that areas with higher tsunami potential inthe Pacific are the coasts from Nicaragua to Guatemalaand Central Costa Rica; on the Caribbean side, Golfode Honduras Zone and the coasts of Panama and CostaRica have major hazard. Earthquakes of magnitudelarger than 7 with epicenters offshore or onshore(close to the coastline) could trigger tsunamis thatwould impact those zones.     

Geological Indicators of Large Tsunami in Australia

Tsunami waves can produce four general categories of depositional and erosional signatures that differentiate them from storm waves. Combinations of items from these categories uniquely define the impact of palaeo-tsunami on the coastal landscape. The largest palaeo-tsunami waves in Australia swept sediment across the continental shelf and obtained flow depths of 15–20 m at the coastline with velocities in excess of 10 m ^-1. In New South Wales, along the cliffs of Jervis Bay, waves reachedelevations of more than 80 m above sea-level with evidence of flow depths in excess of 10 m. These waves swept 10 km inland over the Shoalhaven delta. In northern Queensland, boulders more than 6 m in diameter and weighing 286 tonnes were tossed alongshore above cyclone storm wave limits inside the Great Barrier Reef. In Western Australia waves overrode and breached 60 m high hills up to 5 km inland. Shell debris and cobbles can be found within deposits mapped as dunes, 30 km inland. The array of signatures provide directional information about the origin of the tsunami and, when combined with radiocarbon dating, indicate thatat least one and maybe two catastrophic events have occurred during the last 1000 years along these three coasts. Only the West Australian coast hashistorically been affected by notable tsunami with maximum run-up elevations of 4–6 m. Palaeo-tsunami have been an order of magnitude greater than this. These palaeo-tsunami are produced most likely by large submarine slides on the continental slope or the impactof meteorites with the adjacent ocean.     

Japan's Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku or Sendai Earthquake ( Fig. 1 ) struck just off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan on 11 March 2011 making it the fourth largest earthquake to be recorded since 1900, and the largest Japanese earthquake since modern seismometers were developed 130 years ago. Despite the earthquake being much more powerful than had been expected from the subduction zone east of Honshu, the earthquake preparedness of Japan resulted in relatively little earthquake damage—despite the protracted shaking with ground accelerations up to three times that of gravity. However, it was the resulting 10–15 metre high tsunami waves that wreaked havoc along the coastal plain, resulting in a death toll in the tens of thousands and an on‐going drama at the Fukushima I nuclear power plant. Modern seismology has its origins in the analyses of the 1906 San Francisco and 1923 Great Kanto earthquakes. The 2011 Tohoku (or ‘northeast’) earthquake looks set to similarly significantly advance our understanding of earthquakes and tsunamis due to the unprecedented volume of seismic, GPS, tide gauge and video data available. There is much information to be gained on how large earthquakes rupture, how buildings behave under prolonged severe shaking and how tsunamis propagate.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Tohoku earthquake global displacement wavefield from IRIS. http://www.iris.edu/hq/files/iris_news/images/Sendai_RS.jpg     

Tsunami risk analysis for China

Historical data have been used in this paper, in particular that available on the tsunami history and the geological and seismological characteristics along the coasts of China. The nature and effects of both local tsunamis and tele-tsunamis on the coasts of China are analyzed. The coastal response of China to tsunamis is estimated theoretically, also. Finally, the tsunami risk for the coast of China is calculated and the zonation of preliminary tsunami hazard of China is mapped for three levels of hazardicity.     

Tsunami hazard assessment of Canada

We present a preliminary probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment of Canadian coastlines from local and far-field, earthquake, and large submarine landslide sources. Analyses involve published historical, palaeotsunami and palaeoseismic data, modelling, and empirical relations between fault area, earthquake magnitude, and tsunami run-up. The cumulative estimated tsunami hazard for potentially damaging run-up (≥1.5 m) of the outer Pacific coastline is ~40–80 % in 50 years, respectively one and two orders of magnitude greater than the outer Atlantic (~1–15 %) and the Arctic (<1 %). For larger run-up with significant damage potential (≥3 m), Pacific hazard is ~10–30 % in 50 years, again much larger than both the Atlantic (~1–5 %) and Arctic (<1 %). For outer Pacific coastlines, the ≥1.5 m run-up hazard is dominated by far-field subduction zones, but the probability of run-up ≥3 m is highest for local megathrust sources, particularly the Cascadia subduction zone; thrust sources further north are also significant, as illustrated by the 2012 Haida Gwaii event. For Juan de Fuca and Georgia Straits, the Cascadia megathrust dominates the hazard at both levels. Tsunami hazard on the Atlantic coastline is dominated by poorly constrained far-field subduction sources; a lesser hazard is posed by near-field continental slope failures similar to the 1929 Grand Banks event. Tsunami hazard on the Arctic coastline is poorly constrained, but is likely dominated by continental slope failures; a hypothetical earthquake source beneath the Mackenzie delta requires further study. We highlight areas susceptible to locally damaging landslide-generated tsunamis, but do not quantify the hazard.     

Tsunami ascending in rivers as an undular bore

At time of the 1983 Japan Sea tsunami, waves in the form of a bore ascended many rivers. In some cases, bores had the form of one initial wave with a train of smaller waves, and in other cases, such a wave train did not appear and only a step with a flat water surface behind was observed. In the present study, it is clarified that both undular-type and nonundular-type bores can be recognized as solutions of the KdV-Burger's equation which was introduced by Johnson in 1972. Numerically obtained analytical solutions and results of laboratory experiments are compared.     

Classification of Tsunami and Evacuation Areas

On March 11, 2011, a large earthquake that occurred offshore the north-east coast of Japan generated a large tsunami which devastated extensive areas of the Tohoku coastline. Despite Japan being considered a country well prepared for these types of disasters, large casualties were recorded, with numerous discussions amongst the Japanese coastal engineering community ensuing. As a result, two different levels of tsunamis have been proposed and now recognized in Japan, depending on the frequency of such extreme events. The idea that hard measures can protect the lives of inhabitants of coastal areas has been abandoned, and these measures are only considered to be effective in protecting properties against the more frequent but lower magnitude events. Soft measures should always be used to protect against the loss of lives, and to this respect, the authors of the paper propose the introduction of a Classification of Evacuation Areas, to show which of these should be prioritized by residents as they seek to evacuate.     

Distribution Functions of Tsunami Wave Heights

The problem of describing the distribution functions of tsunami wave heights is discussed. Data on runup heights obtained in field surveys of several tsunamis for the last decade are used to calculate the empirical distribution functions. It is shown that the log-normal distribution describes the observed data well. This means that the irregular topography and coastline are major factors which influence the height distribution. The power distribution related with the geometric decay of the propagated wave is a good approximation for one event (Sulawesi, January 1, 1996) only. Results of a numerical simulation of the tsunami event in the Japan (East) Sea on July 12, 1993 are presented. It is shown that the computed wave height distribution, obtained by using the runup correction in the framework of nonlinear shallow-water theory, is in good agreement with the observed height distribution. Simulations are used to study the transformation of the distribution function on different distances from the source.     

Tsunami sediments and their foraminiferal assemblages

Tsunami hazard assessment begins with a compilation of past events that have affected a specific location. Given the inherent limitations of historical archives, the geological record has the potential to provide an independent dataset useful for establishing a richer, chronologically deeper time series of past events. Recent geological studies of tsunami are helping to improve our understanding of the nature and character of tsunami sediments. Wherever possible, geologists should be working to improve the research ‘tool kit’ available to identify past tsunami events. Marine foraminifera (single celled heterotrophic protists) have often been reported as present within tsunami-deposited sediments but in reality, little information about environmental conditions, and by analogy, the tsunami that deposited them, has been reported even though foraminifera have an enormous capacity to provide meaningful palaeo-environmental data. Here, we review what foraminifera are, describe their basic form and significance, summarise where they have been reported in tsunami sediments and identify what can be learnt from them. We review the gaps in our understanding and make recommendations to assist researchers who examine foraminiferal assemblages in order to enhance their use within tsunami geology.