Inundation Potentials Analysis for Tsao-Ling Landslide Lake Formed by Chi-Chi Earthquake in Taiwan

Without any omen, massive landslides induced by the Chi-Chi earthquake blocked up gorges of Ching-Shui creek, and produced a new landslide lake.Although emergency spillways have been constructed to prevent dam failures,overtopping and possible breaching may still occur due to excessive inflows in raining seasons. As a result, the downstream valleys will have serious inundation and the safety of people and properties will be in immediate danger. The purpose of this work is to simulate and to analyze the inundation potentials downstream of Tsao-Ling landslide lake using a hydrologic/hydraulic approach and GIS (Geographic Information System) technology. Hydrologic analysis is employed to describe regional rainfall-runoff characteristics andto design rainfall/runoff scenarios. One-dimensional dam break flood routings are performed with different return periods of rainfall events and dam failure durations for downstream creeks. The depletion hydrographs of dam break routings are applied into two-dimensional overland flow simulations for downstream lowlands. The results of hydraulic computations are evaluated with GIS maps for inundation potentials analysis, which can be usedto assist the planning of emergency response measures.     

Accuracy estimation of loading correction in gravity observation

To estimate the loading correction, the convolution integral of tidal height with gravity Green's function is usually adopted. Therefore, two kinds of error sources should be discussed, i.e. errors produced by different earth models and errors due to the inaccuracy of the cotidal maps. Thus, the effect of different earth models on tidal correction was estimated by using different loading Love numbers and gravity Green function obtained on the basis of two different earth models, G-B and 1066 model. We also calculated the error caused by Schwidersky's cotidal map, by assuming the error of average tidal height to be 5 cm in 1°×1° grids, but yet the effect coming from the errors of local cotidal maps had not been taken into consideration in this work. In carrying out this calculation, the results of tidal height errors in adjacent ocean around station, harmonic coefficient errors in open ocean and a truncation error are discussed respectively.     

Wave Refraction-Diffraction in the Presence of a Current

-Wave refraction-diffraction due to a large ocean structure and topography in the presence of a 'current are studied numerically. The mathematical model is the mild-slope equation developed by Kirby (1984). This equation is solved using a finite and boundary element method. The physical domain is devid-ed into two regions: a slowly varying topography region and a constant water depth region. For waves propagating in the constant water depth region, without current interfering, the mild- slope equation is then reduced to the Helmholtz equation which is solved by boundary element method. In varying topography region, this equation will be solved by finite element method. Conservation of mass and energy flux of the fluid between these two regions is required for composition of these two numerical methods. The numerical scheme proposed here is capable of dealing with water wave problems of different water depths with the main characters of these two methods.     

A parabolic equation extended to account for rapidly varying topography

In this paper, following the procedure outlined by Li (1994. An evolution equation for water waves. Coastal Engineering, 23, 227-242) and Hsu and Wen (2000. A study of using parabolic model to describe wave breaking and wide-angle wave incidence. Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 23(4), 515–527) and Hsu and Wen (2000) the extended refraction–diffraction equation is recasted into a time-dependent parabolic equation. This model, which includes higher-order bottom effect terms, is extended to account for a rapidly varying topography and wave energy dissipation in the surf zone. The importance of the higher-order bottom effect terms is examined in terms of the relative water depth. The present model was tested for wave reflection in a number of different environments, namely from a plane slope with different inclinations, from a patch of periodic ripples. The model was also tested for wave height distribution around a circular shoal and wave breaking on a barred beach. The comparison of predictions with other numerical models and experimental data show that the validity of the present model for describing wave propagation over a rapidly varying seabed is satisfactory.     

The discrete methods for free vibration analyses of an immersed beam carrying an eccentric tip mass with rotary inertia

In this paper, a beam without contact with water is called the “dry” beam and the one in contact with water is called the “wet” beam. For a partially (or completely) immersed uniform beam carrying an eccentric tip mass possessing rotary inertia, the conventional analytical (closed-form) solution is achieved by considering the inertial forces and moments of the tip mass and rotary inertia as the boundary conditions at the tip end of the beam. However, it has been found that the approximate solution for the last problem may be achieved by two techniques: Method 1 and Method 2. In Method 1, the basic concept is the same as the conventional analytical method; but in Method 2, the tip end of the beam is considered as a free end, while the inertial forces and moments induced by the tip mass and rotary inertia are considered as the external loads applied at the tip end of the beam. The main differences between the formulation of Method 1 and that of Method 2 are: In Method 1, the “normal” shapes of the “dry” beam are functions of the frequency-dependent boundary conditions but the external loads at the tip end are equal to zero; On the contrary, in Method 2, the “normal” mode shapes of the “dry” beam are determined based on the zero boundary conditions at the tip end of the beam but the external loads at the tip end due to the inertial effects of the tip mass and rotary inertia must be taken into consideration for the free vibration analysis of the “wet” beam. Numerical results reveal that the approximate solution obtained from Method 2 are very close to that from Method 1 if the tip mass moment of inertia is negligible. Besides, the two approximate solutions are also very close to the associated analytical (closed-form) solution or the finite element solution. In general, it is hoped that there exist several methods for tackling the same problem so that one may have more choices to incorporate with the specified cases. It is believed that the two approximate methods presented in this paper will be significant from this point of view.     

Reflection and diffraction of internal solitary waves by a circular island

We have investigated the reflection and diffraction of first-mode and second-mode solitary waves by an island, using a three-dimensional nonhydrostatic numerical model. The model domain consists of a circular island 15 km in diameter in an ocean 300 m deep. We use prescribed density anomalies in an initially motionless ocean to produce highly energetic internal solitary waves; their subsequent propagation is subject to island perturbations with and without the effect of earth’s rotation. In addition to reflected waves, two wave branches pass around the island and reconnect behind it. Island perturbations to the first-mode and second-mode waves are qualitatively similar, but the latter is more profound because of the longer contact time and, in the presence of earth’s rotation, the scale compatibility between Rossby radius of the second baroclinic mode and the island diameter. Without earth’s rotation, reflected and diffracted waves are symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis passing through the island center. With earth’s rotation, the current following the wave front veers to the right due to Coriolis deflection. For a westward propagating incoming wave, the deflection favors northward wave propagation in the region between the crossover point and the island, shifting the wave reconnection point behind the island northward. It also displaces the most visible part of the reflected waves to the southeast. In the presence of earth’s rotation, a second-mode incoming wave produces island-trapped internal Kelvin waves, which are visible after the passage of the wave front.     

An application of Miles' theory to Bragg scattering of water waves by doubly composite artificial bars

In the present paper, Miles' (1981) theory is implemented to derive formulae for describing the Bragg scattering of water waves for doubly composite artificial bars with different shapes, spacings, relative bar heights, relative bar footprint and the number of bars. The theory has clear advantage in estimating Bragg reflection coefficient for practical applications concerning coastal problems. Experiments of Bragg reflections over doubly composite rectangular artificial bars have also been performed in a wave flume. Key parameters that may lead to the optimal selection of a doubly composite artificial bar are studied. Theoretical solutions are seen to compare fairly well with the numerical computations and the laboratory experiments. Our simulated results reveal that the Bragg resonance for doubly composite artificial bars effectively increases the bandwidth of the reflection coefficient.