Comparative assessment of nonlinear static and dynamic methods for analysing building response under sequential earthquake and tsunami

This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of different dynamic and static approaches for assessing building performance under sequential earthquakes and tsunami. A 10-storey reinforced concrete seismically designed Japanese vertical evacuation structure is adopted as a case study for the investigation. The case study building is first assessed under sequential earthquake and tsunami nonlinear response history analyses: the first time this is done in the literature. The resulting engineering demand parameters are then compared with those obtained when the analysis procedure is systematically simplified by substituting different static approaches for the nonlinear response history analyses in both the earthquake and tsunami loading phases. Different unloading approaches are also tested for the cases when an earthquake pushover is adopted. The results show that an earthquake nonlinear response history analysis, followed by a transient free vibration and a tsunami variable depth pushover, provides the best alternative to full dynamic analyses in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency. This structural analysis combination is recommended and has the advantage that it does not require the tsunami inundation time history to be known in advance. The proposed double pushover approach is instead deemed only suitable for the collapse assessment of regular low to mid-rise buildings and for the development of collapse fragility functions. An important observation made is that sustained earthquake damage seems not to affect the tsunami resistance of the case study building when the fully dynamic analysis is carried out for the sequential loading. This observation will be the subject of future work.     

The effects of variable speeds of a submarine block slide on near-field tsunami amplitudes

In this study, the motion of a submarine block slide, with variable velocities, and its effects on the near-field tsunami amplitudes are investigated. The numerical results show that the amplitudes generated by the slide are almost the same as those created by its average velocity when , where is average velocity of the slide and is the long period tsunami velocity in ocean of constant depth h. In contrast, the kinematic model of the slide must take into account time variations in the moving velocity, if , especially when .     

Tsunami Hazard in the Eastern Mediterranean: Strong Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Corinth Gulf,Central Greece

The exhaustive review of a long number of historical documents, books, reports,scientific and press reports, instrumental recordings, previous catalogues andpersonal field observations, concluded with the production of a completely newtsunami catalogue for the Corinth Gulf, Central Greece, which is arranged in theformat adopted by the GITEC group for the new European Tsunami Catalogue.The catalogue is presented in three sections: the Quick-Look Table, the Quick-LookAccounts File and the References File. An Appendix explains why some particularsea disturbances were not included in the new catalogue although they were consideredas tsunami events by previous researchers. Past history clearly shows that most tsunamis in the Corinth Gulf are produced by strong (Ms 5.5) offshore and near shore earthquakes. However, seismic or aseismic sliding of coastal and submarine sediments is a significant factor in tsunamigenesis. Calculations based on the random model indicate that the probability for at least one tsunami occurrence of intensity TI 2 TI 3 and TI 4 within 50 years equals 0.851, 0.747 and 0.606, respectively. From the intensity–frequency relationship the mean return period of tsunami intensity TI 2, TI 3 and TI 4 equals to 16, 40 and 103 years. The tsunami geographicaldistribution, however, is non-random with a clear trend for the tsunamigenesis todecrease drastically from west to east within the Corinth Gulf. In fact, the probabilityfor a strong earthquake to cause a tsunami of TI 3 in the Corinth Gulf consideredas an entity is 0.35, while in the western part of the Gulf it goes up to 0.55. Therefore, the rapid and accurate determination of the earthquake focal parameters is of great importance in an algorithm of a real-time tsunami warning system in the Corinth Gulf.     

2011年3月11日日本地震海啸越洋传播及对中国影响的数值分析

北京时间2011年3月11日13时46分(05:46 UTC)日本东北部近海(38.3°N,142.4°E)发生Mw9.0级特大地震,此次地震的强度为日本近1200a来最强.随后环太平洋的数十个国家和地区的验潮站和海啸监测浮标均监测到了强震引发的越洋海啸,海啸奔袭23 h到达南美洲的智利沿岸;此次海啸除了对近场的日本东北部沿岸地区造成了巨大灾害,还对太平洋东岸的部分国家和地区造成了一定程度的影响.地震发生4 h后海啸波到达我国台湾东部沿海,6~8 h海啸波到达我国大陆东南沿海,受此影响我国发布了第一份海啸蓝色警报.本文利用海啸数值模型对此次地震海啸的产生、越洋传播过程进行了数值模拟,给出了海啸波能量在我国近海及泛太平洋区域分布特征;同时重点模拟分析了海啸波在日本及中国近海传播的波动特征,模拟结果与观测数据吻合良好.最后通过对数值模拟结果的分析,阐述了此次海啸对中国的影响,给出了潜在的日本地震海啸对中国的风险估计.     

日本宫崎县石卷平原海啸堆积物调查

2007年4月,为执行科技部科研院所社会公益课题 "中国沿海地区古海啸的定量研究",课题组部分成员访问了日本,并对日本东北地区宫崎县石卷海岸平原的海啸堆积物做了概略性的调查。2011年3月11日,该地区发生了9.0级大地震并引发海啸,造成了巨大的经济损失和人员伤亡。为了使人们对该地区过去的海啸历史有一个概略认识,并了解海啸堆积物的调查方法,对这次调查作一简要报道。这次调查揭示出3次海啸事件,最新一次发生在公元915年十和田火山喷发之前,对应于公元869年的贞观大海啸。     

Distinction between the Storegga tsunami and the holocene marine transgression in coastal basin deposits of western Norway

Many coastal lakes were inundated by both the Storegga tsunami (7000 ¹⁴C yr BP) and the mid-Holocene sea-level rise (the Tapes transgression) in western Norway. The tsunami eroded lake bottoms and deposited graded and/or massive beds of sand, rip-up clasts, and coarse plant material. By contrast, when the rising sea entered the lakes, it deposited only gyttja, silt and fine sand, without causing much erosion of the underlying lake sediments. Storegga tsunami deposits in some coastal lakes were interpreted previously as ordinary marine sediments from the Tapes transgression. Our reinterpretation of these deposits shows that the transgression maximum phase was reached after 6500 yr BP, more than 1000 yr later than previously inferred for the coast of Sunnmøre. The new data cannot be combined in a shoreline diagram without showing the 6000 yr BP and 7000 yr BP shorelines as slightly warped. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of tsunami waveforms for earthquake source study

Tsunami waveforms recorded on tide gauges, like seismic waves recorded on seismograms, can be used to study earthquake source processes. The tsunami propagation can be accurately evaluated, since bathymetry is much better known than seismic velocity structure in the Earth. Using waveform inversion techniques, we can estimate the spatial distribution of coseismic slip on the fault plane from tsunami waveforms. This method has been applied to several earthquakes around Japan. Two recent earthquakes, the 1968 Tokachi-oki and 1983 Japan Sea earthquakes, are examined for calibration purposes. Both events show nonuniform slip distributions very similar to those obtained from seismic wave analyses. The use of tsunami waveforms is more useful for the study of unusual or old earthquakes. The 1984 Torishima earthquake caused unusually large tsunamis for its earthquake size. Waveform modeling of this event shows that part of the abnormal size of this tsunami is due to the propagation effect along the shallow ridge system. For old earthquakes, many tide gauge records exist with quality comparable to modern records, while there are only a few good quality seismic records. The 1944 Tonankai and 1946 Nankaido earthquakes are examined as examples of old events, and slip distributions are obtained. Such estimates are possible only using tsunami records. Since tide-gauge records are available as far back as the 1850s, use of them will provide unique and important information on long-term global seismicity.     

日本南海海槽地震海啸对我国东海沿岸影响

本文利用数值模拟技术重现了1707年宝永地震海啸的传播过程,定量分析了我国东海沿岸海啸时空分布特征。计算结果表明,地震发生2.5小时后海啸波传至东海陆架,震后6小时浙江沿海地区遭到海啸的袭击,沿岸最大海啸波高为0.8米。通过海啸波在东海大陆架传播时海底地形与波幅的关系,研究分析了东海陆架缓变地形下海啸放大效应,为及时判断沿海可能的海啸强度和受灾程度提供了便捷的估算方法。此外,本文还评估了南海海槽发生极端地震时,中国东海沿岸的海啸危险性,为东海区域针对日本南海海槽进行海啸预警和减灾评估提供定量科学的参考。     

Tsunami backwash deposits with Chicxulub impact ejecta and dinosaur remains from the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary in the La Popa Basin,Mexico

The La Popa Basin in north‐eastern Mexico features outstanding, continuous three‐dimensional exposures of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary event deposit in shallow shelf environments pierced by salt stocks. In the area to the south‐east of the El Papalote diapir, the Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposit consists of two superimposed sedimentary units and erosively overlies upper Maastrichtian sand‐siltstones with soft‐sediment deformation and liquefaction structures. The basal unit 1 is an up to 8 m thick chaotic, carbonate‐rich bed that discontinuously fills incised gutters and channels. Besides abundant silicic and carbonate ejecta spherules from the Chicxulub impact, unit 1 includes large sandstone boulders and abundant shallow‐water debris (for example, mud clasts, algae, bivalve shells, gastropod shells and vertebrate remains). Unit 1 is conformably overlain by unit 2. Distal to the diapir, unit 2 consists of a centimetre to decimetre‐thick conglomeratic, coarse bioclast and spherule‐bearing sandstone bed. Closer to the diapir, unit 2 becomes a metre‐thick series of four to eight conglomeratic to fine‐grained graded sandstone beds rich in shell debris and ejecta spherules. Unit 2 is conformably overlain by structureless to parallel laminated sandstone beds that may mark the return to the pre‐event depositional regime. The sedimentary characteristics of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposit, including its erosive base, its sheet‐like geometry, the presence of multiple, graded beds, evidence for upper flow regime conditions and the absence of bioturbation, support an origin by a short‐term multiphase depositional event. The occurrence of soft‐sediment deformation structures (for example, liquefaction) below the Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposit suggests that earthquakes were the first to occur at La Popa. Then, shelf collapse and strong backflow from the first tsunami waves may have triggered erosion and deposition by violent ejecta‐rich hyperconcentrated density flows (unit 1). Subsequently, a series of concentrated density flows resulting from tsunami backwash surges may have deposited the multiple‐graded bedding structures of unit 2. The specific depositional sequence and the Fe‐Mg‐rich as well as Si‐K‐rich composition of the ejecta spherules both provide a critical link to the well‐known deep marine Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary sites in the adjacent Burgos basin in north‐eastern Mexico. Moreover, the pulse‐like input of Chicxulub ejecta material at the base of the event deposit allows for correlation with other Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary sites in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, as well as in Central and Northern America. The presence of diverse dinosaur and mosasur bones and teeth in the event deposit is the first observation of such remains together with Chicxulub ejecta material. These findings indicate that dinosaurs lived in the area during the latest Maastrichtian and suggest that the tsunami waves not only eroded deltas and estuaries but the coastal plain as well.     

Sedimentary fabric characterized by X-ray tomography: A case-study from tsunami deposits on the Marquesas Islands,French Polynesia

X-ray tomography is used to analyse the grain size and sedimentary fabric of two tsunami deposits in the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean) which are particularly exposed to trans-Pacific tsunamis. One site is located on the southern coast of Nuku Hiva Island (Hooumi) and the other one is on the southern coast of Hiva Oa Island (Tahauku). Results are compared with other techniques such as two-dimensional image analysis on bulk samples (particle analyser) and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility. The sedimentary fabric is characterized through three-dimensional stacks of horizontal slices (following a vertical step of 2·5 mm along the cores), while grain-size distribution is estimated from two-dimensional vertical slices (following a step of 2 mm). Four types of fabric are distinguished: (a) moderate to high angle (15 to 75°); (b) bimodal low-angle (<15°); (c) low to high angle with at least two different orientations; and (d) dispersed fabric. The fabric geometry in a tsunami deposit is not only controlled by the characteristics of the flow itself (current strength, flow regime, etc.) but also sediment concentration, deposition rate and grain-size distribution. There is a notable correlation between unimodal high-angle fabric – type (a) – and finely-skewed grain-size distribution. The two tsunami deposits studied represent two different scenarios of inundation. As demonstrated here, X-ray tomography is an essential method for characterizing past tsunamis from their deposits. The method can be applied to many other types of sediments and sedimentary rocks.