The form of Tsunamis generated in coastal regions

The deep ocean waveform that results from a seismic event localized near a coastline is investigated using a simple model for the near-shore topography and the ground motion. It is found that the variable depth underlying the ground upthrust substantially enhances the distortion of the emerging Tsunami. An appropriate initial-value problem is solved numerically, from which an empirical formula is inferred that provides an approximate assessment of the deep ocean waveshape.