On the modelling of tsunami generation and tsunami inundation

While the propagation of tsunamis is well understood and well simulated by numerical models, there are still a numberof unanswered questions related to the generation of tsunamis or the subsequent inundation. We review some of the basicgeneration mechanisms as well as their simulation. In particular, we present a simple and computationally inexpensivemodel that describes the seabed displacement during an underwater earthquake. This model is based on the finite faultsolution for the slip distribution under some assumptions on the kinematics of the rupturing process. We also consideran unusual source for tsunami generation: the sinking of a cruise ship. Then we review some aspects of tsunami run-up.In particular, we explain why the first wave of a tsunami is sometimes less devastating than the subsequent waves. Aresonance effect can boost the waves that come later. We also look at a particular feature of the 11 March 2011 tsunamiin Japan—the formation of macro-scale vortices—and show that these macro-scale vortices can be captured by thenonlinear shallow water equations

 

On the modelling of tsunami generation and tsunami inundation

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