HR: 15:25h
AN: U13A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: Modeling of the 12/26/04 Indian Ocean Tsunami generation, propagation, and coastal impact. Integration of SEATOS Cruise and other geophysical data.
AU: * Grilli, S T
EM: grilli@oce.uri.edu
AF: Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882 United States
AU: Ioualalen, M
EM: Mansour.Ioualalen@geoazur.obs-vlfr.fr
AF: Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, "Geosciences Azur", Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche-sur-mer, La Darse, BP. 48, Villefranche-sur-mer, 06230 France
AU: Asavanant, J
EM: ajack@chula.ac.th
AF: Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330 Thailand
AU: Kirby, J T
EM: kirby@udel.edu
AF: Center for Applied Coastal Research, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 United States
AU: Shi, F
EM: fyshi@dune.coastal.udel.edu
AF: Center for Applied Coastal Research, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 United States
AU: Watts, P
EM: phil.watts@appliedfluids.com
AF: Applied Fluids Engineering, Inc., Private Mail Box #237 5710 E. 7th Street, Long Beach, CA 90803 United States
AU: Dias, F
EM: Frederic.Dias@cmla.ens-cachan.fr
AF: Ecole Normale Superieure, 61 av. du President Wilson, Cachan, 94235 France
AB: The 12/26/04 Indian Ocean tsunami is one of the most devastating tsunamis in recorded history and was generated by maybe the second largest earthquakes ever recorded. In addition to a disastrous human toll, the tsunami had a global impact, with seismicity and wave action documented around the world. Direct observations were made with seismometers, tide gages, buoys, GPS stations, and at least one satellite overpass (Jason 1). There were also many eyewitness observations. Estimates of the likely location and extension of the tsunami source area from tide gages (e.g., Lay et al. 2005), yielded a source area extending at least 600-800 km north of the epicenter. Following the event, many international teams of scientists conducted field studies and observed damage, runup, and inundation (e.g., Gusiakov, 2005; Harada, 2005; Yalciner et al., 2005). All of this data will help us both understand the tsunami event better and calibrate and validate numerical models of the event. In May 2005, we participated in an international scientific research cruise, to study some of the coastal impact of the tsunami in Thailand, and the seafloor in the area of the earthquake epicenter and largest tsunami generation: the Sumatra Earthquake And Tsunami Offshore Survey (SEATOS). Prior to this cruise, we had conducted initial modeling studies of the tsunami, using reasonable tsunami sources, based on available seismological and other information, and had compared runup results with some of the available observations at a few locations (Watts et al., 2005). The agreement was found reasonable. The model simulations were based on fully nonlinear and dispersive Boussinesq equations. Some of the observed features of the generated tsunami indeed clearly showed the importance of dispersive effects (e.g., Kulikov, 2005). More detailed modeling analyses and comparisons with data were conducted during the cruise, based on the new knowledge acquired. Additional modeling studies and comparisons with various field data have been conducted. The tsunami model was thus refined, both with respect to the tsunami generation (based on SEATOS' and other more recent data) and the resolution of tsunami propagation and runup in selected coastal areas, particularly near Phuket, Thailand. There, for instance, the initially used ETOPO topography has been replaced by more accurate digital data. We were thus able to better explain and understand some of the observed features of the event. This will hopefully help in better mitigating any such future disaster, using adequate warning systems and education of the local populations. We present a summary of our methodology and our recent progress and results. We give perspectives for further improving our modeling, in particular using a recently developed spherical Boussinesq model.
UR: http://www.oce.uri.edu/seatos_summary.pdf
DE: 0550 Model verification and validation
DE: 3025 Marine seismics (0935, 7294)
DE: 3075 Submarine tectonics and volcanism
DE: 4445 Nonlinear differential equations
DE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges
SC: Union [U]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005