HR: 1340h
AN: S53A-1038    [Abstracts]
TI: Tsunami Simulations With Unstructured Grids in Support of a Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean
AU: * Harig, S
EM: sven.harig@awi.de
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AU: Chaeroni, C
AF: Coastal Dynamic Research Center BPPT, Jalan Grafika 2, Jogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia
AU: Androsov, A
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AU: Behrens, J
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AU: Braune, S
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AU: Mentrup, L
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AU: Schröter, J
AF: Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, Bremerhaven, 27570, Germany
AB: A Finite Element Model for simulations of Tsunami waves (TsunAWI) has been developed. It is part of the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS). Model results will be the main source for the prediction of arrival times and expected wave heights. The unstructured triangular grid has a relatively low resolution in the ocean interior (about 10 km) coastal regions however are very well resolved (up to 80 m). This flexibility allows for a good representation of the wave propagation in the deep ocean as well as inundation processes without the need of nesting different grids.
Numerical experiments simulating the Indian Ocean Tsunami generated by the earthquake of Dec. 26 in 2004 have been conducted. The role of the model bathymetry and topography (based on the GEBCO dataset as well as data from the SRTM satellite mission and ship cruises) has been investigated. The inundation obtained in the simulations were compared to field measurements as well as to satellite images of Banda Aceh region. Furthermore the results were compared to simulations of the same event by the finite difference model TUNAMI- N3 with three nested grids and resolutions ranging from 900 m in the coarsest grid to 90 m in the finest nested grid. It turned out that the two models coincide fairly well with respect to wave propagation and inundation. However in both approaches a good knowledge of topography and bathymetry especially in the near shore range turned out to be crucial for realistic results.
DE: 0550 Model verification and validation
DE: 0560 Numerical solutions (4255)
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling (0545, 0560)
DE: 4560 Surface waves and tides (1222)
DE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting