1

TSUNAMIS OF SEISMIC ORIGIN

-Science, Disasters and Mitigation-
N. SHUTO
Faculty of Policy Studies, Iwate Prefectural University
Iwate 020-019, !a"an
Abstract
Present knowledge of tsunamis are reviewed and discussed. The tsunami generation
mechanism is not yet fully understood. Theories are examined in relation to observed
tsunami henomena. !onditions to be satisfied in numerical simulation are summari"ed. #n
addition to loss of human lives$ several disasters are tabulated. %efense works including
coastal structures$ city lanning and revention systems are briefly introduced. Three
sub&ects in urgent needs are the dee'sea measurement of tsunamis$ transfer of tsunami
knowledge and strengthening of coastal cities against tsunamis.
1. Introduction
Since ()*+,s$ tsunami science and technology have been develoing remarkably$ assisted
by the rogress of seismology and comuter science. #n ())+,s$ more than ten disastrous
tsunamis occurred in the Pacific. #nternational cooeration is successfully established to
survey tsunami heights and to understand the tsunamis.
#n the resent aer$ the knowledge commonly used in these works is reviewed and the
roblems to be solved in the near future are discussed.
-. !. .al/0ner$ 1. Pelinovsky$ 1. Okal$ !. 1. Synolakis 2eds.3$
Submarine 4andslides and Tsunamis ('5.
67++8 9luwer -cademic Publishers. Printed in Netherlands
2. Science of Tsunamis
7.( :1N1;-T#ON O< TSUN-=#S
Since Thucydides$ a :reek historian$ recogni"ed in >7? @! that a tsunami on 1uboea
#sland was the result of an earthAuake$ many tsunamis were generated and recorded in the
world. !auses are submarine earthAuakes$ landslides$ and volcanic action.
The most of causes are submarine earthAuakes. Not the ground shaking but the vertical
sea'bottom deformation generates a tsunami. The greater an earthAuake is$ the larger the
vertical dislacement is and conseAuently the greater tsunami is generated. This rule is
alicable to the ordinary tsunamigenic earthAuake with a serious excetion$ tsunami'
earthAuake. Since the Nicaraguan tsunami in Setember ())7$ more than ten tsunamis gave
damages in the Pacific. Three of them were tsunami'earthAuakes.
#n the ()*+,s$ the method to determine the tsunami initial rofile generated by
submarine earthAuake was develoed. #n ()*($ =ansinha and Smylie B(C roosed a
method to estimate sea bottom dislacement caused by an earthAuake if fault arameters
were given. 4ater B7C gave a more comlete set of analytic formulas to comute the surface
dislacement due to a fault laced in an elastic homogeneous half'sace. #n ()*>$
9anamori and !ier B8C oened the way to calculate fault arameters from seismic records
with the aid of the advancing high'seed comuter$ by using the ()?+ !hilean earthAuake
as an examle. !ombined these two$ the final dislacement caused by an earthAuake$ i.e.
the initial tsunami rofile$ can be estimated. This method has been most oularly used
since then. Sometimes$ however$ the tsunami initial rofile thus determined cannot satisfy
the tsunami energy distribution measured along the shoreline. This difference may be due
to heterogeneity of fault movement$ existence of sub'faults$ dynamic movement of fault$ or
so on.
There is only one examle of the measured tsunami rofile. Plafker B>C determined the
vertical dislacement caused by the ()?> :reat -laska earthAuake$ by dislacement on
islands and by comarison with a re'earthAuake toograhy. -long the direction of the
short axis of the deformation area$ the tsunami initial wave is about >D+ km long with one
trough and one crest. The wave height is ? m. This long wave is considered to correlate
with the ma&or energy of the earthAuake and is$ therefore$ estimated from the fault
arameters. Near its crest$ a shar rise was found. This rise about ? m high and 8+ km wide
at its base$ although its contribution to tsunami height is aarently imortant$ can not be
estimated from seismic information. This rise may be caused by a sub'fault.
These short wave comonents are not imortant in case of a far'field tsunami.
1ntraed and scattered by islands and seamounts on the route of roagation$ their
systematic wavy shae will be lost. Only long eriod comonents can arrive at distant
shores$ not disturbed so much by toograhy along the ath.
#n case of a near'field tsunami$ short eriod comonents that are not estimated from
seismic information are very imortant and are considered to be the ma&or reason of the
discreancy between the measured tsunami heights on the shore and the comuted. #t is
often noticed that the initial tsunami rofile based uon fault arameters should be made
nearly double in order to exlain the measured tsunami traces.
2
The mechanism of tsunami earthAuake is not yet clearly understood. <ukao BDC
exlained two tsunami earthAuakes at the 9urile Trench by sub'faults in the thick
sedimentary wedge at the leading edge of the continental lithoshere. Tanioka et al. B?C
consider that tsunami earthAuakes at the Eaan Trench are the result of the horst and graben
structures of sea bottom$ which gives the scattered contact "ones in the subducted
sediments along the interlate boundary.
The generation mechanism by other causes is not yet clearly understood$ although many
researchers have been studying.
7.7 P;OP-:-T#ON -N% ;UN'UP
- ma&or tsunami in the ocean is several tens kilometres long and several meters high. #t is
long and small comared to the ocean deth of several kilometres. The linear long' wave
theory is successfully alicable if the travel distance is not long.
<or a long travel$ e.g. over the Pacific Ocean$ other consideration is reAuired.
<irstly$ the eAuations should be described with the sherical co'ordinate system$
because the earth is a shere. Secondly$ the !oriolis term should not be missed. Thirdly$
the freAuency disersion term of the first order aroximation should be included$ if the
9a&iura arameter relating to the dimension of the source$ the travel distance and the water
deth is smaller than > B*C. Under these conditions$ the linear @oussinesA eAuation is often
used.
-roaching the shore$ the wave height increases and the water deth decreases. Then$
non'linear characteristics of water motion reAuire the shallow'water theory including the
bottom friction term$ in which the amlitude disersion term becomes imortant. The
boundary between the linear long'wave theory and the shallow'water theory is
aroximately the water deth of 7++ m.
-roaching further the shore$ a tsunami shows many faces in relation to water deth$
bottom sloe$ wave height and wave length. #f a tsunami is like a raid tide without
breaking front$ the shallow'water theory is successfully alied. #f a tsunami with breaking
front comes nearly normally to the shore$ the shallow'water theory is also alicable if the
tsunami runu height is the ma&or concern. #f a tsunami with breaking front runs along the
shore as an edge bore that follows sometimes the ordinary refraction law deending uon
the water deth but sometimes roagates neglecting the law$ there is no theory alicable
at resent. - hydraulic exeriment revealed that a slight change in the side boundary
condition resulted in a big change in waveform B5C. <or a tsunami with an undular'bore
front$ higher order disersion terms are reAuired. The @oussinesA eAuation$ Peregrine
eAuation or :oto eAuation should be used in accordance with the strength of non'linearity.
@ut accuracy and limit of these eAuations are not yet well determined.
Tsunamis finally run u and down the shore. Since eAuations in the 1ulerian descrition
cannot exress the front condition$ aroximate moving boundary conditions are
introduced. <or ordinary toograhy on land where the sloe is gentle$ the shallow'water
theory in which the vertical acceleration is neglected is alicable. #n the rare cases of very
stee sloe$ the vertical acceleration of water flow becomes non'negligible and other
eAuations than the shallow'water eAuations are reAuired.
Tsunamis run u on land and leave sediments as a roof of their existence. =any
aleotsunamis were excavated. No work succeeded until now to exlain the magnitude and
movement of aleotsunamis from sediment samles.
3
7.8 %1S#:N O< NU=1;#!-4 S#=U4-T#ON
%ifference eAuations are not the original differential eAuations but are the aroximate
eAuations of the latter. Numerical errors are inevitable. Fhen difference eAuations are
solved$ several conditions should be satisfied to ensure the accuracy of the results and the
stability of comutation. #n addition to the !<4 condition that is reAuired for the wave
eAuation$ several other conditions should be satisfied.
#n case of the leafrog scheme used in <%= comutation$ more than 7+ satial grids are
reAuired within one local wavelength. =ore than D+ satial grids are necessary at the front
of runu waves$ if an aroximate moving boundary condition is used B)C. :rid lengths
should exress well tsunami diffraction and refraction due to local toograhy. There is no
criterion to design satial length in relation to toograhy$ although several attemts are
made.
#n case of other schemes$ e.g. <1=$ numerical inaccuracy due to truncation error should
be examined well.
There are two crucial factors in the due evaluation of the computed results. The first one
is the initial condition and the second the sea bottom topography. An initial profile
constructed from seismic data always requires, particularly in case of a near-field tsunami,
some adjustment as described in 2.1. The sea bottom topography that governs refraction
then determines the path and convergence of tsunami, is not always precise data. The most
popular sea bottom topography is the chart, the main purpose of which is to ensure the
route of navigation. The area far from the route is sparsely measured and imprecisely
determined by interpolation. This method often misses sea topography imortant in
refraction.
#$%&' 1( )inds, ty"es and causes of tsuna*i disaster
Human 4ives
%rowned. @uried by sands. #n&ured hit by debris etc. %isease caused by swallowing alien substances
during drifting.
Houses
Fashed away. %estroyed. <looded. @urnt.
!oastal Structures
Toe erosion$ dislacement and overturning of sea walls$ sea dikes$ breakwaters and Auay walls.
Scattering and subsidence of concrete blocks.
Traffics
;ailway 1rosion of embankments.
%islacement of rails and bridges. ;ails buried by sands.
Highway %islacement and falling down of bridges.
Overturning of bridge abutment by scouring.
1rosion of embankment.
!losure of traffic by debris on roads.
Harbour !hange in water deth 2erosion and deosition3
!losure of ort area due to transorted debris and cars.
!losure of ort entrance by fishing gears washed'away.
!ollision of shis in harbour.
4ifelines
Fater sulies %estruction of hydrants by collision of debris.
1lectricity Overturning and washed'away of electric oles.
Power lants flooded.
Telehone %amage to telehone lines and oles.
!ut'off of underground telehone line at the &unction to the aerial lines.
Submergence of telehone receivers.
<ishery
4
%amage to fishing boats.
%estruction and loss of rafts$ fishes and shells in aAuaculture.
4oss of fishing nets and other fishing gears.
!ommerce
%ereciation of goods by submergence.
-griculture
Physiological damage to cros due to submergence.
%amage to farms buried by sands.
!losure of irrigation channels filled by sands and debris.
<orest
Physical damage 2breaking and overturning of trees3. Soil erosion.
Physiological damage by seawater and sands.
Oil sill
1nvironmental ollution.
Sread of fires.
<ire 2causes3
9itchen fire. Heating. 1ngine room of fishing boats. Submerged batteries of fishing boats.
!ollision to gasoline tanks. 1lectricity short circuit caused by seawater.
The validation of the comuted results$ i.e.$ tsunami height$ is done by comaring them
with the tide records and tsunami trace data. Some tye of tide gauge has hydraulic filtering
effect that reduces short'eriod comonents B(+C. Tsunami trace data are often biased
because many surveyors are attracted to measure only high values.
There is no attemt to validate the comuted velocity$ wave rofile$ wave forces and so
on$ excet one B((C.
5
. !isasters
8.( 9#N%S O< %#S-ST1;
Table ( summari"es disasters caused by tsunamis$ collected from documents in the ast.
%etailed analysis is carried out in relation to tsunami intensity B(7$ (8C.
4oss of human lives deends much uon the action of eole on and near the shore
when an earthAuake occurs. Once caught by a water flow even as thin as *+cm$ a erson
may be swallowed to drown$ because the current velocity is Auite strong.
Fooden houses are weak. On an average$ a wooden house is comletely destroyed if
the tsunami height above ground exceeds 7 meters. ;einforced concrete buildings are
strong. -ccording to records$ every reinforced'concrete buildings were not damaged excet
for windows and gates and were resistant enough to rotect weak wooden houses behind
them. %estructive force is not only the tsunami force but also imact of lumbers$ fishing
boats and houses transorted by tsunamis. #mact force of one lumber is formulated by
hydraulic exeriments B(>C.
%amage to fishing boats moored andGor laced near the shoreline begins with the
tsunami height of 7 m. #f a shi or a boat meet a tsunami on the sea deeer than 7++ meters$
they are safe because of small tsunami height and gentle tsunami front sloe. =any
fishermen want to bring their boats to the dee sea when a tsunami warning is issued. This
action may lead them to the very dangerous situation that boats get aground by tsunami ebb
near shore and get turned by the next flood before they arrive at the safe lace.
Hiolent currents induced by tsunamis are the cause of erosion and deosition. Not only
local scouring at the toe of coastal structures but also toograhical change of large scale
often occurs. No one has ever succeeded to numerically simulate these toograhical
changes$ artially due to the inaccuracy of comuted currents and artially due to the lack
of knowledge about the movement of sediment under tsunami effect.
8.7 TSUN-=#$ O#4 -N% <#;1
1ven in olden days$ tsunami'related fires occurred. -t night on Eanuary 7*$ (*++$ a tsunami
suddenly hit the village of =iyako$ Sanriku !oast$ Eaan$ with no recedent earthAuake. -
fire started from overturned houses and about >+ houses were burnt. The tsunami was
generated at the !ascade subduction "one off the western coast of US-.
#n the future$ the most ha"ardous effect will be given to the coastal industrial areas by
the combination of tsunami$ oil and fire. #f an earthAuake or a tsunami damages oil tanks$
and if the oil sread by the tsunami catches fire$ or if the burning oil is transorted by the
tsunami$ the result is devastating. There were five examlesI three in -laska$ US-$ one in
!alifornia$ US-$ and one in Niigata$ Eaan. -ll of them occurred in ()?>. Sread of oil can
be numerically simulated$ if eAuations for movement of oil are simultaneously solved with
eAuations for tsunami B(DC. -n emirical formula is roosed to estimate the si"e of the
burnt area in terms of the volume of stored oil B(?C.
". Miti#ation of Tsunami $a%ards
>.( !O-ST-4 ST;U!TU;1S
Tsunami countermeasures consist of three arts from hard wares to softwareI structures$
city lanning and systems.
6
Sea walls and coastal dikes are the tyical defense structures. They are effective if the
tsunami height is lower than their crown height$ or a slightly higher 2may be$ D+ cm or (
m3. #f the tsunami height is higher by more than D m$ they do not work at all B(*C.
Tsunami breakwaters are constructed at the mouth of a bay where the water is dee$ in
order to limit the water discharge into the bay. Since they are exensive$ only a few are
constructed.
- tsunami gate at the river mouth stos the tsunami invasion into the river$ in lace of
heightening long river embankments.
!oastal forests are also one of defense structures. - well'designed coastal forest of the
Eaanese red'ine trees works well to sto boats and other floated debris if the tsunami
height above ground is smaller then 8 meters B(7C.
>.7 !#T. P4-NN#N:
The ma&or items in the city lanning are movement of residences to Jtsunami'freeK high
ground and establishment of the tsunami'resistant building "one near the shoreline.
Since olden days$ the movement of residence to high ground is one of the most effective
methods in tsunami defense work. The highest tsunami runu measured andGor comuted
for the biggest tsunami in the ast is usually used to determine the tsunami'flooded area.
;ecently in Eaan$ tsunamis that may be generated by the largest earthAuake exected from
seismo'tectonics are also taken into consideration. The tsunami'free high ground is outside
of the area thus determined.
#n many documents and after'tsunami survey reorts$ it is recorded that reinforced'
concrete buildings are strong enough to resist tsunami force. Only one excetion is a
lighthouse that was hit by the ()>? -leutian tsunami 7+ m high above ground. #f the
tsunami height above ground is less than D m$ all the buildings can withstand B(7C. This fact
leads to the idea of the tsunami'resistant building "one that cannot erfectly sto the
tsunami water intrusion but is exected to sto more dangerous floated materials.
#n the coastal industrial area$ fishing harbor and leisure boats anchorage$ storage tanks
of inflammable materials should be carefully located and rotected against tsunami effects.
>.8 TSUN-=# P;1H1NT#ON S.ST1=S
#n addition to structures and city lanning$ software should be taken into consideration to
comlete the tsunami defense work. The tsunami revention system consists of forecasting$
warning$ evacuation$ ublic education$ drills$ inheritance of disaster culture$ and the relief
oeration after disaster.
The last way to save human lives is an early evacuation based on the forecasting and
warning. -n earthAuake that makes you unable to stand by yourself on a beach is a natural
warning of a tsunami. 4eave the beach as soon as ossible and climb u to a ground higher
than 7+ m. This is the rule to save the lives from the danger of the near'field tsunami
generated by tsunamigenic earthAuake. -nother rule is Ja loud booming noise could mean a
tsunami is coming.K This noise may be generated by the breaking front of a tsunami higher
than 7.D meters B(8C.
=any countries have their own tsunami forecasting and warning systems. =ost of them
use the emirical relationshis between earthAuake magnitude and tsunami magnitude for
tsunamigenic earthAuakes. The forecasting system in <rench Polynesia uses the mantle
magnitude and is effective for a tsunami earthAuake$ too.
7
#n -ril ()))$ the Eaan =eteorological -gency renewed its forecasting system based
uon numerical simulation for nearly (++$+++ cases. This is also for tsunamigenic
earthAuakes. ;ecords of broadband seismograhs are used to make the correction for a
tsunami earthAuake.
The ublic education is the crucial key to save human lives. #t is very rare for any
erson to exerience lural large tsunamis in his life. #f a erson has a simle knowledge
that a tsunami will come after an earthAuake$ and if he behaves wisely to climb u to high
ground$ he will be saved. This knowledge should be transferred to the future generation and
to coastal residents in every tsunami'risk areas. The most difficult is to find an effective
way to continue this knowledge for several tens or hundreds years.
&. Conc'udin# Remar(s
The most urgent sub&ect in research as well as in ractical alication is the imrovement
of the method to determine tsunami initial rofiles with seismic data alone. #n order to
solve this roblem$ we need observation networks in the ocean. Ocean'bottom
seismograhs near tsunami sources are indisensable to understand the details of fault
movements. %ee'ocean tsunami gauges will catch tsunamis at or &ust after their birth. New
technologies such as satellite hotometry are desirable to obtain a lan of tsunami rofile.
Fith these data$ a further develoment in tsunami research becomes ossible.
The second is the continuation of tsunami knowledge to future generation as well as the
transfer of it to those who live in tsunami'risk areas but have no clear tsunami history.
1very means such as ublic education$ TH media and others should be used. @ut it is Auite
difficult is to kee coastal residents, continuous attention. #n the Sanriku region$ the most
tsunami'risky area in the world$ secial drills once a year have been carried out on the
=emorial %ay of the ast tsunamis with articiators constantly reducing in number. To
find a way to break this situation is an urgent task.
Thirdly$ keeing the fact in mind that disastrous tsunami occurs once er tens or
hundreds years$ the coastal residents should make their town resistant to tsunamis at every
occasion when the town is changed and develoed. The knowledge for this reinforcement
should be given in terms of building codes and Gor manuals.
References
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Society of $*erica$ )1$ (>88'(>>+.
7. Okada$ .. 2()5D3 Surface deformation due to shear and tensile faults in a half'sace$ %ulletin of t+e
Seis*ological Society of $*erica$ *&$ ((8D'((D>.
8. 9anamori$ H. and E.E. !ier 2()*>3 <ocal rocess of the :reat !hilean 1arthAuake$ =ay 77$ ()?+$ P+ysics of
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8
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9