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International Journal of Fluid Mechanics Research

ISSN for PRINT: 1064-2277

Institutional price:	$1811.00
Issues per year:	6

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2006, Volume33

119 pages

DOI: 10.1615/InterJFluidMechRes.v33.i1

Issue price - $310.00

Propagation of the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean Tsunami: Effects of Dispersion and Source Characteristics

Sylfest Glimsdal
Simula Research Laboratory P.O. Box 134, N-1325 Lysaker; Department of Informatics, University of Oslo; International Center for Geohazards (ICG), Oslo, Norway

G. K. Pedersen
Department of Mathematics, Mechanics Division, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1053, N-0316 Oslo; International Center for Geohazards (ICG), Oslo, Norway

K. Atakan
Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Norway

C. B. Harbitz
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI); International Center for Geohazards (ICG), Oslo, Norway

H. P. Langtangen
Simula Research Laboratory P.O. Box 134, N-1325 Lysaker, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway

F. Lovholt
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Oslo; International Center for Geohazards (ICG), Oslo, Norway

ABSTRACT

This work presents numerical simulations of the tsunami generated by the Dec. 26, 2004, Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. The numerical models employed include the linear shallow water equations, a weakly nonlinear and dispersive model (Boussinesq equations), and ray theory for linear hydrostatic waves. Four different tsunami sources, constructed from inversion models based on seismo-logical recordings, are studied. We have investigated the sensitivity to the choice of mathematical model, grid resolution, source parameters, and delay of tsunami generation at the northern part of the source area. The results are compared to surface elevation recordings. Numerical simulations show that the effect of dispersion may modify the waves (slightly) during long propagation times only, and dispersion is not observed in the tsunami generation phase. In some shallow regions, on the other hand, nonlinear steepening of the wave front may enhance dispersion, and undular bores may be produced, which cannot be modeled by the standard shallow water equations commonly used for tsunami simulation. The sensitivity analysis results provide important insights to the source complexity of the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake.