Coastal Structures and Solutions to Coastal Disasters Joint Conference 2015
The 1975 Kitimat Landslide Tsunami: Validation and Comparative Testing of Modeling Strategies
Publication: Coastal Structures and Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2015: Tsunamis
ABSTRACT
We present numerical simulations of the April 27, 1975 landslide event in Kitimat Arm, British Columbia. The event caused a tsunami with an estimated wave height of 8.2 m and 6.1 m at the northern and southern ends of Kitimat Arm, respectively. We use the non-hydrostatic model NHWAVE to perform a series of numerical experiments with different slide configurations and with two approaches to modeling the slide motion: a solid slide with motion controlled by a basal Coulomb friction, and a depth-integrated numerical slide based on Newtonian viscous flow. Both models are capable of reproducing observations of the event if an adequate representation of slide geometry is used. Comparable results are obtained using estimates of either Coulomb friction angle or slide viscosity that are within reasonable ranges of values found in previous literature. Preliminary results are presented for an alternate model based on a granular debris flow slide layer.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was partially supported by NSF grant CMMI-1537568 to the University of Delaware. Kirby, Shi and Nicolsky acknowledge the continuing support of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, NOAA.
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Published In
Coastal Structures and Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2015: Tsunamis
Pages: 13 - 23
Editors: Louise Wallendorf, U.S. Naval Academy and Daniel T. Cox, Ph.D., Oregon State University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8031-1
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© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Published online: Jul 11, 2017
Published in print: Jul 11, 2017
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