Energy Method for Approximating Overland Tsunami Flows
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper applies a simple energy method to predict characteristics of overland tsunami flows based on extrapolation of the energy grade line between the shoreline and the tsunami run-up limit. Starting with a mapped run-up or inundation limit from tsunami hazard maps or from field surveys, the method reconstructs maximum inundation depths and velocities across a flooded topographic transect to the shoreline. The energy method is evaluated first in comparison with thousands of numerical simulations conducted on idealized topographies using a free-surface wave model. The method is then evaluated in more detailed simulations over realistic topography using a second tsunami-evolution model. Finally, the method is evaluated against field observations of inundation depths from tsunami events in Chile and Japan. In all cases, inundation depths are predicted quite well, with little bias across a wide range of flow conditions and topographic conditions. Predicted velocities show less precision but seem to predict the general velocity decay from shoreline to run-up limit. The method then overestimates and provides a conservative estimate of the maximum momentum flux.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Yong Wei of the PMEL for providing the MOST model simulations. Dan Weibe, while a master’s degree candidate at Oregon State University, was instrumental in the early evaluation of the method, especially in the evaluation of the Froud-number decay adopted here. This work was performed as part of the ASCE 7 Tsunami Loads and Effects Committee chaired by Mr. Gary Chock. Numerous members of the committee provided useful comments and feedback during the development of this approach.
References
ASCE. (2013). “Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures.” ASCE/SEI 7-10, Reston, VA.
Bricker, J. D., Gibson, S., Takagi, H., and Imamura, F. (2015). “On the need for larger manning’s roughness coefficients in depth-integrated tsunami inundation models.” Coastal Eng. J., 57(2).
Carden, L., Chock, G., Yu, G., and Robertson, I. (2015). “The new ASCE tsunami design standard applied to mitigate Tohoku tsunami building structural failure mechanisms.” Handbook of coastal disaster mitigation for engineers and planners, M. Esteban, H. Takagi, and T. Shibayama, eds., Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 461–490.
Carrier, G. F., Wu, T. T., and Yeh, H. (2003). “Tsunami run-up and draw-down on a plane beach.” J. Fluid Mech., 475, 79–99.
Chanson, H. (2006). “Tsunami surges on dry coastal plains: Application of dam break wave equations.” Coastal Eng. J., 48(4), 355–370.
COULWAVE [Computer software]. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY.
Cox, J. C., and Machemehl, J. (1986). “Overload bore propagation due to an overtopping wave.” J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 161–163.
FEMA. (2007). Guidelines and specifications for flood hazard mapping partners, Washington, DC.
FEMA. (2012). Guidelines for design of structures for vertical evacuation from tsunamis, Washington, DC.
French, J. (1982). “Special computation procedure developed for wave runup analysis for Casco Bay.” FIS-Maine, 9700-153, FEMA, Washington, DC.
Fritz, H. M., et al. (2011). “Field survey of the 27 February 2010 Chile tsunami.” Pure Appl. Geophys., 168(11), 1989–2010.
Fritz, H. M., et al. (2012). “The 2011 Japan tsunami current velocity measurements from survivor videos at Kesennuma Bay using LiDAR.” Geophysical Res. Lett., 39(7).
Fuhrman, D. R., and Madsen, P. A. (2008). “Surf similarity and solitary wave runup.” J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 195–198.
Li, Y., and Raichlen, F. (2003). “Energy balance model for breaking solitary wave runup.” J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 47–59.
Liu, H., et al. (2013). “The March 2011 Tohoku tsunami survey in Rikuzentakata and comparison with historical events.” Pure Appl. Geophys., 170(6), 1033–1046.
Lynett, P. J., Wu, T.-R., and Liu, P. L.-F. (2002). “Modeling wave runup with depth-integrated equations.” Coastal Eng., 46(2), 89–107.
Madsen, P. A., and Schäffer, H. A. (2010). “Analytical solutions for tsunami runup on a plane beach; single waves, N-waves and transient waves.” J. Fluid Mech., 645, 27–57.
MOST [Computer software]. (2006). Center for Tsunami Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle.
Shen, M. C., and Meyer, R. E. (1963). “Climb of a bore on a beach. Part 3. Run-up.” J. Fluid Mech., 16(1), 113–125.
Synolakis, C. E. (1987). “The runup of solitary waves.” J. Fluid Mech., 185, 523–545.
Tadepalli, S., and Synolakis, C. E. (1996). “Model for the leading waves of tsunamis.” Phys. Rev. Lett., 77(10), 2141–2144.
Taubenböck, H., et al. (2013). “Risk reduction at the “Last-Mile”: An attempt to turn science into action by the example of Padang, Indonesia.” Nat. Hazards, 65(11), 915–945.
Titov, V. V., and Gonzalez, F. I. (1997), “Implementation and testing of the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST) model.” NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL PMEL-112, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle.
Titov, V. V., and Synolakis, C. E. (1997). “Extreme inundation flows during the Hokkaido-Nansei-Oki tsunami.” Geophys. Res. Lett, 24(11), 1315–1318.
Weibe, D. M. (2013). “Tsunami inundation: Estimating damage and predicting flow properties.” M.S. thesis, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR.
Yeh, H. (2006). “Maximum fluid force in the tsunami runup zone.” J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 496–500.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 5 • September 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2015
Accepted: Dec 21, 2016
Published online: Apr 27, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 27, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.