Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of the Chiapas Tsunami of 8 September 2017 on the Coast of Mexico. Part 1: Observations, Statistics, and Energy Partitioning

  • Published:
Pure and Applied Geophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The major (Mw 8.2) intraplate normal-fault earthquake of 8 September 2017 in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Chiapas, Mexico) generated a strong tsunami that severely impacted the nearby coasts of Mexico and Central America. Tsunami waves in the near-field area were measured by seventeen high-resolution coastal tide gauges and by three open-ocean DART stations anchored offshore from the affected region. Data from these sites, together with those from four distant DARTs, were used for comprehensive analyses of the 2017 event. De-tided sea level time series were examined to determine the statistical and spectral characteristics of the 2017 tsunami waves along the Mexican and Central American coastline. The characteristics of the recorded waves from this near-field event were compared with those from two great far-field events: the 2010 Chile and the 2011 Tohoku tsunamis. Maximum trough-to-crest wave heights for the 2017 tsunami were recorded at Puerto Chiapas (351 cm), Salina Cruz (209 cm), Acapulco (160 cm), Huatulco (137 cm) and Acajutla, El Salvador (118 cm). While maximum 2010 and 2011 tsunami waves were observed at specific “hot spots” (sites with a high Q-factor and pronounced resonant properties, such as Manzanillo and Acapulco), the “strengths” of the recorded 2017 tsunami waves were mostly determined by distance from the source. Contrary to the maximum wave heights, the general spectral properties of the tsunami signals for all three events were highly similar at a given coastal site and mainly resemble the spectral structure of background oscillations at the same site. This similarity indicates that the frequency properties of the tsunami waveforms for a steady-state tsunami signal are mainly determined by local topographic features rather than by the source parameters. Estimates of the “colour” of an event (i.e., the open-ocean tsunami frequency content) show that the 2017 Chiapas tsunami was mostly “reddish” (long-period), with 68% (DART 43413) to 87% (DART 43412) of the total tsunami energy related to waves with periods > 35 min. In contrast, the 2010 and 2011 tsunamis were “reddish-blue”, with 48–57% associated with long-period waves (> 35 min) and 52–43% with short-period waves (2–35 min). The dominant periods of the tsunami waves were mostly linked to the shape, length, and width of the source region: the larger the source and the shallower its depth, the longer the periods of the generated tsunami waves. The complicated structure of the source explains the saturated and wide frequency-band character of the tsunami spectra. Our analysis also reveals an anisotropic nature to the 2017 tsunami waves; waves that propagated northeastward along the mainland coast of North America and southeastward along the Central American coast were significantly different from those that propagated southwestward, normal to the source orientation. This aspect of the wave field appears to be related to two distinct types of waves; “trapped (edge) waves” retained on the shelf (which plays the role of a “wave guide”), and “leaky waves” that radiate into the open ocean.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

source coastal region most affected by the earthquake and associated tsunami; “BdC” = Boca del Cielo

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

source area, yellow squares denote three offshore DART stations, red star indicates the epicenter of the 2017 Chiapas earthquake

Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

source area; b eight relatively remote tide gauges and c three DARTs. The solid vertical red line labelled “E” denotes the time of the earthquake

Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

source and b far-zone groups of coastal stations

Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. DART = Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis, is an effective network of deep-ocean stations designed for continuous monitoring of tsunami waves in the open ocean and for early tsunami warning (cf. Rabinovich and Eblé 2015).

  2. We could not use the Quepos tide gauge record because it was of poor quality.

  3. We use the common term “spectrum” (S) for brevity for the “Spectral Power Density” (sometimes also shortened to “Power Spectrum”), in which the signal variance is partitioned into frequency bands and has units of amplitude2/frequency (in our study mostly in cm2/cph = “cycles per hour”). Integration of S over the entire frequency band enables us to estimate the total variance of the signal (cf. Thomson and Emery, 2014), which is the same as estimating the total variance directly from the time series (Var in Sect. 3.1).

  4. We do not show the far-field background spectra because they are similar to those for the near-field spectra (Fig. 12 left column).

  5. Unfortunately, for the 2010 and 2011 events, we had to use slightly different DARTs than for the 2017 Chiapas tsunami because the required data for DARTs 32411 and 43412 for 2010 and 2011 were not available.

References

  • Adriano, B., Fujii, Y., Koshimura, S., Mas, E., Ruiz-Angulo, A., & Estrada, M. (2018). Tsunami source inversion using tide gauge and DART tsunami waveforms of the 2017 Mw 8.2 Mexico earthquake. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175, 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1760-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chacón-Barrantes, S. (2018). The 2017 México tsunami record, numerical modeling and threat assessment in Costa Rica. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175(6), 1939–1950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1852-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, K., Feng, W., Liu, Z., & Song, Y. T. (2018). 2017 Mw 8.1 Tehuantepec earthquake: deep slip and rupture directivity enhance ground shaking but weaken the tsunami. Seismological Research Letters, 89(4), 1314–1322. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, D. J. (1974). Long edge waves over a continental shelf. Deutsche Hydrographische Zeitschrift, 27(1), 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dziewonski, A., Bloch, S., & Landisman, M. (1969). Technique for the analysis of transient seismic signals. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 59, 427–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eblé, M. C., Mungov, G., & Rabinovich, A. B. (2015). On the leading negative phase of major 2010–2014 tsunamis. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 172(12), 3493–3508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-01

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farreras, S. F., Ortiz, M., & Gonzalez, J. I. (2007). Steps towards the implementation of a tsunami detection, warning, mitigation and preparedness program for southwestern coastal areas of Mexico. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 164, 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-006-0175-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farreras, S. F., & Sanchez, A. J. (1991). The tsunami threat on the Mexican west coast: a historical analysis and recommendations for hazard mitigation. Natural Hazards, 4, 301–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filloux, J. H., Luther, D. S., & Chave, A. D. (1991). Update on seafloor pressure and electric field observations from the north-central and northeastern Pacific: Tides, infra-tidal fluctuations, and barotropic flow. In B. B. Parker (Ed.), Tidal hydrodynamics (pp. 617–639). Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, I. V., Thomson, R. E., Chadwick, W. W. Jr., & Fox, C. G. (2020). Toward a universal frequency of occurrence distribution for tsunamis: statistical analysis of a 32-year bottom pressure record at Axial Seamount. Geophysical Research Letters, 47, e2020GL087372. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gusman, A. R., Mulia, I. E., & Satake, K. (2018). Optimum sea surface displacement and fault slip distribution of the 2017 Tehuantepec earthquake (Mw 8.2) in Mexico estimated from tsunami waveforms. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 646–653. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidarzadeh, M., Ishibe, T., & Harada, T. (2018). Constraining the source of the Mw 8.1 Chiapas, Mexico earthquake of 8 September 2017 using teleseismic and tsunami observations. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175(6), 1925–1938. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1837-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Honda, K., Terada, T., Yoshida, Y., & Isitani, D. (1908). An investigation on the secondary undulations of oceanic tides. Journal of the College of Science, Vol. 24, pp. 1-110. Imperial University of Tokyo.

  • Izutani, Y., & Kanamori, H. (2001). Scale-dependence of seismic energy-to-moment ratio for strike-slip earthquakes in Japan. Geophysical Research Letters, 28(20), 4007–4010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez, C. (2018). Seismic source characteristics of the intra-slab 2017 Chiapas-Mexico earthquake (Mw 8.2). Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 280, 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2018.04.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kajiura, K. (1970). Tsunami source, energy and the directivity of wave radiation. Bulletin of the Earthquake Research Institute, 48, 835–869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kajiura, K. (1972). The directivity of energy radiation of the tsunami generated in the vicinity of a continental shelf. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan, 28, 260–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulikov, E. A., Rabinovich, A. B., Spirin, A. I., Poole, S. L., & Soloviev, S. L. (1983). Measurements of tsunamis in the open ocean. Marine Geodesy, 6, 311–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melgar, D., & Ruiz-Angulo, A. (2018). Long-lived tsunami edge waves and shelf resonance from the M8.2 Tehuantepec Earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(22), 12414–12421. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. R. (1972). Relative spectra of tsunamis Publ. HIG-72–8 (p. 7). Honolulu: Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mofjeld, H. O. (2009). Tsunami measurements. In A. Robinson & E. Bernard (Eds.), The Sea, Vol. 15, Tsunamis (pp. 201–235). Cambridge, USA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mofjeld, H. O., Whitmore, P. M., Eblé, M. C., González, F. I., & Newman, J. C. (2001). Seismic-wave contributions to bottom pressure fluctuations in the North Pacific—Implications for the DART tsunami array. Proceedings of the International Tsunami Symposium (pp. 97–108). Seattle, WA: IUGG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mungov, G., Eblé, M., & Bouchard, R. (2013). DART tsunameter retrospective and real-time data: a reflection on 10 years of processing in support of tsunami research and operations. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 170, 1369–1384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-012-0477-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okal, E. A. (2003). Normal modes energetics for far-field tsunamis generated by dislocations and landslides. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 160, 2189–2221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okal, E. A., & Synolakis, C. E. (2004). Source discriminants for near-field tsunamis. Geophysical Journal International, 158, 899–912. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02347.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okuwaki, R., & Yagi, Y. (2017). Rupture process during the Mw 8.1 2017 Chiapas Mexico earthquake: shallow intraplate normal faulting by slab bending. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 11816–11823. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL075956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omori, F. (1902). On tsunamis around Japan [in Japanese]. Proceedings of the Earthquake Investigation Committee, 34, 5–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortega, R., Carciumaru, D., & Quintanar, L. (2019). A study of ground motion excitation based on the earthquake of September 8, 2017: evidence that normal faults influence the stress parameter. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 176, 1359–1377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-019-02150-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz-Huerta, L. G., Ortiz, M., & García-Gasteélum, A. (2018). Far-field tsunami hazard assessment along the Pacific coast of Mexico by historical records and numerical simulation. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175(4), 1305–1323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1816-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, B. B. (2007). Tidal analysis and prediction, NOAA Spec. Publ. NOS CO-OPS 3 (p. 378). Maryland: Silver Spring.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugh, D., & Woodworth, P. (2014). Sea-level science: understanding tides, surges, tsunamis and mean sea-level changes (p. 395). Cambridge Uni. Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A.B., Ivanova, A.A,, Zaytsev, O., & Thomson, R.E. (2022) The impact of the Chiapas tsunami of 9 September 2017 on the Mexican coast: Part 2: Numerical modelling and tsunami directivity (in preparation)

  • Rabinovich, A. B. (1997). Spectral analysis of tsunami waves: Separation of source and topography effects. Journal of Geophysical. Research, 102(C6), 12663–12676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A. B., Candella, R. N., & Thomson, R. E. (2013). The open ocean energy decay of three recent trans-Pacific tsunamis. Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A. B., & Eblé, M. C. (2015). Deep ocean measurements of tsunami waves. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 172(12), 3281–3312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-015-1058-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A. B., Thomson, R. E., Krassovski, M. V., Stephenson, F. E., & Sinnott, D. C. (2019). Five great tsunamis of the 20th century as recorded on the coast of British Columbia. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 176, 2887–2924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-019-02133-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A. B., Thomson, R. E., & Stephenson, F. E. (2006). The Sumatra tsunami of 26 December 2004 as observed in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. Surveys in Geophysics, 27, 647–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabinovich, A. B., Titov, V. V., Moore, C. W., & Eblé, M. C. (2017). The 2004 Sumatra tsunami in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean: new global insight from observations and modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research- Oceans, 122(10), 7992–8019. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramírez-Herrera, M. T., Corona, N., Ruiz-Angulo, A., Melgar, D., & Zavala-Hidalgo, J. (2018). The 8 September 2017 tsunami triggered by the Mw 8.2 intraplate earthquake, Chiapas, Mexico. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175, 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1765-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren, Z., Ji, X., Wang, P., Hou, J., Shan, D., & Zhao, L. (2018). Source inversion and numerical simulation of 2017 Mw 8.1 Mexico earthquake tsunami. Natural Hazards, 94(3), 1163–1185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3465-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saloor, N., & Okal, E. A. (2018). Extension of the energy-to-moment parameter Θ to intermediate and deep earthquakes. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 274, 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2017.10.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, A. J., & Farreras, S. F. (1993). Catalog of Tsunamis on the Western Coast of Mexico (p. 79). Boulder, CO: National Geophysical Data Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Šepić, J., & Rabinovich, A. B. (2014). Meteotsunami in the Great Lakes and on the Atlantic coast of the United States generated by the ‘“derecho”’ of June 29–30, 2012. Natural Hazards, 74, 75–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-014-1310-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shevchenko, G., Ivelskaya, T., & Loskutov, A. (2014). Characteristics of the 2011 Great Tohoku tsunami on the Russian Far East coast: deep-water and coastal observations. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 171(12), 3329–3350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-014-0727-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spagnotto, S., Alvarez, O., & Folguera, A. S. (2018). Static stress increase in the outer forearc produced by MW 8.2 September 8, 2017 Mexico earthquake and its relation to the gravity signal. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 175, 2575–2593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1962-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang, L., Titov, V. V., Bernard, E. N., et al. (2012). Direct energy estimation of the 2011 Japan tsunami using deep-ocean pressure measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 117, C08008. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, R. E., & Emery, W. J. (2014). Data analysis methods in physical oceanography (3rd ed., p. 716). Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, R. E., Fine, I. V., Rabinovich, A. B., Mihály, S. F., Davis, E. E., Heesemann, M., & Krassovski, M. V. (2011). Observations of the 2009 Samoa tsunami by the NEPTUNE-Canada cabled observatory: test data for an operational regional tsunami model. Geophysical Research Letters, 38, L11701. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL046728

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Titov, V. V. (2009). Tsunami forecasting. In A. Robinson & E. Bernard (Eds.), The Sea, Vo1. 15 Tsunamis (pp. 371–400). Cambridge, USA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Titov, V., Song, T., Tang, L., Bernard, E. N., Bar-Severt, Y., & Wei, Y. (2016). Consistent estimates of tsunami energy show promise for improved early warning. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 173, 3863–3880. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-016-1312-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dorn, W. G. (1984). Some tsunami characteristics deducible from tide records. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 14, 353–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vich, M., & Monserrat, S. (2009). The source spectrum for the Algerian tsunami of 21 May 2003 estimated from coastal tide gauge data. Geophysical Research Letters, 36, L20610. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL039970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K., Thomson, R. E., Rabinovich, A. B., Fine, I. V., & Insua, T. L. (2020). The 2018 Alaska-Kodiak tsunami off the west coast of North America: a rare mid-plate tsunamigenic event. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 177(3), 1347–1378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-019-02427-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watada, S., Ksumoto, S., & Satake, K. (2014). Travel time delay and initial phase reversal of distant tsunamis coupled with the self-gravitating elastic Earth. Journal of Geophysical Research—Solid Earth, 119, 4287–4310. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye, L., Lay, T., Bai, Y., Cheung, K. F., & Kanamori, H. (2017). The 2017 Mw 8.2 Chiapas, Mexico, earthquake: energetic slab detachment. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 11824–11832. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076085

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaytsev, O., Rabinovich, A. B., & Thomson, R. E. (2016). A comparative analysis of coastal and open-ocean records of the great Chilean tsunamis of 2010, 2014 and 2015 off the coast of Mexico. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 173(12), 4139–4178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-016-1407-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaytsev, O., Rabinovich, A. B., & Thomson, R. E. (2017). The 2011 Tohoku tsunami on the coast of Mexico: a case study. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 174(8), 2961–2986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1593-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Mexican National Polytechnic Institute (IPN, project SIP 20181373). Additional support for the first author was provided by SNI (Mexican National System of Investigators). For AR, this study was partly supported by the Russian State Assignment of IORAS #0128-2021-0004. We sincerely thank the Mexican National Mareographic Service of the UNAM and the Laboratory of the Sea Level of the CICESE for providing us the data of coastal sea level gauges, as well as George Mungov (NOAA/NCEI, Boulder, Colorado, USA) for assisting us with the DART data. We gratefully acknowledge the help of Emile Okal (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA), Matias Carvajal (Universidad de Concepción, Chile) and Christopher Moore (NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA) for their careful editing and valuable suggestions that greatly improved the scientific content of our study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Ave. IPN, s/n, Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23096, México

    Oleg Zaytsev

  2. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Institute of Ocean Sciences, 9860 West Saanich Road, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, Canada

    Alexander B. Rabinovich & Richard E. Thomson

  3. Russian Academy of Sciences, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, 36 Nakhimovsky Prosp., Moscow, 117997, Russia

    Alexander B. Rabinovich

Authors
  1. Oleg Zaytsev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexander B. Rabinovich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard E. Thomson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander B. Rabinovich.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zaytsev, O., Rabinovich, A.B. & Thomson, R.E. The Impact of the Chiapas Tsunami of 8 September 2017 on the Coast of Mexico. Part 1: Observations, Statistics, and Energy Partitioning. Pure Appl. Geophys. 178, 4291–4323 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02893-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02893-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation