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A Collaborative Effort Between Caribbean States for Tsunami Numerical Modeling: Case Study CaribeWave15

  • Top.Vol. Global Tsunami Science: Past and Future: Volume III
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Abstract

Historical records have shown that tsunami have affected the Caribbean region in the past. However infrequent, recent studies have demonstrated that they pose a latent hazard for countries within this basin. The Hazard Assessment Working Group of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS (Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the Early Warning System for Tsunamis and Other Coastal Threats for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions) of IOC/UNESCO has a modeling subgroup, which seeks to develop a modeling platform to assess the effects of possible tsunami sources within the basin. The CaribeWave tsunami exercise is carried out annually in the Caribbean region to increase awareness and test tsunami preparedness of countries within the basin. In this study we present results of tsunami inundation using the CaribeWave15 exercise scenario for four selected locations within the Caribbean basin (Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá and Puerto Rico), performed by tsunami modeling researchers from those selected countries. The purpose of this study was to provide the states with additional results for the exercise. The results obtained here were compared to co-seismic deformation and tsunami heights within the basin (energy plots) provided for the exercise to assess the performance of the decision support tools distributed by PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center), the tsunami service provider for the Caribbean basin. However, comparison of coastal tsunami heights was not possible, due to inconsistencies between the provided fault parameters and the modeling results within the provided exercise products. Still, the modeling performed here allowed to analyze tsunami characteristics at the mentioned states from sources within the North Panamá Deformed Belt. The occurrence of a tsunami in the Caribbean may affect several countries because a great variety of them share coastal zones in this basin. Therefore, collaborative efforts similar to the one presented in this study, particularly between neighboring countries, are critical to assess tsunami hazard and increase preparedness within the countries.

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Acknowledgments

Part of this research was done with a grant of the “Fondo de Apoyo para el Fortalecimiento de Alianzas Estratégicas para el Desarrollo de Proyectos Colaborativos Internacionales”, of the Universidad Nacional of Costa Rica. Authors would like to appreciate the valuable suggestions and technical help provided by Y. Yamazaki and J. Horrillo. Also, special thanks go to the reviewers that made this manuscript a valuable contribution to the Caribbean tsunami community, particularly to Jean Rogers and Francois Schindele.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RONMAC and SINAMOT, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, P. O. Box 86-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica

    Silvia Chacón-Barrantes

  2. Department of Geology, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Call Box 9000, Mayaguez, 00681-9000, Puerto Rico

    Alberto López-Venegas

  3. Complejo Naval del Morro-Centro de Investigaciones Oceanográficas e Hidrográficas del Pacífico, DIMAR, Barrio 20 de Julio, Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia

    Rónald Sánchez-Escobar

  4. Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad de Panamá, Campus Central Octavio Mendez Pereira, Urbanización El Cangrejo, Vía Simón Bolívar (Transísmica) con la intersección de la Vía Manuel Espinoza Batista y José de Fábrega, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

    Néstor Luque-Vergara

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  1. Silvia Chacón-Barrantes
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  2. Alberto López-Venegas
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Correspondence to Silvia Chacón-Barrantes.

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Chacón-Barrantes, S., López-Venegas, A., Sánchez-Escobar, R. et al. A Collaborative Effort Between Caribbean States for Tsunami Numerical Modeling: Case Study CaribeWave15. Pure Appl. Geophys. 175, 1405–1428 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1687-7

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