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Local tsunamigenic sources in Greece, identified by pattern recognition

Natural Hazards volume 113, pages 1335–1348 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

This study is an attempt to determine potential tsunamigenic morphostructural nodes in Greece using pattern recognition algorithms. The earthquakes that have produced local tsunamis in the region were confined to morphostructural nodes whose locations were found by morphostructural zoning. The recognition problem consisted in separating all nodes in the region into the tsunamigenic class and the non-tsunamigenic class based mainly on the geomorphologic parameters of the nodes. The data on tsunamigenic earthquakes in Greece for training the Cora-3 algorithm were taken from the GHTD global historical catalog of tsunamigenic events (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu_db.shtml). The recognition procedure resulted in determining 27 tsunamigenic nodes, with most of these being situated in the southern tip of the Peloponnese Peninsula, as well as in the gulfs of Corinth and Patras. Three tsunamigenic nodes were identified in the area of the Malian Gulf on the Aegean coast of Greece. According to the relevant literature, most local tsunamis in Greece were initiated by submarine slides and slumps due to earthquakes. According to the characteristic geomorphologic features derived in this study, the tsunamigenic nodes are situated in settings of contrasting relief characterized by steep slopes. This favors submarine landslides when subjected to earthquake excitation. The results reported in this paper form a basis for developing a methodology to be used in long-term tsunami hazard assessment, supplying information on local potential tsunamigenic sources required for tsunami regionalization of coastal areas in Greece.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 20-55-18008.

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  1. Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997, ul. Profsoyuznaya, 84/32, Moscow, Russia

    O. V. Novikova & A. I. Gorshkov

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  1. O. V. Novikova
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  2. A. I. Gorshkov
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Olga Novikova and Alexander Gorshkov. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Olga Novikova and Alexander Gorshkov. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to O. V. Novikova.

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Authors of the manuscript “Local tsunamigenic sources in Greece identified by pattern recognition” by Novikova O.V. and Gorshkov A.I. confirm that the manuscript is not submitted to another journal for simultaneous consideration, is original and has not been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), is not a part of a larger study. The manuscript is an independent and completed research. Results are obtained using the objective geophysical and seismological data available for all scientific community. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were our own.

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Novikova, O.V., Gorshkov, A.I. Local tsunamigenic sources in Greece, identified by pattern recognition. Nat Hazards 113, 1335–1348 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05349-0

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Keywords

  • Tsunami
  • Local tsunamigenic sources
  • Pattern recognition
  • Greece