Abstract
A list of 300 tsunamis and similar phenomena known in the Mediterranean is given. Data reliability and wave intensity are estimated; mechanisms of tsunami generation are indicated and data from literature sources on the coordinates and magnitudes of tsunamigenic earthquakes are cited. Eighteen zones of excitation and manifestation of tsunamis are identified which can be integrated into four groups with respect to the recurrence period and maximum intensity of the tsunamis. The strongest tsunamis are excited in the Aegean Sea, and the Hellenic and Calabrian island arcs. The focal depth of the earthquake-generating tsunamis in the Mediterranean is, on average, less than that in the Pacific. Correspondingly, the magnitude of tsunamigenic earthquakes is lower. According to preliminary estimates, the Mediterranean tsunamis attenuate with distance more rapidly than do those in the Pacific Ocean.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ambraseys, N. N.: 1962, Data for the investigation of seismic sea waves in the Eastern Mediterranean, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer. 52(4), 895–913.
Ambraseys, N. N.: 1965, Data for the investigation of seismic sea-waves in Europe, UGGI, Monographie No. 29, Paris, 78–80.
Antonopoulos, J.: 1980, Data from investigation of seismic sea-wave events in the Eastern Mediterranean from the birth of Christ to 1980 AD, Annali de Geofizica. 33, 141–248.
Antonopoulos, J.: 1988, The ancient Greeks on the phenomenon of seismic sea waves, Annals Geophysica, Special Issue, European Geophysical Society, XIII General Assembly, Bologna, 21–25 March 1988, 64 [Abstract].
Ben-Menahem, A.: 1979, Earthquake catalogue for the Middle East (92 BC–1980 AD), Bolletino di Geofisica teorica ed applicata, 21(84), 245–313.
Caputo, M. and Faita, G. F.: 1982, Statistical analysis of the tsunamis of the Italian coasts, J. Geophys. Res. 87(C1), 601–604.
Caputo, M. and Faita, G. F.: 1984, Primero Catalogo dei Maremoto della Coste Italiane, Atti della Academia Nazionale dei Lincei, Memorie, Classe di Scienze Fiziche, Matematiche e Naturali, Ser. VIII, Vol. XVII, Serione 1, Fascicolo 7, Rome.
Galanopoulos, A. G.: 1960, Tsunamis observed on the coasts of Greece from antiquity to present time, Annali di Geofisica 13(3–4), 369–386.
Ivashchenko, A. I.: 1972, On the recurrence of strong tsunamis in the North-Western Pacific for the past 50 years, Tsunami Waves, Proceedings of the Sakhalin Research Institute, Far-Eastern Branch of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Science, Issue 29, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, pp. 208–216 [In Russian].
Moreira, V. S.: 1974, Earthquakes and tsunamis in the European area, the XIIIth General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission, Bucharest.
Papadopoulos, G. A. and Chalkis, B. J.: 1984, Tsunamis observed in Greece and surrounding area from antiquity up to the present times, Marine Geol. 56, 309–317.
Papazachos, B. C., Koutitas, Ch., Hatzidimitriou, P. M., Karacostas, B. G., and Papaioannou, Ch. A.: 1986, Tsunami hazard in Greece and the surrounding area, Annales Geophysicae, 4B(1), 79–90.
Shurygin, A. Sh.: 1980, On long-term forecasting of strong tsunamis, Theory and Expedient Forecast of Tsunami, Nauka, Moscow, pp. 141–145 [in Russian].
Sieberg, A.: 1923, Geologische, Physikalische und Angewandte Erdbebenkunde, Jena, 572 S.
Soloviev, S. L.: 1968, The problem of tsunami and its importance for Kamchatka and Kuril islands, Problem of Tsunami, Nauka, Moscow, pp. 7–50 [in Russian].
Soloviev, S. L.: 1972, Recurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific, Tsunami Waves, Proceedings of the Sakhalin Research Institute, Far-Eastern Branch of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Science, Issue 29, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, pp. 7–47 [in Russian].
Soloviev, S. L.: 1978. Main data on tsunamis at the U.S.S.R.'s Pacific coast, 1737–1976. Study of Tsunami in the Open Ocean, Nauka, Moscow, pp. 61–136 [in Russian].
Solovieva, O. N. and Soloviev, S. L.: 1968, New data on seismic wave dynamics in Kuril-Kamchatka earthquakes, Problem of Tsunami, Nauka, Moscow pp. 73–96 [in Russian].
Soloviev, S. L. and Go, Ch. N.: 1974, The Catalogue of Tsunamis at the Western Pacific Coast, Nauka, Moscow [in Russian].
Soloviev, S. L. and Go, Ch. N.: 1975, The Catalogue of Tsunamis at the Eastern Pacific Coast, Nauka, Moscow [in Russian].
Soloviev, S. L., Go, Ch. N., and Kim, Kh. S.: 1986, The catalogue of tsunamis in the Pacific, 1969–1982, Interdepart. Geophys. Committee, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Moscow [in Russian].
Tinti, S. and Guiliani, D.: 1983, The Messina Straits tsunami of December 28, 1908: a critical review of experimental data and observations, Il Nuovo Cimento 60(4), 429–442.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Soloviev, S.L. Tsunamigenic zones in the Mediterranean Sea. Nat Hazards 3, 183–202 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00140432
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00140432