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Comparison between three-dimensional linear and nonlinear tsunami generation models

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Abstract

The modeling of tsunami generation is an essential phase in understanding tsunamis. For tsunamis generated by underwater earthquakes, it involves the modeling of the sea bottom motion as well as the resulting motion of the water above. A comparison between various models for three-dimensional water motion, ranging from linear theory to fully nonlinear theory, is performed. It is found that for most events the linear theory is sufficient. However, in some cases, more-sophisticated theories are needed. Moreover, it is shown that the passive approach in which the seafloor deformation is simply translated to the ocean surface is not always equivalent to the active approach in which the bottom motion is taken into account, even if the deformation is supposed to be instantaneous.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFREMER, Laboratoire DYNECO/PHYSED, BP 70, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Youen Kervella

  2. CMLA, ENS Cachan, CNRS, PRES UniverSud, 61 Av. President Wilson, 94230, Cachan, France

    Denys Dutykh & Frédéric Dias

Authors
  1. Youen Kervella
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  2. Denys Dutykh
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  3. Frédéric Dias
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Correspondence to Frédéric Dias.

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Communicated by R. Grimshaw.

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Kervella, Y., Dutykh, D. & Dias, F. Comparison between three-dimensional linear and nonlinear tsunami generation models. Theor. Comput. Fluid Dyn. 21, 245–269 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-007-0047-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-007-0047-0

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