Analysis of Tsunami Resonance and Impact in Coastal Waters

Abstract

Recently, extreme tsunami waves generated by submarine earthquake have caused tremendous damages to the coastal cities and ports. Strong seiche oscillations and runups are observed in specific sea areas around the world. Although no frequent impacts to the coast of Korean peninsula, there exist some important events in the east of Korea in the past. This study focuses on two historical events and recalculate with different fault and rupture mechanism for prediction considering the recent trend of submarine earthquake. The present study of the 1983 Akita tsunamis demonstrates the multi-scale resonance along continental coasts. Together with the Nankai tsunami for inland sea, we have confirmed the inland sea resonance surrounded by islands in defining the impact along the coast. Coherence and wavelet analyses for deducing a predominant period and time frequency are useful in reasoning the inundation. The resonance modes, which are largely independent of the tsunami source, allow identification of at-risk communities and infrastructure for mitigation of tsunami hazards. Furthermore, understanding of the resonance and the predicted runups for the site of power plant and industrial complex in the east coast of Korea would allow better preparation for the future disasters.