Tsunami Simulations: Tohoku-Oki Earthquake (March 12, 2011)
These impressive simulations of the Japan earthquake tsunami were made by Dr. Steven Ward from UC Santa Cruz. Dr Ward uses a variety of methods to produce these simulations. All of these movies show different versions of the same calculation. The idea is that we can use simulations like these in a predictive sense. Once we know something about the source, in this case an earthquake, we can then run a calculation to determine where the waves are likely to strike.
In the first movie, waves propagate across the Pacific basin, and run-up heights on the shore are estimated:
http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/japan2011-peak.mov
Another version of the same calculation which shows the wave front:
http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/japan2011.mov
This movie shows the wave heights in the open ocean:
http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/japan2011-basinwide.mov
In this movie, you can see waves refracting around the Japanese islands and striking some of them on the western sides. These refracting waves can do a considerable amount of damage in unexpected areas.
About OpenHazards Bloggers
Steven Ward is a Research Geophysicist at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UC Santa Cruz. He specializes in the quantification and simulation of natural hazards. Read Steve's blog.
John Rundle is a Distinguished Professor of Physics and Geology at UC Davis and the Executive Director of the APEC Collaboration for Earthquake Simulations. He chaired the Board of Advisors for the Southern California Earthquake Center from 1994 to 1996. Read John's blog.