Numerical modeling of T-wave generation in a horizontally inhomogeneous ocean

Abstract

T-waves are generated by earthquakes and travel horizontally with the speed of sound. They are the most common earthquake sounds in the ocean and make strong contributions to the ambient sound field. However, the mechanisms of their generation remain poorly understood. Recent theoretical paper [O. A. Godin, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 150, 3999–4017 (2021)] argues that scattering of ballistic waves from the earthquake focus by the ocean surface is a strong source of T-waves, which should be considered on par with previously identified generation mechanisms of wave diffraction on large bathymetric features and scattering by the rough seafloor. This paper compares the T-waves due to ocean surface roughness and a seamount in deep water. 3-D surface scattering and wave interaction with large-scale bathymetric features are modeled rigorously using time-domain spectral-element code SPECFEM3D, with the ocean surface being shaped by wind waves and sea swell and a large seamount located off the earthquake epicenter. These simulations are complemented by a normal-mode code to propagate the sound field from the generation region to long ranges. A mode projection technique is developed to efficiently couple SPECFEM3D to the normal mode code. The two mechanisms are found to generate T-waves of comparable amplitudes.