Abstract
Accurate predictions of maximum initial wave amplitude are essential for coastal impact assessment of tsunami waves generated by submarine landslides. Here, we analyse the existing predictive equations for the maximum initial amplitude ( eta_{text{max} } ) of submarine landslide-generated waves and study their performance in reproducing real-world landslide incidents. Existing equations include various landslide parameters such as specific gravity (γs), initial submergence (d), slide length (B), width (w), thickness (T) and slope angle (θ). To determine how landslide parameters affect wave amplitude, we conduct a systematic sensitivity analysis. Results indicate that the slide volume (V = B × w × T) and d are among the most sensitive parameters. The data from the 1994 Skagway (observed eta_{text{max} } : 1.0–2.0 m) and 1998 Papua New Guinea (PNG) (observed eta_{text{max} } : 10–16 m) incidents provided valuable benchmarks for evaluating the performance of the existing equations. The predicted maximum initial amplitudes of 0.03–686.5 m and 3.7–6746.0 m were obtained for the 1994 and 1998 events, respectively, indicating a wide range for wave amplitudes. The predicted estimates for the smaller-sized event, i.e. the 1994 Skagway, appear to be more accurate than those made for the larger event, i.e. the 1998 PNG case. We develop a new predictive equation by fitting an equation to actual submarine landslide tsunamis: eta_{ text{max} } = 50.67 left( {frac{V}{d}} right)^{0.34} , where V is the slide volume (km3), d is initial submergence depth (m), and eta_{text{max} } is in metres. Our new equation gives wave amplitudes of 1.6 m and 7.8 m for the 1994 and 1998 landslide tsunamis, respectively, which are fairly consistent with real observations.
Highlights
Landslide-generated waves have been major threats to coastal areas and have led to destruction and casualties in several locations
We study the existing predictive equations for 2D characteristic tsunami amplitude generated by submarine landslides
We note that slide width (w) is taken as a unit since many of these equations are developed for 2D-in-section cases; slide width is hidden in the equations. This indicates the importance of slide volume (V = B × w × T) for the prediction of the maximum initial tsunami amplitudes generated by submarine landslides
Summary
Landslide-generated waves have been major threats to coastal areas and have led to destruction and casualties in several locations. Due to the importance of landslide tsunamis for coastal safety, various studies have been conducted to characterize the waves generated by submarine failures, including experimental, numerical and analytical studies. The maximum initial amplitude of landslide waves around the source region is considered as the key performance indicator in this research. This parameter is difficult to measure directly; but it is available through experimental and numerical studies for some of the landslide events, as discussed later in this article. We propose a new empirical equation for prediction of maximum initial amplitude of landslide tsunamis based on data from actual events
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