SIMULATION OF FUTURE ANDAMAN TSUNAMI INTO STRAITS OF MALACCA BY TUNA

Abstract

The Andaman tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 has initiated and sustained keen research interest on modeling the characteristics and impacts of tsunami, with particular reference to tsunami wave heights, velocities and travel times. We have developed an in-house tsunami simulation model known as TUNA based upon the shallow water equations SWE for the purpose of simulating these tsunami characteristics. In this paper we present simulated tsunami scenarios along Malaysian coasts in the Straits of Malacca due to a potential earthquake originating in the Andaman Sea. Linear shallow water equations (LSWE) are used in the deep ocean, without the friction and advection terms to reduce computational time. On the other hand, in regions with shallow depth and over the beaches, non-linear shallow water equations (NSWE) and moving boundary are used in TUNA. Simulation results with TUNA indicate satisfactory performance when compared to simulation results from COMCOT and on-site survey results for the 2004 Andaman tsunami. Finally we discuss future enhancement of TUNA to improve its performance and to extend its applications to include ecological and water quality simulations.