Geological investigation of palaeotsunamis in the Samoan islands: interim report and research directions
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Date
2013-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tsunami Society
Abstract
The Komandorsky seismic gap has distinctive boundaries and a length of 650 km. Its period of “seismic silence” comes close to the maximum recurrence interval for great earthquakes in the Aleutian Island Arc - the stress concentration here probably having reached the critical value. So,estimation of possible earthquake and tsunami characteristics within this gap becomes a significant problem. The closest analog of a similar gap is the area where the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman catastrophic event occurred. Thus, for the present study we used the same modeling scheme as we used for that event. It was assumed that a source length of 650 km, consisting of 9 blocks, and an
earthquake with a moment magnitude MW=8.5. Several block motion scenarios were considered. The tsunami generation and propagation in the Pacific Ocean and the possible wave characteristics on near
and far-field coasts were estimated. Modeling of such an event showed that the wave heights on different Pacific coasts will vary from 3 to 9 meters. A tsunami wave with a 9-meter height is capable in causing significant loss of human life and economic damage.© 2013, Tsunami Society International.
Description
Keywords
Seismic effects, Stress intensity factors, Pacific Ocean, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Aleutian Islands
Citation
Williams, S., Goff, J., Ah Kau, J., Sale, F., Chagué-Goff, C., & Davies, T. (2013). Geological investigation of palaeotsunamis in the Samoan islands: interim report and research directions. Science of Tsunami Hazards, 32(3), 156-175.