Abstract Database

TSUNAMI SIMULATION AND HAZARD ASSESSMENT FOR MEGATHRUST EARTHQUAKES ALONG THE COASTS OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

MEE20713
Carlos Tatapu
Supervisor: Bunichiro SHIBAZAKI, Yushiro FUJII
Country: Solomon Islands
Abstractfulltext

The Solomon Island has experienced earthquakes that were highly tsunamic genic in nature. Recent large earthquakes occurred near the plate convergence zone between the Australian and the Pacific Plates. Still, seismic gaps exist in areas along the subduction zone. Therefore, this study looks into scenario earthquakes along with these seismic gaps in the western and eastern parts of the Solomon Islands. TUNAMI numerical simulation code was adopted to investigate tsunami hazards in the study area. We assumed the two scenario rectangular fault models with different amounts of slips (i.e., 2 m, 5 m, and 10 m) and calculated seafloor deformation and tsunami propagation. We used GEBCO Data for bathymetry, SRTM data for topography in inundation modeling. We assumed output points to get tsunami waveforms for different islands and to get maximum wave heights and their arrival time on the target locations. Here, we discuss the results for the assumed fault model with 10m slip for two scenario earthquakes. For the western Solomon study areas, the maximum wave height is 4.8 m on Rennell Island and is 3.6 m at the coastline of Guadalcanal Island. For the eastern Solomon study areas, the maximum wave heights of 4.9 m and 1.98 m are observed at Nama and Avita on Santa Cruz Islands, with arrival times of 20 and 10 minutes, respectively. The tsunami inundation modeling shows run-up distance of more than 100 m for Managakiki coastlines and 84m for the coastline of Nama settlement in Santa Cruz Islands. The study demonstrated an overview of possible seismic events that will help tsunami disaster management and planning for the Solomon Islands. Accurate data and finer bathymetric data are crucial in improving simulations within other seismic-prone areas within the Solomon Islands.

Keywords: Tsunami propagation, Tsunami simulation, Tsunami Inundation, Tsunami Height, GEBCO