Abstract
We propose a numerical method to estimate the local wave height and period of a tsunami from the distributions of boulders. The method was applied to boulders (<23 t) at Pakarang Cape, Thailand that were displaced from the reef slope onto the tidal bench by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. They were deposited characteristically below the high-tide line, irrespective of size and no boulders were deposited on land. These features were used as the constraint of the calculation. We conducted over 10,000 cross-sectional calculations to satisfy above mentioned constraints, showing that the wave height and period at the shoreline were calculated to be 4–6 m and 18–37 min, respectively, which well concur with observed values. The input parameters for this calculation are the sizes and initial positions of boulders with seaward/landward limits, which are obtainable through the geological survey for historical and pre-historical tsunamis. This method is useful to estimate the local wave height and period of historical and pre-historical tsunamis from boulders reported throughout the world.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from MEXT (K. Goto: no. 23684041) and JSPS (F. Imamura: no. 22241042).
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Goto, K., Okada, K., Imamura, F. (2014). Estimating the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami Wave Height and Period from Boulders’ Distribution at Pakarang Cape, Thailand. In: Kontar, Y., Santiago-Fandiño, V., Takahashi, T. (eds) Tsunami Events and Lessons Learned. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7269-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7269-4_11
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