Numerical simulation of tsunami propagation with corrected dispersion effects in ocean

Abstract

A numerical modeling of transoceanic tsunamis has been conducted by solving the linear shallow-water equations with the leap-frog scheme in a staggered grid system. When a tsunami propagates a long distance, the frequency dispersion effects play an important role and should be considered in numerical simulation. Recently, Cho et al. (2007) have developed a practical dispersion-correction scheme to consider the frequency dispersion by using the numerical dispersion. The model has been verified by comparing numerical results with available analytical solution and field survey data. In this study, in order to reproduce dispersion effects on the actual terrain, propagation of the 2011 East Japan Tsunami is simulated in the Pacific Ocean. Numerical results such as, the arrival time and the leading wave crest elevation at tidal stations are compared with available observed data.