Tsunami Science and Engineering

Аннотация

Active prevention of the wave generation is extremely unlikely and limited to rare cases where creeping slides could be stabilized. Scientists and engineers thus work mainly on passive methods to face this hazard. In many cases, the propagation time between generation and shoreline is sufficiently long, allowing early warning systems for evacuation to be an effective passive method. For impulse waves in smaller water bodies, however, the propagation time is too short for an adequate evacuation so further passive methods are critical. Such methods include sea walls, reinforced infrastructure and the provision of adequate freeboards of dam reservoirs. These methods require detailed knowledge of (i) the wave features as a function of the generation mechanism, (ii) the shoreline run-up and (iii) the interaction with structures. Despite a significant increase in research activities after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, there certainly can be -- and needs to be -- more research with the aim to reduce the destruction caused by tsunamis to us and our environment.