Integrated tsunami intensity scale based on maxima of tsunami amplitude and induced current

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Integrated tsunami intensity scale based on maxima of tsunami amplitude and induced current Laurie Boschetti1 · Mansour Ioualalen1 Received: 4 November 2019 / Accepted: 21 September 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020

Abstract As with earthquakes, river floods, water waves, and wind intensities, a tsunami intensity has to be synthetic and comprehensive to be efficient. Tsunami impact is complex because the effects can be felt on the beach, on inundated areas and also at berths and anchors. Within the same local area, a tsunami may severely impact the population on the coast, while its effects may be negligible on marine bodies (boats). Most existing tsunami intensity scales are based either on water elevation or on induced currents. However, it is commonly admitted that both variables should be considered simultaneously. Several existing intensity scales were integrated and were made consistent with each other. An original intensity scale is then derived based on analysis of the interdependency between the maxima of tsunami amplitude and induced current: The dimension of the couple composed by two variables is analyzed, in particular through the derivation of a linear relationship using the long wave theory and the use of a fully nonlinear numerical experiment. Our intensity scale is particularly well adapted to numerical studies, for which the two variables are naturally derived within an entire computational grid. Once the tsunami intensity scale was set up, it was briefly applied to a particular case study: the impact of the Sumatra tsunami, dated December 26, 2004, on the coast of Sri Lanka. Indeed, the tsunami scales proposed herein represent an initial framework of study and can be further improved through new or revisited tsunami observations. Keywords  Tsunami intensity · Tsunami modeling · Tsunami currents · Tsunami amplitude

1 Introduction To quantify, classify, and compare tsunamis, it is necessary to have specific scales at our disposal. As mentioned by Papadopoulos (2003), it is useful to make a distinction between magnitude and intensity scales. The magnitude of a tsunami is physically measurable through physical parameters such as wave or particle velocities, volumes, energies, and surface wave amplitudes. As an analogy, the Richter scale is an earthquake magnitude * Mansour Ioualalen [email protected] 1



Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, IRD, Université Côte d’Azur, Géoazur, Campus Azur, 250 rue Albert Einstein, CS 10269, 06905 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France

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Natural Hazards

scale. The magnitude of a specific event is time and space independent. Physical variables for tsunamis should be related to the water level and the water particle velocities, i.e., the wave-induced current. The intensity corresponds to the effects and impacts of the physical event on static or moving structures, human losses, and environmental changes (Papadopoulos 2003). Contrary to the magnitude, the intensity of a specific event depends on the location and time of occurrence,