A study on the numerical simulation of the seismic sea waves in the East Sea based on the Boussinesq equation

Abstract

Most seismic sea waves in the East Sea originate from earthquakes occurring near the Japanese west coast. While the waves propagate in the East Sea, they are deformed by refraction, diffraction and scattering. Though the Boussinesq equation is most applicable for such wave phenomena, it was not used in numerical modelling of seismic sea waves in the East Sea. To examine characteristics of seismic sea waves in the East Sea, numerical models based on the Boussinesq equation are established and used to simulate recent tsunamis. By considering Ursell parameter and Kajiura parameter, it is proved that Boussinesq equation is a proper equation for seismic sea waves in the East Sea. Two models based on the Boussinesq equation and linear wave equation are executed with the same initial conditions and grid size (1 min × 1 min), and the results are compared in various respects. The Boussinesq equation model produced better results than the linear model in respect to wave propagation and concentration of wave energy. It is also certified that the Boussinesq equation model can be used for operational purpose if it is optimized.Another Boussinesq equation model whose grid size is 40 sec × 30 sec is set up to simulate the 1983 and 1993 tsunamis. As the result of simulation, new propagation charts of 2 seismic sea waves focused on the Korean east coast are proposed. Even though the 1983 and 1993 tsunamis started at different areas, the propagation paths near the Korean east coast are similar and they can be distinguished into 4 paths. Among these, total energy and propagating time of the waves passing over North Korea Plateau(NKP) and South Korea Plateau(SKP) determine wave height at the Korean east coast. In case of the 1993 tsunami, the wave passing over NKP has more energy than the wave over SKP. In case of the 1983 tsunami, the huge energy of the wave passing over SKP brought about great maximum wave heights at Mukho and Imwon. The Boussinesq equation model established in this study is more useful for simulation of seismic sea waves near the Korean east coast than it is the Japanese coast. To improve understanding of seismic sea waves in shallow water, a coastal area model based on the Boussinesq equation is also required.