Landslide tsunamis, from origin to hazard, an overview from the SLATE project

<p>Landslide tsunamis, despite their importance for the overall tsunami hazard, is not as well understood as earthquake tsunamis. Several uncertain factors contribute to the lack of understanding, such as the variability in the source mechanisms, the dynamics of the landslide and the tsunami generation, as well as the temporal probability of occurrence of landslide events. Here, we present an overview of research activities on landslide tsunami analyses in the H2020 ITN-SLATE project. This research originates from two PhD student projects within SLATE, which have so far resulted in at least six publications with several more in the pipeline. In the SLATE project, we show that both translational and rotational dynamic attributes of the landslide are good indicators of the tsunamigenic potential of slumps using the visco-plastic landslide model BingClaw, by correlating the acceleration times mass and also angular momentum with the induced tsunami height. Moreover, we have employed Navier-Stokes simulations to hindcast model experiments of subaerial landslide tsunamis. By using the experience modelling this benchmark to model tsunamis in many other geometrical settings, the Navier-Stokes model is further employed to test generality and discuss several existing parametric relationships from literature so far available only empirically. New 3D formulations for granular landslide dynamics have further been established. Numerical models have also been set up to simulate real cases such as Anak Krakatoa. Finally, a broad parametric study that constrain the landslide dynamics for a landslide probabilistic hazard analysis is undertaken, to show how using past observations can effectively reduce uncertainties related to landslide dynamics. Combining an overview of the study with some highlights, we show how SLATE has contributed to increasing our understanding of landslide tsunamis and their hazard. We also discuss how the outcome of this project provides a platform for further research. This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 721403.</p>

Using OpenFOAM for landslide tsunamis modeling and comparison with a 2D depth-integrated model

<p>In the literature, OpenFOAM has been used to simulate landslide tsunamis, modeling the landslide as a solid or a two-phase flow. Here we present an approach using three phases (air, water and sediment) modeled as Newtonian fluids. This 3D model is validated against two benchmarks with deformable landslides: one subaerial (Viroulet et al. 2016) and one submarine (Grilli et al. 2017). These benchmarks are also run by a 2D depth-integrated model, AVALANCHE, recently used to reproduce the 2017 Karrat Fjord, Greenland and the 2018 Anak Krakatau, Indonesia events. Both models are able to reproduce either the water waves or the landslide behavior but not both at the same time.</p><p>Considering OpenFOAM as a reference code, sensitivity studies on the slope angle, the landslide viscosity and the landslide initial submergence showed that AVALANCHE produces similar results for slope angles between 10 and 45°, for subaerial or close to the surface landslide and/or for low viscosity values. In the other cases (submarine landslides and higher viscosity values) results indicated that OpenFOAM should be preferred to a 2D depth-integrated model.</p><p> </p><p>References:</p><p>Grilli, S., Shelby, M. & Kimmoun, O. (2017), ‘Modeling coastal tsunami hazard from submarine mass failures: effect of slide rheology, experimental validation, and case studies off the US East Coast’, <em>Natural Hazards</em> <strong>86</strong>, 353-391.</p><p>Viroulet, S., Sauret, A., Kimmoun, O. & Kharif, C. (2016), Tsunami waves generated by cliff collapse: comparison between experiments and triphasic simulations, <em>in </em>E. Pelinovsky & C. Kharif, eds, ‘Extreme Ocean Waves’, Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 173-190.</p>

Modeling the Slump-Type Landslide Tsunamis Part I: Developing a Three-Dimensional Bingham-Type Landslide Model

This paper incorperates Bingham and bi-viscosity rheology models with the Navier–Stokes solver to simulate the dynamics and kinematics processes of slumps for tsunami generation. The rheology models are integrated into a computational fluid dynamics code, Splash3D, to solve the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with volume of fluid surface tracking algorithm. The change between un-yield and yield phases of the slide material is controlled by the yield stress and yield strain rate in Bingham and bi-viscosity models, respectively. The integrated model is carefully validated by the theoretical results and laboratory data with good agreements. This validated model is then used to simulate the benchmark problem of the failure of the gypsum tailings dam in East Texas in 1966. The accuracy of predicted flood distances simulated by both models is about 73% of the observation data. To improve the prediction, a fixed large viscosity is introduced to describe the un-yield behavior of tailings material. The yield strain rate is obtained by comparing the simulated inundation boundary to the field data. This modified bi-viscosity model improves not only the accuracy of the spreading distance to about 97% but also the accuracy of the spreading width. The un-yield region in the modified bi-viscosity model is sturdier than that described in the Bingham model. However, once the tailing material yields, the material returns to the Bingham property. This model can be used to simulate landslide tsunamis.

Reciprocal Green's functions and the quick forecast of submarine landslide tsunamis

Although tsunamis generated by submarine mass failure are not as common as those induced by submarine earthquakes, sometimes the generated tsunamis are higher than a seismic tsunami in the area close to the tsunami source, and the forecast is much more difficult. In the present study, reciprocal Green's functions (RGFs) are proposed as a useful tool in the forecast of submarine landslide tsunamis. The forcing in the continuity equation due to depth change in a landslide is represented by the temporal derivative of the water depth. After a convolution with reciprocal Green's function, the tsunami waveform can be obtained promptly. Thus, various tsunami scenarios can be considered once a submarine landslide happens, and a useful forecast can be formulated. When a submarine landslide occurs, the various possibilities for tsunami generation can be analyzed and a useful forecast can be devised.