Short Wave Amplification and Extreme Runup by the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami

摘要

Watermarks found during the post-event surveys of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami confirmed extreme runup heights at several locations along the central to northern part of the Sanriku coast, Japan. We measured the maximum height of nearly 40 m above mean sea level at a narrow coastal valley of the Aneyoshi district. Wave records by offshore GPS-buoys suggest that the remarkably high runup was associated with a leading, impulsive crest of the tsunami amplified by local bathymetry and topography. In order to elucidate the underlying amplification mechanism, we apply a numerical model to reproduce the measured distribution of tsunami heights along the target coastline. A series of numerical tests under different boundary conditions suggests that a spectral component with a dominant period of 4-5 min in the leading wave play a key role in generating the extreme runup. Further analyses focusing on the Aneyoshi district confirm that the short wavelength component undergoes critical amplification in a narrow inlet. Our findings highlight the importance of resolving offshore waveforms as well as local bathymetry and topography when simulating extreme runup events.