Science-Pacific Region-Ocean Sciences-Research Activities

Tsunamis and Tsunami Research 

This web page outlines the research on the observation and modelling of tsunamis  being  conducted at IOS. Research includes tsunamis formed by mega-thrust earthquakes of order of magnitude of 9.0 and by submarine and sub aerial landslides in coastal waters and in steep continental slope regions. The page  will eventually include simulations of mega-earthquake tsunamis generated of the west coast of Canada including coastal waters and fjords.

In the first part, you could find the basic physics of tsunamis, big historical tsunami events, the local tsunami source - Cascadia subduction zone - in coastal British Columbia and some useful links to additional  information on Tsunamis including how to protect yourself from tsunamis.

The second part introduces the tsunami model, and displays the animations of modelling results.

People who are working on tsunami research at IOS/PGC and other organizations:

Recent Publications

Gower, J.F.2005.Jason 1 detects December 26, 2004 tsunami. Eos. 86(4):37-38.

Fine, I.V., A.B. Rabinovich, B.D. Bornhold, R.E. Thomson, E.A. Kulikov, 2005: The Grand Banks landslide-generated tsunami of November 18, 1929: Preliminary analysis and numerical modeling. Marine Geology. 215:45-57.

Fine, I.V., Rabinovich, A. B. and R.E. Thomson, 2005.The dual source region for the 2004 Sumatra tsunami. Geophysical Research Letters. 32. L16602.

Kulikov, E. A., Rabinovich, A. B. and R. E. Thomson. 2005. Estimation of Tsunami Risk for the Coasts of Peru and Northern Chile. Natural Hazards 35:185–209.  

Kulikov, E. A., Rabinovich, A. B. and R. E. Thomson. 2005. On Long-Term Tsunami Forecasting. Oceanology. 45(4):488–499. (Translated from Okeanologiya. 45(4):518–530).

Titov, V., Rabinovich, A. B., Mofjeld, H.O., R.E. Thomson and Frank I. González. 2005. The Global Reach of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra Tsunami. Science. 309. September 23, 2005. 

A. B. Rabinovich and F. E. Stephenson. 2004. Longwave Measurements for the Coast of British Columbia and Improvements to the Warning Capability. Natural Hazards 32:313–343.