Consideration of Non-Seismic Tsunami Sources for the US East Coast and Caribbean

Session: Understanding Non-Traditional Seismic Tsunami Hazards [Poster]
Type: Poster
Date: 4/28/2020
Time: 08:00 AM
Room: Ballroom
Description: 

Earthquakes are a widely recognized tsunami-generating mechanism yet landslides and volcanoes each hold the potential of generating tsunamis that could impact U.S East Coast and Caribbean communities. Understanding that such sources are poorly understood, a team of regional experts considered available data, documented information and their collective expertise to select and weight parameters as part of a broader and ambitious effort to develop tsunami sources through a process consistent with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Seismic Hazard Model. With support by the USGS Powell Center, members of the NOAA National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) led the use of deterministic and probabilistic models in concert with observed data to provide a robust set of parameter values for incorporation into the logic-tree system. For landslides sources, the initial set of parameters considered included recurrence interval, trigger mechanism, slide location and composition, flow type and geometry. Since data alone proved insufficient for participants to form consensus, source characteristics were developed in terms of probability. Participants discussed and weighted and defined source parameters quantitatively for logic-tree inclusion and set realistic limits for consistency.

Details of the process followed and logic-tree inputs as developed will be presented. Outcomes including a database of maximum tsunami generating sources in the U.S. East Coast, Gulf Coast and Caribbean and tools to visualize and extract database results, while all not yet available, will be explained.

Presenting Author: Marie C. Eble

Authors