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Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives

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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Hazards".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2022) | Viewed by 21145

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Denys Dutykh

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Guest Editor

Laboratory of Mathematics (LAMA UMR 5127), University Savoie Mont Blanc, 73000 Chambéry, France
Interests: tsunami modelling; free surface flows; hydrodynamics; numerical methods; scientific computing

Dr. Amin Rashidi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Laboratory of Mathematics (LAMA UMR 5127), University Savoie Mont Blanc, 73000 Chambéry, France
Interests: tsunami modeling; hydrodynamics; numerical simulation; seismology; subduction zones; marine hazards; hazard assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The devastating 2011 Tohoku tsunami was the deadliest and most damaging tsunami after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Although the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami led to significant progress in Geosciences, the 2011 Tohoku tsunami challenged our knowledge of tsunamis again. It taught us new lessons and proved the need of substantial improvements in seismology and tsunami research. The aim of this Special Issue is to represent new studies and findings of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and tsunami science in general. Therefore, we welcome submissions of original research on tsunamis and related hazards. These may include but are not limited to the following topics:

1) New studies shedding light on the 2011 Tohoku tsunami;

2) Seismic and non-seismic tsunamigenic sources;

3) Paleo-tsunami research;

4) Tsunami generation modeling;

5) Innovative numerical modeling approaches to tsunami waves;

6) Tsunami hazard and risk assessment and management;

7) Tsunamigenic potential of subduction zones;

8) Social and environmental impacts of tsunamis;

9) Tsunami preparedness and awareness, urban resilience, and post-disaster reconstruction.

High-quality scientific contributions or review articles on other historical or future hypothetical tsunami events in any other part of the world are also welcome in this Special Issue. We are looking forward to evaluating and discussing with you any ideas of potential contributions. Please, do not hesitate to take contact with the Editors of this Special Issue.

Dr. Denys Dutykh
Dr. Amin Rashidi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Earthquake
Tsunami
Seismology
Tsunami modeling
Social and environmental impacts of tsunamis
Seismic and tsunami hazard assessment
Hazard mitigation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 5913 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Vegetation-Embankment Hybrid Structures for Tsunami Mitigation Introduced after the 2011 Tsunami

by Norio Tanaka, Yoshiya Igarashi and Takehito Zaha

Geosciences 2021, 11(11), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11110440 - 26 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1594

Abstract

As a mitigation measure against a tsunami inundation, vegetation-embankment hybrid structures received attention after the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, and some structures have already been constructed or are under construction in Japan. The present study conducted a series of numerical simulations using a hybrid system comprised of an artificial structure (an embankment, moat) and a natural component (vegetation) that was experimentally proposed in previous studies as an effective structure for tsunami mitigation. After validating the numerical model using published data, this study investigated differences in the performance of the hybrid system by changing the tsunami period and height characteristics of the tsunami-like surge-type flow. As a result, the delay in tsunami arrival time (ΔT) was not affected by the tsunami wave period for the investigated hybrid structures. Among the investigated structures, Case Ve₄₀ME (where Ve_40, M, and E represent vegetation, moat, and embankment, respectively, in that order from seaward) showed the maximum performance of ΔT. The reductions of overflow volume (ΔQ), fluid force index (RFI), and moment index (RMI) declined during the tsunami period. The tsunami mitigation effect is closely related to the relationship between the development times of backwater rise, hydraulic jump, and the tsunami period. Case Ve₄₀ME was effective for ΔT, ΔQ, and RMI. Case EMVe₄₀ was especially effective for RFI. When the tsunami period is short, the water level at the shoreline starts to decrease before full development of the hydraulic jump generated in the hybrid system. Thus, overflow volume to landward decreases, and the mitigation effects increase. When the tsunami period is long, the receding phenomenon at the peak water level does not affect the maximum values, thus the mitigation effects become smaller compared with the short period. However, the superiority to other structures is maintained in Case Ve₄₀ME and Case EMVe₄₀ with seaward vegetation and landward vegetation, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives)

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17 pages, 5272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analytical and Numerical Investigations Applied to Study the Reflections and Transmissions of a Rectangular Breakwater Placed at the Bottom of a Wave Tank

by Mohammed Loukili, Denys Dutykh, Chioukh Nadjib, Dezhi Ning and Kamila Kotrasova

Geosciences 2021, 11(10), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11100430 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1692

Abstract

The purpose of the work presented in this paper is to study the reflection and transmission coefficients resulting from the interactions of regular waves with a rectangular breakwater sited at the bottom of a tank. The present investigation is devoted to the analysis of the reflection and transmission coefficients within the framework of linearized potential flow theory using two methods, a numerical method based on the improved version of the meshless singular boundary method, and the analytical approach within the plane wave model. The numerical method is first validated by studying the accuracy of the numerical computations with respect to the number of boundary nodes and the location of the vertical boundaries of the computational domain, for different immersion ratios (h/d) and different relative lengths (w/d) of the obstacle. To assess the limitations of the analytical approach, a comparison analysis is carried out between the analytical and numerical results. To improve the calculations and the effectiveness of the analytical model, slight adjustments are made to the analytical procedure, which is termed here the corrected analytical plane wave model. Finally, the effects of the immersion ratio (h/d) and the relative length (w/d) of the obstacle on the reflection and transmission coefficients are computed using the three methods, and discussed for several wave and structural conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives)

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Review

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15 pages, 7793 KiB

Open AccessReview

Palaeo-Tsunami Events on the Coasts of Cyprus

by Niki Evelpidou, Anna Karkani, Miltiadis Polidorou, Giannis Saitis, Christos Zerefos, Costas Synolakis, Christos Repapis, Maria Tzouxanioti and Marilia Gogou

Geosciences 2022, 12(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12020058 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5244

Abstract

Cyprus has a long history of tsunami activity, as described in archaeological and geological records. Although the study area has experienced tsunamis in the past and constitutes an area threatened by this hazard both from the Cyprean arc and from the neighboring Hellenic arc, field research on tsunami evidence on the coastal zone of Cyprus still remains scarce. It is clear from the literature that large boulder accumulations are an important feature along the coasts of Cyprus, testifying to extreme events. A detailed field survey revealed that at various locations cited in the literature as hosting geomorphological evidence of past tsunamis, no such evidence was identified. It is likely that the high touristic activity that has been occurring on the coasts of Cyprus during the last 20 years may have affected tsunami indicators such as boulder accumulations. Tsunamis are unpredictable and infrequent but potentially large-impact natural disasters. The latest strong tsunami that caused damage to the Cypriot coast was centuries ago, when the population and economic growth and development at the Cypriot shoreline did not exist. Today, the coastal zone hosts a higher population as well as increasing touristic activity, highlighting the need for better preparedness, awareness raising and for tsunami-related risk reduction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives)

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19 pages, 6263 KiB

Open AccessReview

Tsunamis in the Greek Region: An Overview of Geological and Geomorphological Evidence

by Anna Karkani, Niki Evelpidou, Maria Tzouxanioti, Alexandros Petropoulos, Marilia Gogou and Eleni Mloukie

Geosciences 2022, 12(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12010004 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7254

Abstract

The Greek region is known as one of the most seismically and tectonically active areas and it has been struck by some devastating tsunamis, with the most prominent one being the 365 AD event. During the past decade significant research efforts have been made in search of geological and geomorphological evidence of palaeotsunamis along the Greek coasts, primarily through the examination of sediment corings (72% of studies) and secondarily through boulders (i.e., 18%). The published data show that some deposits have been correlated with well-known events such as 365 AD, 1303 AD, the Minoan Santorini Eruption and the 1956 Amorgos earthquake and tsunami, while coastal studies from western Greece have also reported up to five tsunami events, dating as far back as the 6th millennium BC. Although the Ionian Islands, Peloponnese and Crete has been significantly studied, in the Aegean region research efforts are still scarce. Recent events such as the 1956 earthquake and tsunami and the 2020 Samos earthquake and tsunami highlight the need for further studies in this region, to better assess the impact of past events and for improving our knowledge of tsunami history. As Greece is amongst the most seismically active regions globally and has suffered from devastating tsunamis in the past, the identification of tsunami prone areas is essential not only for the scientific community but also for public authorities to design appropriate mitigation measures and prevent tsunami losses in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives)

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27 pages, 26821 KiB

Open AccessReview

The 2011 Tohoku Tsunami from the Sky: A Review on the Evolution of Artificial Intelligence Methods for Damage Assessment

by Jérémie Sublime

Geosciences 2021, 11(3), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11030133 - 13 Mar 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4311

Abstract

The Tohoku tsunami was a devastating event that struck North-East Japan in 2011 and remained in the memory of people worldwide. The amount of devastation was so great that it took years to achieve a proper assessment of the economical and structural damage, with the consequences still being felt today. However, this tsunami was also one of the first observed from the sky by modern satellites and aircrafts, thus providing a unique opportunity to exploit these data and train artificial intelligence methods that could help to better handle the aftermath of similar disasters in the future. This paper provides a review of how artificial intelligence methods applied to case studies about the Tohoku tsunami have evolved since 2011. We focus on more than 15 studies that are compared and evaluated in terms of the data they require, the methods used, their degree of automation, their metric performances, and their strengths and weaknesses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ten Years after the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami: Social and Environmental Impacts, Lessons Learned, and New Perspectives)

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