Boulder transport by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: Numerical assessment of field observations at Lhok Nga Bay, Sumatra, Indonesia

N. A.K. Nandasena, Norio Tanaka, Raphaël Paris

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Estimating the magnitude of past tsunamis after their deposits, including boulders, is one of the major issues to be developed in studies on tsunami hazard assessment. Hundreds of coral boulders have been transported from the fringing reef and some of them protruded to the land by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at Lhok Nga bay, Sumatra, Indonesia. Eight coral boulders (axes lengths 3.1 m > a > 1.4 m, 2.5 m > b > 1.0 m and 1.8 m > hb > 0.6 m) whose density is about 1120 kg/m3 emplaced on the land are selected for numerical simulation. Results reveal that the coral boulders are transported both onshore and offshore directions by tsunami currents, and reproduce field observations within the error of ±40%. However, clast to clast interactions, surface micro-topographical effects and two dimensional current velocity effects are not considered in the numerical model. The onshore transport distance is higher than the offshore transport distance. No landward fining is observed in the field observations and the numerical simulation suggests that the offshore transport by backwash reworks the spatial distribution of boulders. The density of coral boulders affects greatly its transport distance.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication34th IAHR Congress 2011 - Balance and Uncertainty
Subtitle of host publicationWater in a Changing World, Incorporating the 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the 10th Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering
PublisherInternational Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR)
Pages1294-1301
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9780858258686
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes
Event34th IAHR Congress 2011 - Balance and Uncertainty: Water in a Changing World, Incorporating the 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the 10th Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering - Brisbane, Australia
Duration: Jun 26 2011Jul 1 2011

Publication series

Name34th IAHR Congress 2011 - Balance and Uncertainty: Water in a Changing World, Incorporating the 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the 10th Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering

Conference

Conference34th IAHR Congress 2011 - Balance and Uncertainty: Water in a Changing World, Incorporating the 33rd Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and the 10th Conference on Hydraulics in Water Engineering
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityBrisbane
Period6/26/117/1/11

Keywords

  • Backwash
  • Coral boulders
  • Current velocity
  • Landward fining
  • Numerical simulation
  • Tsunami

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Water Science and Technology
  • Environmental Science (miscellaneous)

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