introduction

the 1964 Alaska tsunami

three phases of tsunami evolution:
• generation
• propagation
• runup

the model and grids

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Propagation of tsunami waves transports seismic energy away from the earthquake source. During the deep ocean propagation stage, the wave height is small compared to the wave length and the ocean depth, therefore the linear wave theory can be applied. The chart below shows the Alaska 1964 tsunami travel time contours in the Pacific Ocean.

This animation shows the 1964 wave propagating through the Pacific Ocean. White color represents the highest wave amplitudes. We can see that the wave energy is directed toward the British Columbia and the west coast of the United States. Calculations were performed on the CRAY SV1ex computer of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center.