Simulation of the trans-oceanic tsunami propagation due to the 1883 Krakatau volcanic eruption

Abstract

The 1883 Krakatau volcanic eruption has generated a destructive tsunami higher than 40 m on the Indonesian coast where more than 36 000 lives were lost. Sea level oscillations related with this event have been reported on significant distances from the source in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Evidence of many manifestations of the Krakatau tsunami was a subject of the intense discussion, and it was suggested that some of them are not related with the direct propagation of the tsunami waves from the Krakatau volcanic eruption. Present paper analyzes the hydrodynamic part of the Krakatau event in details. The worldwide propagation of the tsunami waves generated by the Krakatau volcanic eruption is studied numerically using two conventional models: ray tracing method and two-dimensional linear shallow-water model. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with available data of the tsunami registration. © European Geosciences Union 2003.