Three-Dimensional Modeling of Tsunami Waves Triggered by Submarine Landslides Based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method

Abstract

Submarine landslides are a global geohazard that can displace huge volumes of loose submarine sediment, thereby triggering enormous tsunami waves and causing a serious threat to coastal cities. To investigate the generation of submarine landslide tsunamis, a three-dimensional numerical model based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is presented in this work. The model is first validated through the simulation of two underwater landslide model tests, and is then applied to simulate the movement of the Baiyun landslide in the South China Sea (SCS). The kinetics features of the submarine landslide, including the sliding velocity and runout distance, are obtained from the SPH simulation. The tsunami waves generated by the Baiyun landslide are predicted. In addition, sensitivity analyses are conducted to investigate the impact of landslide volume and water depth on the amplitude of the tsunami waves. The results indicate that the amplitude of tsunami waves triggered by submarine landslides increases with the landslide volume and decreases with the water depth of the landslide.