Simulation of a Dispersive Tsunami due to the 2016 El Salvador–Nicaragua Outer-Rise Earthquake (M w 6.9)

Abstract

The 2016 El Salvador–Nicaragua outer-rise earthquake (Mw 6.9) generated a small tsunami observed at the ocean bottom pressure sensor, DART 32411, in the Pacific Ocean off Central America. The dispersive observed tsunami is well simulated using the linear Boussinesq equations. From the dispersive character of tsunami waveform, the fault length and width of the outer-rise event is estimated to be 30 and 15 km, respectively. The estimated seismic moment of 3.16 × 1019 Nm is the same as the estimation in the Global CMT catalog. The dispersive character of the tsunami in the deep ocean caused by the 2016 outer-rise El Salvador–Nicaragua earthquake could constrain the fault size and the slip amount or the seismic moment of the event.