Evaluating tsunami impact on the Gulf of Cadiz Coast (Northeast Atlantic)

The Gulf of Cadiz coasts are exposed to tsunamis. Emergency planning tools are now taking into account this fact, especially because a series of historical occurrences were strikingly significant, having left strong evidence behind, in the mareographic records, the geological evidence or simply the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Omira, Rachid (author)
Other Authors: Baptista, Maria Ana Carvalho Viana (author), Miranda, Jorge Miguel (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/1316
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorio.ipl.pt:10400.21/1316
Description
Summary:The Gulf of Cadiz coasts are exposed to tsunamis. Emergency planning tools are now taking into account this fact, especially because a series of historical occurrences were strikingly significant, having left strong evidence behind, in the mareographic records, the geological evidence or simply the memory of the populations. The study area is a strip along the Algarve coast, south Portugal, an area known to have been heavily impacted by the 1 November 1755 event. In this study we use two different tsunami scenarios generated by the rupture of two thrust faults identified in the area, corresponding to 8.1-8.3 magnitude earthquakes. Tsunami propagation and inundation computation is performed using a non-linear shallow water code with bottom friction. Numerical modeling results are presented in terms of flow depth and current velocity with maximum values of 7 m and 8 m/s for inundation depth and flow speed, respectively. These results constitute a valuable tool for local authorities, emergency and decision planners to define the priority zones where tsunami mitigation measures must be implemented and to develop tsunami-resilient communities.