Moderate to major earthquakes occur regularly along the Pacific coast of South America. The recent volcanic eruption on January 15, 2022 on Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Island (HTHH), 30 km south-southeast of Fonuafo'ou Island on the island of Tonga generated a tsunami that caused damage locally, regionally, and throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Due to the great challenge this recent tsunami posed to tsunami early warning centers around the world, it is necessary to share knowledge and pool efforts to be better prepared for a similar scenario in the future. In order to update the understanding of tsunami generation of various kinds, the exchange of new numerical modeling techniques is necessary.

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, which leads the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Program (PTWS), is proposing a one-week numerical tsunami modeling workshop for the Peruvian Navy Tsunami Warning Center.

The main instructor for this workshop is Dr. Patricio Catalán, Professor at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile. The course will be given mostly in Spanish, however, some lectures may be given in English in online mode.

Contents

Historical database

• Tsunami catalog and paleo tsunami
• Pre-computed scenarios (methodologies)

Tsunami generation mechanisms

• Seismic, submarine landslides, volcanic eruption, impacts.

Tsunami inversion techniques

• Uncertainties/challenges*
• Inversion of DART data and tide-gauge (uncertainties, calibration)

Introduction to the model (COMCOT)

Theoretical formulation

• Governing equations
• Boundary conditions
• Initial conditions

Numerical formulation

• Hydrostatic/non-hydrostatic
• Dispersive/Non-dispersive, Linear/Non-linear
• Nested grids/mesh
• Coastal uplift/subsidence
• Bathymetry/Topography
• Numerical stability
• Dissipation modeling

Hands-on modeling

• Entry parameters
• Topo-bathymetry
• Compiling
• Running test
• Solution/resolution
• Inundation limitations

Case study