Tsunami - Earthquakes, Landslides and Asteroids. This talk explains the physical nature of tsunami waves and how they differ from waves at the beach. I show computer simulations of the many sources of tsunami, including earthquakes, asteroid impacts and volcanic explosions. Cases span waves just a few inches high to "mega-tsunami" which involve entire ocean basins ( http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/LP_tsu_Atlantic_small.mov). I also present hot-off-the-press models of the Sumatra Tsunami ( http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/indo.mov ) and touch upon tsunami forecasting.
SLIDES FOR THIS PRESENTATION INCLUDING QUICKTIME MOVIES
About the speaker:
Steven Ward is a solid earth geophysicist who, since 1984, has worked at the Santa Cruz branch of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), a multi-campus research unit of the University of California. Steve is a theoretical seismologist by training, but he has migrated into the areas of active tectonics and geological hazards. Lately he has contributed to fault-based interpretations of uplifted marine terraces, computer simulations of seismicity and fault interaction, and multidisciplinary assessments of probabilistic seismic and tsunami hazard. Steve is quick to grasp the importance of new technologies in Earth science and is particularly integrative in research. Recent examples of this research style include: the melding of surface slip data from field geology with dynamic rupture models of earthquakes; the use of space geodesy to infer heretofore unquantifiable aspects of earthquake recurrence; the introduction of rigorous probability theory into the hazards of asteroid impact tsunami; and the extraction of long term patterns of subduction zone deformation from the growth rings of shallow marine corals. Steve is proud to be path breaker in multidisciplinary science and he believes that new developments in Earth sensing will ensure that geodynamics will be an increasingly exciting field for years to come.
Contact information:
Steven Ward
Institute of Geophysics
and Planetary Physics
University of California, Santa Cruz
831-459-2480
ward@es.ucsc.edu