Tsunami Information’s and

modelling
Md. Omar Faruq
Meteorologist
Bangladesh Meteorological Department
Tsunami

Tsunami – Harbour wave in Japanese.

Waves resulting from sub sea earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, landslides
Meteorological or meteo-tsunami.
What is a Tsunami ?
A tsunami is a series of ocean waves caused by a sudden displacement of water.
Tsunamis are most often caused by earthquakes, but they can also be caused by other
events, such as volcanic eruptions and meteorites.
Earthquakes and Tsunami
• Not all earthquakes generate tsunamis.
Characteristics of an earthquake that may
generate tsunamis:
• epicenter underneath or near the ocean
• fault causes vertical movement of the
seafloor over a large area (up to a 100,000
square kilometers).
• large in magnitude ( > 7.5 )
• shallow focus ( < 70 km)
Tsunami Models
Community Model Interface for Tsunami (ComMIT)

ComMIT is an internet-enabled interface to the

community tsunami model developed by the NOAA
Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR). ComMIT was
initially developed for Indian Ocean countries with
support from the United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The
ComMIT->Preferences lets you choose where you
work, where your grids are, where your source files
are.
The ComMIT Interface
Tsunami models (both deep-water propagation and inundation)
require information on: (1) bottom topography; (2) initial and
boundary conditions; and (3) model run specific information such as
time-step and length of model run. The aim of ComMIT is to provide
an interface which allows for the selection of model input data (initial
condition, bathymetry grids, etc.) as well as a platform to display
model output through a graphical user interface. ComMIT has been
written in the Java programming language (http://www.java.com)
and uses the netCDF file format for model input and output thus
making ComMIT platform independent (i.e. it may be run on different
platforms such as WINDOWS, Mac or UNIX). ComMIT may be used
with any computational model with the only requirement that the
models are able to input and output data in the specified format
(netCDF).
Tsunami Modelling and Forecasting:
What are the required inputs to modelling software and outputs
from modelling software?

inputs: source
deepwater bathymetry
nearshore bathymetry
onshore topography
Earthquake information.

outputs: distribution of wave heights

and Travel time.
Some Recommended Sources of DEM Data
 Outline
• Selected Area
• A, B & C Grid Selection.
• Scenerio Selected
• Maximum Wave Ampitude
• Maximum Inundation
• Composite Image
• Inundation Mapping
• Evacuation Mapping
Create Grid Bathymetry Using ComMITserver

For uniform purpose, please type

“southjava1” (without quotation)
Create Grid Bathymetry Using ComMITserver

Grid A

interval Grid
Create Grid Bathymetry Using ComMITserver

Grid B

interval Grid
Create Grid Bathymetry Using ComMITserver

Grid C

interval Grid
Model Setup tab
The first tab, “Model Setup”, shows the location of the Model Run that is currently open (“sathkhira_coast” in this
case). The Model Run consists of three nested grids: an outer, low resolution A-grid (in green), a middle, medium
resolution B-grid (in yellow) and an inner, high-resolution C-grid (in red). The Model Run consists of these three
bathymetry files, and a file containing the Model Parameters, all in a folder that can be opened by clicking on the
button with the Model Run name just above the map .
Create Source Model

Mw = 8.8
The interface consists of a “Start Model” button, Progress Bar, and Model Run selector
at the top, and 5 tabs: “Model Setup”, “Initial Condition”, “Grid Bathymetry”, “Results
Animation”, and “Results Extrema”.
 Source Selection

Unit Source Map

The map also shows white rectangles defining a seismic fault plane. These fault planes,
know as Unit Sources, can be used to force the Model Run. The user can select one or more
of these Sources, and set their “weight” by adjusting the Alpha coefficient in the table to
the right of the map .The total moment magnitude (Mw) can be adjusted by changing the
Alpha coefficient, by adding more Unit Sources, or by editing the magnitude directly.
Eartquake Magnitude & Model Parameters
Model Run Finished
Case Study -1 for
Bangladesh
Maximum Wave Height
Wave moving to the Coastal Area
Inundation Area (comMIT Model Output)
Inundation Area
=15 Sq.kilometers
Case Study -2 for
Srilanka
Case Study -3 for
India
Result Inundation using Gebco + SRTM
GIS Mapping
 Md. Omar Faruq
Meteorologist
Bangladesh Meteorological Department