The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami:
The 4,500-meter Seafloor Rupture and Coastal Erosion Survey
To be presented at ISOPEfs June Conference in Seoul
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA, USA ¾ June 5, 2005 –– ISOPE announced a special presentation on the 4,500-meter seafloor rupture, tsunami waves and coastal erosion from the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami at the 15th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference & Exhibition ¾ISOPE-2005, at the COEX Convention Center in Seoul, June 19-24, 2005.
The presentations will be in two parts:
The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami:
Part I will be presented by Prof. Stephan Grilli of University of Rhode Island, an expert in nonlinear wave and tsunami modelling and experiments, and Prof. Frédéric Dias, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Cachan, Paris, France, a nonlinear wave modelling expert. Prof. Stephan Grilli led the numerical tsunami-modelling group of the expedition team.
The presentation will summarize the expedition objectives and findings and show tsunami modelling results and comparison with data.
An international expedition team of the worldfs leading scientists conducted the expedition in May 2005, and just returned last week. Dives down to 4,500-meter deep were conducted to explore the seabed near the epicentre of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami off the northern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, with a deep-water remotely-operated vehicle (ROV); seismic surveys were conducted using twin airguns. The team also studied the tsunami impact on Phi Phi Island off Phuket, Thailand, Data acquired during this expedition can help better understand how the giant earthquake caused the tsunami and how to numerically model the tsunami waves and test the model accuracy.
The expedition focused their investigation on the southern part of the earthquake rupture zone that caused the tsunami. The expedition was specifically designed to explore the seafloor in search of direct evidence for the critical locations where the seabed moved and generated the giant wave. The seafloor was imaged with high-resolution seismic reflection techniques to identify, evaluate and interpret the size and character of the seafloor displacements that occurred during the 9.3 M earthquake. Targeted seafloor features such as landslides and fractures are surveyed using the twin-airgun seismic equipment and the ROV to investigate whether these events are recent. They revealed dramatic photographic evidence of seafloor ruptures near the epicentre that contributed to the deadly December 26 tsunami wave, including permanent deformation in the range of 10 meter.
The above mosaic of photographs the team has released shows a 3-meter high x 8-meter wide section of compacted sediment, only a small part of a huge cliff that was faulted and upthrust during the enormous earthquake. Below are maximum tsunami amplitudes in meter predicted in our model simulations for the Bay of Bengal (x-long E; y-lat. N). Maximum runups up to 24 meter were predicted on the upper NW coast of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
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The expedition will be broadcast later this year on BBC ONE, Discovery US, ProSieben in Germany and Discovery International. Also supporting the expedition is the U.S. National Science Foundationfs ARMADA Project and more.
Part II will be presented by Dr. Tetsuya Hiraishi, Director, Port and Airport Research Institute, Japan.
A joint Thailand-Japan research team conducted the first and urgent survey in Thailand from December 30, 2004 to January 3, 2005. The second joint Thailand-Japan survey was conducted from March 17, 2005 in Khao Lak beaches to study the beach erosion process.
The presentation includes the observed tsunami heights related to the building damage, the coastal and beach erosion as well as counter measure and the numerical simulation of wave surface and velocity will be presented. A tsunami warning system as well as countermeasures to reduce the tsunami pressure along the coast will also be presented.
Damages are classified in two types: (1) The tsunami washed up and destroyed the houses and buildings; and (2) the coastal erosion. The maximum tsunami heights were 10 to 12 meter in the Khao Lak resort area, and lower in Phi Phi Island off Phuket. The maximum run-up height was observed in the central area in the Khao Lak beach. The beaches along the coastline were greatly damaged by the tsunami erosion. The scouring created by the tsunami flow might have caused such erosion. The erosion reached about 50 to 100 meter toward the inland along the shoreline. The erosion depth in sandy beaches ranged about 1 to 1.5 meter.
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Among other highly anticipated papers presented at the 15th ISOPE Conference & Exhibitionfs 93 sessions with presenters from 47 countries are:
· ExxonMobil to Announce Cutting-Edge Technologies at ISOPE-2005 Conference in Seoul: A technology they have been developing for gas commercialization – Pressured LNG (PLNG). In essence, using ExxonMobil patented technologies for PLNG has the potential to lower the overall cost of moving gas from field to market by utilizing pressurized containment. And indeed its key component is the containment system. The PLNG pressure vessels are made of a newly developed high-strength, low-temperature (HSLT) steel along with new welding consumables and processes. PLNG and its delivery chain seek to optimize the trade-offs between the facilities and the shipping cost.
· Offshore Technology: A Heavy Industry Overview. Dr. Keh-Sik Min, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., will discuss his companyfs dry dock-independent Ground-Build method for the construction of offshore LNG terminals and other large structures, which are impractical to build with current dry dock facilities.
· North Sea Pipelines: Pushing the Technology Front. Dr. Jan O. Berge, Chief Engineer, Statoil, will present special topics like f. ex Hot-Pipe \ advanced technology combined with low cost, high reliability and even tougher service conditions in a globally competing business framework.
· Sakhalin ¾ A New Source of Energy for Asia Pacific Region. Development of Sakhalin II will reportedly cost around $12 billion. It includes 2 huge concrete gravity base structures (CGBS): PA-B and Lun-A drilling and production platforms. Sakhalin II will become one of the worldfs largest LNG suppliers. Dr. David Meehan, project manager, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC) will present offshore installation, processing and converting the gas to LNG for export to the Asian market. He is currently in charge of construction and installation of a pair of Concrete Gravity Base Structures (CGBS) in Vostochny near Vladivostok, Russia: Samsung Heavy Industries Co. is the fabricator of the topside of the CGBS, and the installation will begin in June 2005. The SEIC is led by Shell whose partners are Mitsui and Mitsubishi, Japan.
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ISOPE‑2005 and associated programs are available on www.isope.org. Also see contact address: meetings@isope.org: Phone 1-650-254-1871.
The 15th International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference & Exhibition ¾ ISOPE-2005 at COEX Convention Center in Seoul, June 19-24, 2005.