@article{10902/598,
year = {2012},
month = {1},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10902/598},
abstract = {Abstract: This article presents a reasonable present-day, sea-level highstand numerical simulation and scenario for a potential
tsunami generated by a landslide with the characteristics of the BIG’95 debris flow, which occurred on the Ebro
margin in the western Mediterranean Sea in prehistoric times (11,500 cal yr BP). The submarine landslide deposit
covers an area of 2200 km2 of the slope and base of slope (200–1800-m water depth), involving a volume of 26 km3.
A leapfrog finite difference model, COMCOT (Cornell multigrid coupled tsunami model), is used to simulate the
propagation of the debris-flow-generated tsunami and its associated impact on the nearby Balearic Islands and Iberian
coastlines. As a requisite of the model, reconstruction of the bathymetry before the landslide occurrence and seafloor
variation during landsliding have been developed based on the conceptual and numerical model of Lastras et al. (2005).
We have also taken into account all available multibeam bathymetry of the area and high-resolution seismic profiles
of the debris flow deposit. The results of the numerical simulation are displayed using plots of snapshots at consecutive
times, marigrams of synthetic stations, maximum amplitude plots, and spectral analyses. The obtained outputs show
that the nearest shoreline, the Iberian coast, would not be the first one hit by the tsunami. The eastward, outgoing
wave would arrive at Eivissa Island 18 min after the triggering of the slide and at Mallorca Island 9 min later, whereas
the westward-spreading wave would hit the Iberian Peninsula 54 min after the slide was triggered. This noticeable
delay in the arrival times at the peninsula is produced by the asymmetric bathymetry of the Catalano-Balearic Sea
and the shoaling effect due to the presence of the wide Ebro continental shelf, which in addition significantly amplifies
the tsunami wave (19 m). The wave amplitudes attain 8 m in Eivissa, and waves up to 3 m high would arrive to
Palma Bay. Resonance effects produced in the narrow Santa Ponc¸a Bay in Mallorca Island could produce waves up
to 9 m high. A similar event occurring today would have catastrophic consequences, especially in summer when human use of these tourist coasts increases significantly.},
organization = {This research was supported by the TRANSFER
project, European Commission (EC) contract
037058-TRANSFER funded by the EC’s Sixth
Framework Programme, GRACCIE-CONSOLIDER
project (ref. CSD2007-00067) of the Spanish Plan
Nacional I D I, and a Generalitat de Catalunya
“Grups de Recerca Consolidats” grant (2009 SGR
1305). O. Iglesias and R. Durán are supported by an
FPU fellowship of the Spanish Ministerio de Educación
and a Juan de la Cierva fellowship of the
Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, respectively,
and E. Tahchi is supported by a Marie
Curie Intra-European Fellowship. We would also
like to thank all scientists and crew who participated
in seagoing activities to obtain geophysical
data. We thank G. Papadopoulos, an anonymous
reviewer, and the editor for their thoughtful revisions.
RTD projects that funded the cruises are also
acknowledged. The publication reflects only the
views of the authors. The EC is not liable for any
use that may be made of this article.},
publisher = {The University of Chicago Press},
publisher = {The Journal of Geology, Vol. 120, No. 1 (January 2012)},
title = {The BIG’95 Submarine Landslide–Generated Tsunami: A Numerical Simulation},
author = {Iglesias Cerdeira, Olaia and Lastras Membrive, Galderic and Canals Artigas, Miquel and Olabarrieta Lizaso, Maitane and González Rodríguez, Ernesto Mauricio and Aniel-Quiroga Zorrilla, Íñigo and Otero, Luis and Durán Gallego, Ruth and Amblàs Novellas, David and Casamor Bermúdez, José Luis and Tahchi, Elias and Tinti, Stefano and De Mol, Ben},
}