Glacial retreat in recent decades has exposed unstable slopes and allowed deep water to extend beneath some of those slopes. Slope failure at the terminus of Tyndall Glacier on 17 October 2015 sent 180 million tons of rock into Taan Fiord, Alaska. The resulting tsunami reached elevations as high as 193 m, one of the highest tsunami runups ever documented worldwide. Precursory deformation began decades before failure, and the event left a distinct sedimentary record, showing that geologic evidence can help understand past occurrences of similar events, and might provide forewarning. The event was detected within hours through automated seismological techniques, which also estimated the mass and direction of the slide - all of which were later confirmed by remote sensing. Our field observations provide a benchmark for modeling landslide and tsunami hazards. Inverse and forward modeling can provide the framework of a detailed understanding of the geologic and hazards implications of similar events. Our results call attention to an indirect effect of climate change that is increasing the frequency and magnitude of natural hazards near glaciated mountains.
As a result of damage from the 2010 Chile and 2011 Japanese teletsunamis, tsunami risk to small craft marinas along the West Coast of the United States has become an important concern. This paper outlines an assessment tool that can be used to quantify the tsunami damage potential in small craft harbors. The methodology is based on the demand and capacity of a floating dock system and uses a Monte Carlo framework to address the uncertainty of input parameters. Detailed numerical modeling and damage calibration data from recent tsunamis are used to benchmark the approach. Results are provided as fragility curves and give a quantitative assessment of survivability. This tool yields an indication as to the survivability and/or failure of a floating dock system of vessels and floating components/piles subject to tsunami events. The objective of the presented effort is to quickly evaluate whether a floating dock is likely to survive or be destroyed by a particular tsunami scenario.
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