Modeling The Mysterious Tsunami Swirls In The Northeast Coast Of Japan During The March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

The formation of tsunami swirls near the coast is an obvious oceanographic phenomenon during the occurrence of giant submarine earthquakes and mega-tsunamis. Several tsunami vortices were generated during the Asian tsunami of 2004 and the great Japan tsunami of March 2011 which lasted for several hours.New models of tsunami generation and propagation are hereby proposed and were used to investigate the tsunami inception, propagation and associated formation of swirls in the eastern coast of Japan. The proposed generation model assumes that the tsunami was driven by current oscillations at the seabed induced by the submarine earthquake. The major aim of this study is to develop a tsunami model to simulate the occurrence of tsunami swirls. Specifically, this study attempts to simulate and understand the formation of the mysterious tsunami swirls in the northeast coast of Japan. In addition, this study determines the vulnerability of the Philippines to destructive tsunami waves that originate near Japan. A coarse-resolution model was therefore developed in a relatively large area encompassing Japan Sea and the eastern Philippine Sea. On the other hand, a fine-resolution model was implemented in a small area off Sendai coast near the epicenter. The model result was compared with the tsunami record obtained from the National Data Buoy Center with relatively good agreement as far as the height and period of the tsunami are concerned. Furthermore, the fine-resolution model was able to simulate the occurrence of tsunami vortices off Sendai coast with various sizes that lasted for several hours.