This action provides support for a workshop on Model Validation and Benchmarking for Tsunami Generation by Submarine Mass Failure. The workshop will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 30-31, 2003, following the ISOPE 2003 conference (International Society for Offshore and Polar Engineers). The latter conference will have a special session on modeling of long wave propagation and runup, which will complement the workshop.
The aim of the workshop is to define relevant benchmark problems to validate submarine mass failure tsunami numerical models through a number of objectives: Present existing numerical models of submarine mass failure tsunami generation. Discuss the range of validity of each model as a function of their basic assumptions. Identify geological/geotechnical data needed to run each model. Present existing experimental and field studies of submarine mass failure tsunamis. Define new experimental benchmark problems needed for model validation. Identify future landslide tsunami research opportunities. Publish workshop results in a special journal issue.
Comparison of submarine mass failure tsunami generation models with experimental data for idealized benchmark problems is used to evaluate and criticize the state of the art. Validating the numerical models against a rigorous set of benchmark problems provides these models with a predictive capability, in the sense that they can be applied to similar problems with some degree of confidence.
