One of the primary engineering concerns in tsunami (seismic sea wave) research is the final stage of wave run-up, run-down and overland flows - coastal processes which can cause severe damage in a populated coastal community. These effects are usually complicated by the three-dimensional aspects of the problem, including impact with coastal structures and propagation over the nearshore bathymetry; to which these long waves are highly responsive. Most of the existing research on tsunami run-up is primarily two-dimensional: There is a need to make advances in experimental and numerical techniques so as to understand the three-dimensional features of tsunami run-up. This research program is a coordinated effort among several researchers to investigate this phenomenon through innovative combinations of modern experimental techniques, mathematical theories and numerical models. Dr. Philip L.-F. Liu at Cornell University and Dr. George F. Carrier of Harvard University are responsible for the theoretical and numerical study; Dr. Harry H. Yeh at the University of Washington is in charge of the small-scale experimental program; and Dr. Costas E. Synolakis of the University Southern California and Mr. Mike Briggs of the Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are leading a research team to carry out the large-scale experiments at CERC in Vicksburg, MS. The goals of the program are: (1) To achieve a better understanding of the physical phenomenon and to identify important physical parameters involved in three-dimensional tsunami run-up; (2) to advance the numerical modeling techniques for simulating three-dimensional free surface flows; (3) to develop analytical and numerical solutions for the laboratory experiments; and (4) to generate a data-base of experimental results for future verification of different numerical models. This research program will facilitate and enhanceinteractions between researchers in universities and various government agencies and laboratories.
