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.

Detecting and Characterizing Sea Breezes Over the U.S. Northeast Coast with Implication for Offshore Wind Energy

In this study, a new two-step identification method is proposed to detect and characterize three types of sea breezes (pure, corkscrew and backdoor) over the U.S. Northeast coast from a year-long WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) simulation. The results suggest that the proposed detection method can identify the three different types of sea breezes in the model simulation. Key sea breeze features, such as the calm zone associated with pure sea breezes and coastal jets associated with corkscrew sea breezes, are evident in the sea breeze composite imagery. In addition, the simulated sea breeze events indicate a seasonal transition from pure to corkscrew sea breeze between March and August as the land-sea thermal contrast increases. Furthermore, the location and extension of the sea breeze front are different for each type of sea breeze, suggesting that the coastal impact of sea breeze varies with sea breeze type. From the wind energy perspective, the power production associated with a 10 megawatts offshore wind turbine would produce approximately 3 to 4 times more electrical power during a corkscrew sea breeze event than the other two types of sea breezes. This highlights the importance of identifying the correct type of sea breeze in numerical weather/wind energy forecasting.

Coastal Erosion And Tourism: The Case Of The Distribution Of Tourist Accommodations And Their Daily Rates

Beaches are key territories for tourist development but at risk of impacts of climate change—specifically with the consequent intensification of coastal erosion. This study examines the effects of coastal erosion on the distribution of lodging facilities and the value of daily rates practiced on the beaches of Tabuba and Cumbuco on the northeast coast of Brazil. The methodology comprises collecting information on the means of accommodation (distribution and daily rate), quantifying coastline variation and measuring the field to validate data. A total of 13.9 km of coastline were analyzed; erosion tendency was observed in 26.8% of the coast (9.0% erosion, 14.4% intense erosion, and 3.4% severe erosion). With the highest erosion rates, Tabuba's Beach has a low density in accommodation distribution and daily rates practiced in tourism. Cumbuco's Beach, conversely, has a lower risk of erosion, and the means of accommodation are concentrated. Coastal erosion has affected tourism development in Caucaia, influencing the choice of tourism accommodation entrepreneurs. the results indicate that there is a clear concentration of tourist accommodations in areas without notorious problems with coastal erosion, influencing in the distribution of tourist facilities and their daily rates. So, there is a direct connection does exist between local tourism system income and the beaches with problems with coastal erosion.