Hydraulic performance of an impermeable submerged structure for tsunami damping

In the face of the enormous destruction caused by the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami event, it is necessary to utilize more effective means of tsunami mitigation to prevent such tragedies. Based on the experiences gathered in storm wave damping by using submerged structures, Agnieszka Strusinska examines the applicability of artificial reefs as an integrated part of a multi-defence line strategy for tsunami attenuation. In her study, she first discusses the results of laboratory experiments in order to identify the difference in the nonlinear interaction of storm and tsunami-like solitary waves with an impermeable submerged structure of a finite width (including generation of wave breaking and wave fission). With this basic knowledge, the damping performance of an artificial reef under tsunami impact is determined as a ratio of wave transmission, wave reflection, and wave energy dissipation for varying reef geometries and incident wave conditions using a Boussinesq-type numerical model.