G. V. Shevchenko

Instrumental measurements of 2009–2011 tsunamis on the Russian Pacific coast

We describe the progress (since 2008) in the development of the network of autonomous bottom stations of the Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMGG FEB RAS), and telemetry recorders of the Tsunami Warning Service (TWS) on the Pacific coast of Russia. We show that these instrumental measurements are important for operational tsunami warning and performing an a posteriori study of tsunami manifestation features. The characteristics of the Samoan (2009), Chilean (2010), and Tohoku (2011) tsunamis in different areas of the Russian Far East coast are examined.

Effects of the Tohoku tsunami of March 11, 2011 on the Pacific coast of Russia

The records of the Tohoku tsunami of March 11, 2011, obtained at the nearest Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) stations and the coastal telemetric recorders of the Russian Tsunami Warning System, are analyzed. Such parameters as tsunami arrival times, heights of the first and maximal waves, and predominant periods are presented. The eyewitness accounts and photographs of tsunami effects are presented. The tsunami height distribution along the coast of Kuril Islands is discussed.

Extreme nonperiodic currents on the northeastern shelf of Sakhalin Island

97 Instrumental measurements of the speed and direction of ocean currents are an essential stage of engineering hydrometeorological survey in marine oil and gas fields. First of all, currents determine to a large extent the possible dynamic loads (including ice) on drilling platforms and offshore oil and gas facilities. Secondly, currents prevailing during different seasons can significantly affect the possible directions of spreading pollution in case of emergencies.

Atmospheric Internal Gravity Waves Caused by Tsunamis over Kuril Islands

MODIS (Aqua and Terra) space images of the northwest part of the Pacific Ocean at instants of considerable tsunamis in 2009–2011 have been analyzed. Periodic cloud structures typical for internal gravity waves (IGWs) in the atmosphere have been revealed in the region of the Kuril Islands in five cases. It has been shown that the meteorological conditions observed during those events favored the appearance of such phenomena. The continuous oceanic upwelling in the region of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench is a favorable factor for IGW generation due to the creation of temperature contrasts observed both in warm and cold seasons between the ground layer of the atmosphere and ocean surface. The estimate of the structure of cloud manifestations of atmospheric waves by satellite images testifies also to the influence of the Kuril Ridge orography on their appearance and propagation over the water area under study. The increase in amplitudes and duration of oscillations caused by the tsunami in the shelf zone can be an auxiliary factor for the IGW generation over coastal territories.

Features of Manifestation of the Chilean Tsunami on April 1, 2014, and September 16, 2015, on Russia’s Pacific Coast

As a result of mooring of autonomous seabed stations in bays of Shikotan Island, the records of two tsunamis were obtained from strong earthquakes that occurred off the coast of Chile on April 1, 2014, and September 16, 2015. In both cases, prolonged intense vibrations with a pronounced group structure were observed in various bays, mainly with periods of the main modes of resonance oscillations. The second event was more dangerous, and the wave height was 0.9 m at Malokurilskaya Bay. The increase in the energy of fluctuations in 2015 was more significant, manifesting itself in a wider range of periods. Numerical simulation of the tsunami showed that the nature of wave propagation in both earthquakes was identical in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, approaching Russia’s Pacific coast, and was characterized by weak damping, in contrast to waves propagating to the south and southwest. This explains why expect large waves can be expected on the coasts of the Kurils from earthquakes off the coast of South America, despite the considerable distance.

How the tide influences dangerous level rises on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and adjacent areas in cases of tsunami and storm surges

A long-term sea level series were analyzed, recorded at 12 coastal tide gauges located on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific coast of the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. Estimates for the maximum heights of the tidal level, storm surges, and tsunamis were obtained separately, as well as for the rare recurrence of the total sea level height with the probability of these individual components superposition. The maximum total height of the sea level without a tsunami were obtained for the Magadan station, where the main factor is anomalously large tides, as well as for Iturup and Matua islands, where the highest storm surges were recorded. The minimum values were obtained for Ust’-Kamchatsk and Malokuril’sk (Shikotan Island) on different flanks of the study area. When a tsunami is included, the maximum values of possible total sea level rises were observed on the Pacific coast of the Kuril Ridge and the influence of tides and meteorologically induced oscillations are small. On the east coast of Kamchatka adjacent to the considered closed area, the role of tsunamis is much smaller. At the Kuril’sk station, where the height of the largest tsunami (Chilean, May 1960) was about a half the strongest surge height, the contribution of the tsunami scarcely affected the resulting estimates. As a rule, the contribution of a tsunami becomes significant at other stations on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk with a recurrence period of 100 years.