A UCL scientist hopes to limit the damage from giant waves by modeling them in a big water tank.
Matt Brown
At last week’s Coastal Structures 2007 conference in Venice, UCL’s Tiziana Rossetto unveiled plans to develop a large-scale tsunami generator. Her goal is to accurately model the devastation caused by the large waves. Dr Rossetto is at the forefront of ‘earthquake engineering’, a relatively new and multidisciplinary field that investigates the causes of damage after earthquakes and tsunami, so that safer building practices can be developed. She surveyed the coasts of Sri Lanka and Thailand after the tsunami of December 2004, and has studied many other earthquakes. The new facilities in Oxfordshire, designed in collaboration with consultancy HR Wallingford (HRW), should be available from 2009.
Tiziana Rossetto
My Science
How well are the forces of earthquakes and tsunami currently understood?
I visited Thailand and Sri Lanka following the Indian Ocean Tsunami as part of the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) reconnaissance. What struck me was the similarity between damage I had previously seen in earthquakes and the tsunami damage to buildings. In earthquake engineering we have a good understanding of seismic loads on buildings and can design for them, but this same understanding does not exist in the case of tsunami (violent flows). In talking with HRW it also became clear that inundation processes are not reliably modeled and hence collaboration started between us to look into these matters.
As part of that collaboration, you’re building a wave generator to model tsunami. What results do you hope to get from this?
No realistic large-scale experiments involving tsunami have ever been carried out due to the inability of traditional wave generators to reproduce the multiple waves of large wave height (~5 m) and period (5–15 mins) associated with tsunami. With support from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) we are going to construct an innovative tsunami generator that will use the principles of HRW’s pneumatic tide generators, to create multiple waves (viz. the 3–4 peaks in the Boxing Day Tsunami), and ensure realistic wavelengths. The tsunami generator will be used within a 45 m long wave flume, where the waves will shoal over a coastal slope and onto a model beach. This will provide priceless data with which researchers world-wide can calibrate their tsunami onshore flow models. Furthermore, tests looking at the impact of tsunami on scaled models of buildings and coastal defence structures will be carried out to gain a better understanding of how structures are damaged and to investigate how this might be prevented.
Image courtesy of HR Wallingford.
Will you be recreating previous tsunami such as the 2004 wave, or focusing on predicting the effects of future incidents?
In order to calibrate the tsunami generator we will be recreating the Indian Ocean Tsunami for which there is wave data available. Although it is possible to look at specific events, we want to develop a generic tool for tsunami impact assessment. Hence, many tests will be carried out for different bathymetries, structures, etc. in order to develop a quick assessment tool that can be used to give a first estimate of whether there is or isn’t danger in a coastal region.
My web
How is the web changing your field?
International communication, dissemination and exchange of information has become much easier and quicker. This is especially important after an earthquake event or disaster which can happen anywhere world-wide. For example, having the opportunity for many people to store and exchange (blog) information in the same space makes it easier to coordinate efforts when investigating an earthquake.
Which scientific websites do you visit most regularly?
The US Geological Survey, the British Geological Survey , and SeismoSoft for earthquake information. And journal websites for up to date research (like Nature of course!).
Do you ever read scientific blogs? If so, which ones?
My London
Why did you choose to work at UCL?
It’s just such a great place to work! The university comprises many different disciplines and encourages multidisciplinary collaboration. This is essential when working in the field of natural hazards, as they not only affect infrastructure but also communities and the environment. At UCL you find experts in all these fields in one place.
Where in London would you celebrate getting your paper on the cover of Nature?
Rossopomodoro, a fantastic Italian restaurant in Fulham.
Where in London would you advise a visiting scientist to while away a free afternoon?
At the Wallace Collection. Unrelated to science, but beautiful.
Top two images courtesy of Tiziana Rossetto.