Tsunami Propagation into the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

There has been recent work published regarding the potential for tsunami generation from several local seismic and submerged landslide sources off the coast of southern California (Borrero et al., 2005). The close proximity of these tsunamigenic sources to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (Ports) has caused some concern regarding the impact of a tsunami in the Ports. The Ports jointly commissioned this investigation into the detailed tsunami propagation in San Pedro Bay to assist them in their engineering and emergency preparedness planning. A boussinesq wave model was used in this investigation to provide detailed data for the locally generated tsunami characteristics including maximum water levels, water level time histories, arrival times, current speeds, and overtopping estimates. The likelihood of a tsunami occurring from these local sources was also evaluated based on the geological characteristics of the Southern California Continental Borderland. The results of the investigation suggest limited areas of overtopping within both Ports. Those areas expected to overtop consisted primarily of partially enclosed basins where resonance typically occurs within the Ports. The arrival times for the sources investigated ranged from 10 to 30 minutes. The seismicity and tectonic characteristics of the Southern California Continental Borderland (SCCB) suggest large earthquakes (M~7.5) capable of generating the tsunamis simulated in this investigation are very infrequent and have not occurred in the offshore area of California within historical times. Based on the seismicity, geodetics, and geology, a large locally generated tsunami would probably not occur more than once every 10,000 years.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784408346
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Dykstra, David
• Conference:
  • The Eleventh Triannual International Conference: Ports 2007, 30 Years of Sharing Ideas...1977-2007
  • Location: San Diego CA, United States
  • Date: 2007-3-25 to 2007-3-28
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 9p
• Monograph Title: Ports 2007: 30 Years of Sharing Ideas...1977-2007

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Disaster preparedness; Earthquakes; Overtopping; Seismicity; Tectonics; Tsunamis
• Identifier Terms: Port of Long Beach; Port of Los Angeles
• Geographic Terms: San Pedro Bay
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01077422
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784408346
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 5 2007 2:28PM