Three-dimensional simulation of the 1983 central East (Japan) Sea earthquake tsunami at the Imwon Port (Korea)

This article documents a study undertaken on the dynamics of water flow at the Imwon Port, Korea, during the 1983 tsunami event. The study is based on the two-dimensional nonlinear shallow water equations and the full three-dimensional-Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The tsunami that occurred on May 26,1983, in the East (Japan) Sea affected the Port of lmwon, where the heights of the waves were recorded at 5.1 m near the shoreline and 7.15 m in the creek. This was the highest run up ever recorded on the east Korean coast. The three-dimensional model simulation adequately reproduces the observed characteristics of the run up features, including the formation of the vortex structure inside the port. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.