Non-Hydrostatic Modeling of Waves Generated by Landslides with Different Mobility

Tsunamis are generated when landslides transfer momentum to water, and these waves are major hazards in the mountainous coastal areas of lakes, reservoir, and fjords. In this study, the influence of slide mobility on wave generation is investigated using new: (i) experimental observations; (ii) theoretical relationships; and (iii) non-hydrostatic numerical predictions of the water surface and flow velocity evolution. This is accomplished by comparing landslides with low and high mobility and computing the momentum flux from landslides to water based on data collected in laboratory experiments. These slides have different materials, different impact velocities, different submarine runout distances, and generate very different waves. The waves evolve differently along the length of the waves' flume, and the experimental results are in close agreement with high-resolution phase-resolving simulations. In this short communication, we describe new research on landslide generated waves conducted at Queen's University, Canada, and presented at Coastlab18 in Santander, Spain.