Browsing by Subject "Tsunami"
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Item Dynamically adaptive data-driven simulation of extreme hydrological flows(2018-08) Jain, Pushkar Kumar; Dawson, Clinton N.; Hughes, Thomas J. R.; Ghattas, Omar; Bui-Thanh, TanHydrological hazards such as storm surges, tsunamis, and rainfall-induced flooding are physically complex events that are costly in loss of human life and economic productivity. Many such disasters could be mitigated through improved emergency evacuation in real-time and through the development of resilient infrastructure based on knowledge of how systems respond to extreme events. Datadriven computational modeling is a critical technology underpinning these efforts. This investigation focuses on the novel combination of methodologies in forward simulation and data assimilation. The forward geophysical model utilizes adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), a process by which a computational mesh can adapt in time and space based on the current state of a simulation. The forward solution is combined with ensemble based data assimilation methods, whereby observations from an event are assimilated into the forward simulation to improve the veracity of the solution, or used to invert for uncertain physical parameters. The novelty in our approach is the tight two-way coupling of AMR and ensemble filtering techniques. The data assimilation system is implemented on various test cases that delve into the aspects of ensemble based assimilation filters. Additionally, data assimilation on tsunami models is analyzed and a methodology to map the uncertainties in the seabed deformation due to the associated earthquake to the water surface elevation forecast has been presented. Further, using other simulated environments such as the Chile tsunami event of February 2010, a systematic way to calibrate the assimilation system is presented. Finally, the technology is tested by assimilating actual gauge data from the Tohoku tsunami event. These advances offer the promise of significantly transforming data-driven, real-time modeling of hydrological hazards, with potentially broader applications in other science domains.Item I am pouring sweet water on my altar for you : theorizing women of color feminism at the junctures of storm/water, femininity, race and power(2015-05) Gunasena, Natassja Bindu; Tinsley, Omise'eke Natasha, 1971-; Tang, Eric, 1974-This thesis is a meditation on the womanness of water and the wateriness of black and brown womannness. It begins with a consideration of those women that were swept away in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Sri Lanka and those women who were engulfed by the rage of Hurricane Katrina nine months later. As such, this thesis is also a consideration of waterscapes of origin, of the pitfalls and potentials of women of color connecting through, with and as water. It names Yemoja, Oshun, Erzulie, Pattini and Viharamahadevi as theories of water, gender and race developed by women whose lives are "writ in water", and it names them as flesh-and-blood women who wrest/ed meaning from materiality. And finally, this thesis is my own praxis of "crossing", my response to M.Jacqui Alexander's call to "water the plantain shoots" and to remember what we have forgotten we've forgotten. It is a navigation of the waters of women of color feminism, anchored first and always in Black feminism, that hopes to a chart a new future where the bridge isn’t only our back, but our hands, our tongues, and our hearts.Item Physical models of tsunami deposition : an investigation of morphodynamic controls(2013-05) Delbecq, Katherine Lynn; Kim, Wonsuck; Mohrig, DavidA key goal of tsunami research is to quantitatively reconstruct flow parameters from paleotsunami deposits in order to better understand the geohazards of coastal areas. These reconstructions rely on grain-size and thickness measurements of tsunami deposits, combined with simple models that allow an inversion from deposit characteristics to wave characteristics. I conducted flume experiments to produce a data set that can be used to evaluate inversion models for tsunami deposition under controlled boundary conditions. Key variables in the flume experiments are sediment grain-size distribution, flow velocity and depth, and depth of water ponded in the flume before the tsunami bore was released. Physical experiments were run in a 32 m-long outdoor flume at The University of Texas at Austin. The flume has a head box with a specialized mechanical lift gate that allows instantaneous release of water to create a bore. Various sediment mixtures (silt to very coarse sand) are introduced to the upstream end of the channel as a low dune positioned just below the lift gate. The bore entrained the sediment mixture, producing an unambiguous suspension-dominated deposit in the downstream half of the channel. Deposits were sampled for grain-size and thickness trends. The experimental results capture characteristics of many recent and paleotsunami deposits, including consistent fining in the transport direction. In addition to overall fining, trends in deposit sorting and coarse (D95) and fine (D10) fractions reveal the importance of sediment-source grain-size distribution on tsunami deposit attributes.