Tsunamis: Non-breaking and breaking solitary wave run-up

This study considers the run-up of non-breaking and breaking solitary waves on a smooth sloping beach. A non-linear theory and a numerical model solving the non-linear shallow water equations (NLSW) were developed to model this physical process. Various experiments to obtain wave amplitude time-histories, water particle velocities, wave free-surface profiles, and maximum run-up were conducted and the results were compared with the analytical and numerical models.; A higher order theoretical solution to the non-linear shallow water equations, which describes the non-breaking wave characteristics on the beach, was sought and presented in this study. The solution was obtained analytically by using the Carrier and Greenspan (1958) hodograph transformation. It was found that the non-linear theory agreed well with experimental results. The maximum run-up predicted by the non-linear theory is larger than that predicted by Synolakis (1986) at the order of the offshore relative wave height for a given slope. This correction for non-breaking waves on beach decreases as the beach slope steepens, and increases as the relative incident solitary wave height increases.; A unique run-up gage that consists of a laser and a photodiode camera was developed in connection with this study to measure the time-history of the tip of the run-up tongue of a non-breaking solitary wave as it progresses up the slope. The results obtained with this run-up gage agree well with other measurements and provides a simple and reliable way of measuring run-up time histories.; The run-up of breaking solitary waves was studied experimentally and numerically since no fully theoretical approach is possible. The wave characteristics such as wave shape and shoaling characteristics, and, for plunging breakers, the shape of the jet produced are presented. The experimental results show that wave breaking is such a complicated process that even sophisticated numerical models cannot adequately model its details. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...