Proceedings of the International Symposium on Engineering Lessons Learned fromthe 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, March 1-4, 2012, Tokyo, JapanTOHOKU TSUNAMI SURVEY, MODELING
AND PROBABILISTIC LOAD ESTIMATIONAPPLICATIONS
Solomon C. YIM1, Kwok Fai CHEUNG2, Michael J. OLSEN3, and Yoshiki YAMAZAKI4
1

Professor, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR, USA, solomon.yim@oregonstate.edu
2Professor, Ocean and Resources Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa,
Honolulu, HI, USA, cheung@hawaii.edu
3
Assistant Professor, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR, USA, michael.olsen@oregonstate.edu
4Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Ocean and Resources Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa,
Honolulu, HI, USA, yoshikiy@hawaii.edu

ABSTRACT: The Tohoku earthquake (Mw = 9.0) and tsunami inflicted substantial
damage to coastal infrastructure throughout Japan. Extensive seismic networks, geodetic
instruments, and water-level stations provided unprecedented, detailed datasets to record
the event for scientific research. The data allows accurate modeling of the near-fieldtsunami using the non-hydrostatic model NEOWAVE to understand the impact along the
Tohoku coast. A ground-based LIDAR survey captured damage to structures and theoverall topography at several sites for inundation modeling. The high-resolution LIDAR
data provides critical geospatial information to link field observations, topographic
mapping, and structural damage to feed and validate tsunami and structural load models.
The dense quantity of measurements enables one not only to virtually explore the site,
but also improves quantification of damage. An analysis plan to develop a better
understanding of tsunami loads on structures using the model data and observations is
described. This plan includes immediate, specific deterministic analysis and experiments
needed to calibrate tsunami inundation models for built environment as well as acomprehensive probability-based tsunami load-estimation procedure.
Key Words:
Tohoku earthquake, tsunami
analysis plan, and probability-based load estimate

modeling,

LIDAR

survey,INTRODUCTION
The Tohoku earthquake (Mw = 9.0) and tsunami inflicted substantial damage to coastal infrastructure
throughout Japan. Extensive seismic networks, geodetic instruments, and water-level stations provided
unprecedented datasets of the event for scientific research. Figure 1 shows the location of the epicenterand the buoys, which recorded clear signals of the tsunami along the Tohoku and Hokkaido coasts.
These datasets enable modeling of the near-field tsunami directly from the earthquake rupture and430

validation of the results with water-level and geodetic measurements (Yamazaki et al., 2011). The
validated model of the tsunami provides important flow data to interpret damage and destruction along
the Tohoku coast.
The damage and destruction were widespread throughout many of the areas inundated by thedevastating tsunami. A team of Japanese scientists surveyed the tsunami flow depth and runup
immediately after the event (Mori et al., 2011). Several coordinated surveys were conducted byinternational teams to collect valuable time-sensitive quantitative information to improveunderstanding of structural response to tsunami loading. One survey included high-resolution,
ground-based Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) to collect dense topographic and structural data,
which includes deformations of partial concrete wall blow-outs, scour depths and volumes, and lateraland longitudinal displacement in damaged steel frame structures at a wastewater treatment facility.
Additional sites highlight other structural failures such as collapses of bridges, and overturning ofretaining walls. The dense quantity of measurements enables one not only to virtually explore the site,
but also improves quantification of damage.
The 2011 Tohoku event has demonstrated the destructive power of tsunamis and the need todevelop a systematic procedure for definition of load conditions and design of coastal infrastructure.
The accurate reproduction of the near-field tsunami by Yamazaki et al. (2011) and the high-resolution
LIDAR data enable a post-event assessment to quantify and understand tsunami loading, structural
response, and failure mode for development of a rigorous design methodology. In this paper, we
describe modeling of the near-field tsunami from seismic data, provide a brief description of the
LIDAR survey of topography and structural damage along the Tohoku coast, and a framework toutilize the modeled and measured data for calibration of deterministic and probabilistic models fortsunami hazard analysis.

POST-EVENT ASSESSMENT OF TSUNAMI IMPACT

The 2011 Tohoku tsunami was generated by a powerful Mw 9.0 earthquake near the Japan Trench. We
utilized NEOWAVE (Non-hydrostatic Evolution of Ocean Wave) to model the near-field tsunami fromits generation with the earthquake rupture to the impact of the resulting waves along the Japanese
coast. The staggered, finite-difference model builds on the nonlinear shallow-water equations with avertical velocity term to account for weakly-dispersive waves and a momentum conservation scheme
to describe bores or hydraulic jumps (Yamazaki et al., 2009, 2011a).
The computation utilized two levels of two-way nested grids. The level-1 grid extends from theKamchatka Peninsula to Okinawa at 2 arc-min (~3,000 m) resolution to describe tsunami propagation
along the continental margin and to provide an open boundary for the waves leaving the computational
domain. The level-2 grid, which covers the region depicted in Figure 1, resolves the rupture models,large-scale coastal features, and near-field tsunami waves at 24 arc-sec (~600 m). Inundation is notconsidered at this resolution and a vertical wall condition is imposed at the coastline. The bathymetry
is derived from the 1 arc min (~1,500 m) ETOPO1 data and the 20 arc sec (~475 m) data from theJapan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The digital elevation model is in geodetic coordinates using the
WGS84 datum and elevation is referenced to a geoid model of mean sea level.
The ground shaking from the earthquake lasted 140 seconds (2 min 20 sec). Figure 2 shows theslip distribution, seafloor deformation, and tsunami waves at the end of the rupture. Yamazaki et al.
(2011b) inferred the slip time history from finite-fault inversion of the seismic P waves and forward
modeling of the near-field tsunami records. The model comprises 20 × 20 km2 subfaults with strikeand dip angles of 192° and 12° and utilizes the epicenter (38.107°N, 142.916°E) and origin time
14:46:18.14 UTC from Zhao et al. (2011). The 70-m slip near the trench corroborates findings fromGPS data (e.g., Ito et al., 2011; and Simons et al., 2011). Implementation of the finite-fault solution in
the planar fault model of Okada (1985) provides the time history of seafloor deformation. The verticalseafloor displacement shows a distinct pattern of uplift on the continental margin and subsidence on
the shelf. The vertical velocity term in NEOWAVE facilitates modeling of tsunami generation and431

transfer of kinetic energy from the seafloor deformation and thus provides a more realistic descriptionof the near-field tsunami.
The computation covers 6 hours of elapsed time with 1 and 0.5-s time steps in the level-1 and 2
grid and output intervals of 1 min. Figure 3 shows good agreement of the computed and recorded
water elevations at the nearshore buoys. The signals at the Kushiro, Tomakomai, and Mutsu Ogawara
wave buoys, which are located in shallow water of 20 to 50 m, are strongly influenced by local
features. The GPS buoys at 100 to 300 m water depth recorded the clear signals of the tsunami. The
initial wave has the largest impact to the Tohoku coast adjacent to the rupture zone. The sensitivity
analysis of Yamazaki et al. (2011b) indicates that the large seafloor displacement along the trench is
responsible for the 6 m wave amplitude recorded at the central and south Iwate GPS buoys. All buoys
show persistent oscillations of the water levels. Both the time series and spectra vary significantly
along the coasts indicating local amplification of frequency components over the continental marginand embayments. The signals between 100 to 200 min are due to large-scale standing edge waves
along the Pacific margin coasts, as observed during the 2010 Chile tsunami (Yamazaki and Cheung,2011).
The modeled event is compatible with seismic data from around the world as well as recorded
geodetic and tsunami data along the Japan coasts. Figure 4 shows the computed maximum surface
elevation using the level-2 grid and the recorded runup from Mori et al. (2011). The model shows
focusing of energy at Fukushima and Iwate with typical wave amplitude of 10 to 15 m along the coasts
corroborating the recorded surface elevation on land. The impact was exacerbated by 1 to 2 m
subsidence of the coastlines at the hardest hit areas. The Iwate coastline consists of coves and narrow
embayments with steep cliffs that resulted in channeling of wave energy and large runup heights ofclose to 40 m at a number of locations. High-resolution topography, bathymetry, and an additional
level of nested grids along the coastline are necessary for NEOWAVE to reproduce the recorded runup
data.

LIDAR SURVEY OF TSUNAMI-INDUCED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
LIDAR Topographic Mapping
LIDAR is a line-of-sight technology that emits laser pulses at defined, horizontal and vertical angularincrements to produce a point cloud, containing XYZ coordinates for objects that return a portion of
the light pulse. Details of typical ground-based LIDAR (also called 3D laser scanning) acquisition,
processing, and post-earthquake applications can be found in Kayen et al. (2010), Olsen et al. (2010,2011, 2012a&b) and Olsen and Donahue (2011). Additional LIDAR work completed in Japanfollowing the earthquake and tsunami was performed by Kayen et al. (2011). Messinger et al. (2010)
discussed the importance of LIDAR data in relief efforts and identifying damage.
Survey overview
The 3D laser scan survey following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami was performed in June andJuly 2011 consisting of a team of U.S.-based and Japanese researchers. Table 1 lists the key sites
surveyed, which were selected based on observations made during previous surveys. Sites wereselected for topographic mapping in valleys such as Onagawa. Additional scans were completed to
document structural damage and deformations at several buildings impacted by the tsunami. A typicalsetup consists of the 3D laser scanner with a camera and GNSS receiver mounted above the scanner.
The Riegl VZ-400 laser scanner can acquire data up to a range of 300-500 m, depending on object
reflectivity and scan mode. GPS coordinates were obtained for many scans; however, the team did nothave access to GPS correction data for precise positioning. As such, the GPS coordinates wereobtained with an estimated, absolute accuracy of approximately 2 m. Fortunately, post-processing
through matching features between scans enabled improved relative measurements within the scan
data.

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Table 1 Locations surveyed with 3D laser scanning
Site
Yuriage\Natori
Onagawa
Gamou (Wastewater Treatment Plant)
Minamisanriku
Rikuzentakata
TotalsPrefecture
Miyagi
Miyagi
Miyagi
Miyagi
Iwate

Emphasis
Structural
Topography
Structural
Structural
Structural & Topographic# Scans
20
30
10
5
38
103

Days
2
3
1
1
3
10

Onagawa was selected as an important location for detailed topographic mapping using the
ground-based scanner. The city consists of flat terrain (0.2% slope, typical) in narrow valleys
surrounded by steep hills. The Onagawa topographic LIDAR data consisted of 22 scans performed at
key locations (Figure 5) to obtain coverage throughout each of the narrow valleys that were inundated
from the tsunami. In areas where specific structures were of interest for additional modeling, the scans
had significant overlap. However, for a few of the scans located at the East sections of the valley orbay, there was minimal overlap between neighboring scans. Hence, there is less ability to validate thegeo-referencing quality of those scans.
Prior to the static scan surveys, Asia Air survey Co. performed mobile laser scanning throughout
Onagawa, as well as other areas of Japan. The static 3D laser scan data collected through the effort
described herein has been combined with their mobile laser scan data to provide more detailed
topographic maps. Mobile laser scan data is very dense along the roadways and presents a rapid dataacquisition technique to survey damage following an earthquake or tsunami. However, static 3D laser
scan data can fill in gaps in locations that are not accessible by vehicle because of more flexibility inselecting an appropriate viewpoint. For example, the research team performed scans at several sites
located at high elevations for improved topographic visibility and scanning. This required carrying theequipment up several flights of stairs because of limited access. Unfortunately, the team did not haveaccess to the mobile scan data until after the project, so optimal setup locations to reduce redundancy
could not be chosen. Figure 5 also shows the approximate extents of mobile laser scan data coverage.
Because the mobile scan and static scan datasets were collected at different times, the data canalso be explored to study recovery efforts. For example, the main highway is 0.5 m higher in elevationin the static scan data, showing a significant reconstruction of the road surface on top of the old road.
In addition to the topographic mapping at Onagawa, several structures were scanned to record
deformations from the tsunami impact. Details of the structural analysis performed on similar datasets
can be found in Olsen et al., (2012b). Combining LIDAR data with as-built structural drawings
enables one to create a numerical model of the structure. Further, one can measure deformation bycomparing to estimated initial conditions. The initial condition of most walls can be created byleast-squares fitting a plane to points on the undamaged sections of the walls.
LIDAR Processing
This section will discuss the processing of the LIDAR data for use in topographic mapping of
Onagawa. Details of processing the data for structural analysis can be found in Olsen et al. (2010,2012). The topographic DEM processing using LIDAR consisted of the following tasks:a. Pre-processing and filtering to remove noiseb. Scan alignment and geo-referencing
c. Topographic filtering to remove buildings and other structures
d. Coordinate transformation in GIS
e. Creation of a DEM

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a. Pre-processing
Because the scan dataset was very large, it was split into 5 sections (north, south, east, west andcentral) to simplify processing. Prior to alignment and modeling, the point cloud must be processed toremove noise, debris, and sporadic points from the dataset, which would not be consistent between
scans. One common problem is that the laser pulses can reflect off of water and wet surfaces, reflect
off of another object, and then return to the scanner. Because the scanner only knows the angle atwhich the pulses were fired, these points become mirrored below the water surface in the dataset.
Figure 6(a) shows an example of these spurious points collected in Onagawa. There were many data
points resulting from this effect due to the substantial amount of water remaining from the tsunami
inundation and recent rain. Moisture in the air and birds also create noise in the dataset. Automatic
filters can remove points that do not have a neighboring point within a specified threshold distance.
For this dataset, a threshold of 2 m was used.
To help in manual removal of points that cannot be removed by automatic filters, color
information from calibrated photographs taken at the same time as the scan is also mapped to the point
cloud datasets. To ensure high precision mapping and improvement over the default calibration,fine-tune adjustments can be implemented by selecting common points in the photographs and scans,
if desired.
Static scanners operate on fixed angular increments. As such, there are substantially more points
close to the scanner origin, which becomes sparser with distance from the scanner. To improve
interaction with the dataset and improve pick points used in scan geo-referencing, a minimum
separation filter was applied to remove points that were closer than 0.02 m.
b. Scan Alignment and Geo-referencing
Scanners collect each scan in its own reference frame, which only includes objects visible from that
position. Each of these scans needs to be converted to a common coordinate system. Olsen (2011)
discusses common procedures used to align scans. Typically, target-resection methods are
implemented because they generally will provide the highest local accuracy; however, they require
additional field time for long-range scanning applications (Williams et al. 2012). Given the limited
window of time available to collect data and small size of the team, it was not feasible to perform theadditional surveying necessary to establish control for the targets. Hence, an alternate approach was
implemented.
The mobile laser scan data provided by Asia Air Survey, Co. was geo-referenced using
RTK-GPS, producing cm-level accurate data. Hence, their data was used as a reference to
geo-reference the static scan data. This data was acquired in a local, Japanese coordinate system, so it
was not immediately compatible with the uncorrected GPS positions obtained during the static scans.
Each static scan was first leveled using inclination sensor values obtained during scanning. Then acommon feature was identified in the static scan and mobile scan data to translate the static scan into
the coordinate system of the mobile scan data. Field note sketches and the relative relationship of the
GPS positions were used as a guide. Next, the scans were rotated about the Z-axis to match roughly
the mobile scan data. This was completed for all scans overlapping the mobile scan data. For scansthat did not overlap the mobile scan data, neighboring static scans were used for reference.
Cloud-to-cloud, surface matching (Vosselman and Maas, 2010) techniques were used to align thescans. In areas with substantial overlap between scans, a global registration was implemented, whichallowed all scans except for the mobile scan data to be adjusted simultaneously for a better fit.
However, to improve reliability, the leveling values from the scanner remained fixed during all stagesof the adjustment. RMS residuals between scans typically ranged from 10-20 cm. Cloud to cloud
methods require much less field time compared to target methods, although they can sometimes result
in reduced accuracy (Williams et al. 2012), particularly over long distances when a geo-referenced,
baseline surface is not available. Fortunately, the mobile scan data provided the necessary baseline.
Several quality control measures were performed to evaluate the data alignment quality including
cross sections, examining point blending, and calculating RMS values between adjacent scans (Olsen,
2011).

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The static scan origins determined from the cloud-to-cloud adjustment were then compared to theuncorrected GPS data obtained for the scans to determine the translation and rotation parameters
necessary for a similarity transformation of the data into the Japanese Geodetic Datum 2000 Zone 10
coordinate system using least squares. This produced a RMS of 2.2 m between the uncorrected GPS
data and the static scan origins determined from the cloud-to-cloud adjustment.
c. Topographic filtering
The data was topographically filtered to remove buildings and other noise. The topographic filter
performs statistical analysis of all points in a grid cell size and selects the lowest point to represent the
topography. A cell size of 5 m was used for this dataset. However, much finer resolution could beobtained for a significant amount of the dataset. Following the filter, the data was verified to ensurebuilding points did not remain in areas where there might have not been any topographic points.
Figure 6(b) shows the topographic-filtered point cloud for part of the central section. Figure 7 shows
the final point cloud modeling the topography throughout most of the valleys of Onagawa.
d. Coordinate transformation
The mobile scan data and uncorrected GPS data contained ellipsoid heights, which do not reflectelevation above mean sea level. The processed data was converted to orthometric heights using the
GSIGEO2000 Geoid model, enabling the data to be suitable for tsunami inundation modeling. Finally,
the data was re-projected into WGS84 geographic coordinates using GIS.
e. Creation of a DEM
The XYZ point data was then binned and converted to a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in a gridformat using tools available through the Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel and Smith, 1991). This
process includes filling small holes in the data through interpolation techniques for a seamless model.
This DEM can then be fed into the tsunami modeling for another level of detail for a specific site.

DETERMINISTIC TSUNAMI LOAD PREDICTION

Japan has been the leading country in tsunami research because of the frequent and imminent
threat it has experienced since the twentieth century. Only following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
have other countries, including the US, significantly increased their research efforts, particularly withlaboratory research. However, due to the complexity of the physical phenomenon of tsunami and thelack of high-performance computational capabilities, there is still a noticeable lack of research efforts
in numerical modeling and simulation of the effects of tsunami impact on a structure, especiallyregarding fluid-structure interaction. Recently, researchers at the Port and Airport Research Institute(PARI), Japan have been developing in-house, tsunami-structure interaction models using
CADMUS-SURF and STOC. Other researchers, including those at Oregon State University and the
University of Hawaii in the US, and at Nagoya University in Japan, have used the multi-physics code
LS-DYNA for this purpose. Most of the numerical studies so far have focused on modelinglaboratory-scale, rather than regional scale cases.
Since 2005, Yim’s research group at Oregon State University, in collaboration with researchers at
the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has conducted two numerical studies for the Oregon Departmentof Transportation on tsunami loads on full-scale coastal bridges including the Spencer Creek Bridge
directly north of Newport, OR (Nimmala et al. 2006) and four other bridges around the Siletz Bay(Yim et al. 2011). The input tsunami flow fields to the numerical fluid-structure interaction model
were developed based on numerical simulation of 500-year Cascadia events (Cheung et al., 2011).
Even with high-performance computation facilities, these studies are limited to two-dimensional crosssections due to the large physical scale (tens to hundreds of meters in each dimension) and longloading time history (hundreds to thousands of seconds). To date, the full-scale numerical simulation
results have not been calibrated due to a lack of suitable field data. However, with the availability of435

the quantitative information obtained from the post-event assessment of tsunami impact and the
LIDAR survey of tsunami-induced structural damage measurement, calibration of these full-scale
fluid-structure contact/impact numerical models may now be possible.
Definition of the overland flow conditions from the 2011 Tohoku tsunami is the first step in thecalibration process. Modeling of tsunami inundation requires high-resolution topography andbathymetry near the coast. In addition to the LIDAR topography we gathered at Onagawa, aerial
LIDAR data for Sendai is publicly available from the Geospatial information Authority of Japan.
These high-resolution LIDAR datasets are merged with the 50-m resolution DEM from the sameagency. The digital coastline and depth contour data from Japan Hydrographic Association defines thenearshore bathymetry, which in turn is blended into the JMA regional and ETOPO1 global datasets
already in geodetic coordinates using the WGS84 datum. Inundation mapping may be performed
under bare-earth conditions with grid size up to 30 m. If buildings are included, the DEM should havea resolution of at least 3 m to capture flow acceleration in built environment, which is achievablethrough LIDAR data. The runup data of Mori et al. (2011) will allow validation of the modeled
tsunami.
With the near-field tsunami correctly reproduced and near-shore topography obtained from the
LIDAR survey, a post-event analysis will allow validation of the procedure for deterministic load
prediction as follows:a. Select a structure in Onagawa or Sendai where LIDAR data of the damage is available.
b. Develop a numerical model of the structure using as-built data from construction documents
and verify the modeling prediction with the LIDAR data.
c. Obtain a flow time history of the surface elevation and velocity from numerical modeling of
the Tohoku tsunami.
d. Perform a simulation of tsunami flow impact on the selected structure using a numerical
procedure such as the one presented in Yim et al. (2011) for both the runup and drawdown of
the largest wave at the site. The effects of coupled fluid-structure interaction should also be
included in the model.
e. Validate the numerical prediction of terminal structural response by comparing it to measured
values from the LIDAR data.
The LIDAR field data, however, provides information on the final (damaged) condition of thestructures; it cannot be used to validate the time histories of the simulated structural responses. This
raises the level of uncertainties in estimating the physical properties of the structure and limits theconfidence level of model numerical validation. To fill this time history data gap and improve ourdeterministic tsunami load estimation calibration process, laboratory-scale model experiments of theselected structures and tsunami loading conditions should be conducted to provide data for structuralproperties estimation, time history responses and validation of the final (damaged) structuralconfigurations. These laboratory experiments should be designed based on the field inundation andstructural damage information, as well and preliminary simulation results of both tsunami inundationand coupled fluid-structure-interaction models. It should be pointed out that because of scaling effects,
the laboratory experiments are to be designed to elucidate certain nonlinear behavior of structuralmembers or sections only, and not the entire structure under consideration. A scaled building would
not respond dynamically in the laboratory because of its very small time scale comparing to thetsunami. It would basically be a quasi-static process in the building response.

PROBABILIISTIC TSUNAMI HAZARD ASSESSMENT
Probabilistic models are becoming popular for tsunami hazard assessment, but few of these models

436have been fully calibrated with an actual event. The Tohoku tsunami is estimated to have a return
period of 1,000 years based on sediment records and slip rates (Minoura et al., 2001). The successful
reproduction of the near-field tsunami combined with the high-resolution LIDAR data of the
topography and observed infrastructure damage provide a unique opportunity to calibrate aprobabilistic model for improved tsunami hazard assessment.
The first step in a tsunami hazard assessment is to define the tsunamigenic sources. Japan has
experienced several tsunamis from around the Pacific Rim, but the most destructive events have been
generated locally along the Japan-Kuril-Kamchatka-Kuril subduction zone. Yamazaki et al. (2006)
delineated and discretized the subduction zones into a system of rectangular subfaults and compiled
the corresponding tectonic parameters. The data were originally developed to generate a database oftsunami Green functions for a forecast algorithm, but they can also be used to define the source
mechanisms of tsunami events. A logic tree approach can provide a sample of tsunamigenic
earthquakes and their occurrence probabilities from tectonic, geodetic, historical, and paleo-tsunami
data. The logic tree also systematically subdivides the occurrence probability to account for variationsin the magnitude, fault geometry, and location of each event.
The change in landforms from coseismic deformation is negligible compared to the spatial scale ofa destructive tsunami. The DEM based on the current and best-available data is valid for probabilistic
modeling of tsunami events. The tide level provides another source of uncertainties, which can be
represented by a statistical distribution determined from the constituents near the site. However, theneed to consider multiple water levels substantially increases the number of events to be considered in
the probabilistic analysis. For a conservative approach, the mean-higher-high-water (MHHW) level orthe mean-sea (MS) level with an appropriate increment can be used instead of considering multiple
water levels.
We may then reconstruct statistical distribution of tsunami amplitude at near-shore waters forgeneral hazard assessment (e.g., Thio et al., 2010; Uslu et al., 2010). Since a Green function approachbased on a linear model is typically used to compute near-shore wave amplitude, it is important thatthe projected wave amplitude for a given return period is an order of magnitude less than the water
depth. The analysis can also be performed at a region of interest to produce probabilistic hazard maps.
Site-specific hazard analysis requires a reconstruction of statistical distributions of flow parameterssuch as depth, velocity, and flux at the site for hazard mapping or engineering design (e.g., Craw,
2008; González et al., 2009; Priest et al., 2009; Ge and Cheung, 2011). One would analyze eachtsunami event to determine representative parameters such as maximum amplitude, depth, velocity,and flux. Probabilistic flow parameters can be developed in near-shore waters or at the site itself fromthe sample of computed tsunamis and their occurrence probabilities. Note that these flow parameters,such as depth and velocity, are not coincidental for a given return period, and should not be combined
to determine structural loads.
Unfortunately, the time history of a tsunami event, which might be crucial for load definition, islost in the development of probabilistic design parameters. Alternately, the sample of computed
tsunami events can be used directly to determine probabilistic design loads on a structure (e.g.,
Cheung et al., 2011). This process involves extraction of the flow depth and velocity time series at thesite from each computed tsunami and application of the flow depth and velocity time series in aphysics-based model to determine the maximum anticipated load on the structure for each tsunami
event. This method also enables reconstruction of the statistical distributions of the design loads fromthe computed values and the occurrence probabilities associated with the tsunami events. Comparisonof the recorded inundation and structural damage at Onagawa and Sendai with the projected
1,000-year event will validate the probabilistic tsunami hazard model for application at other locations
along the coastlines of Japan.

CONCLUDING REMARKSThis paper outlines the necessary steps to use advanced numerical modeling and geospatial data to437

obtain probabilistic design loads for tsunamis. An analysis plan to develop an improved understandingof tsunami loads on structures through estimations using these observations and analyses is described.
Advanced modeling efforts of the tsunami following an event were first summarized. Next, theacquisition and processing of ground-based LIDAR data for topographic mapping and analyses was
discussed. The LIDAR data provides the critical geospatial information to link field observations,
topographic mapping, and structural damage to feed and validate numerical models. The dense
quantity of measurements enables one not only to virtually explore the site, but also improves
quantification of damage. In addition to the tsunami modeling and LIDAR data collection and analysis,
the plan also includes immediate, specific deterministic analysis and laboratory-scale experiments
needed to calibrate inundation models for built environment and a probability-based tsunami design
methodology integrating the above information. A designer can then implement this methodology toincorporate potential tsunami impacts.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Funding for the survey was provided by the National Science Foundation through NSF Rapid Grants
Nos. 1138710 and 1138699. We thank Dr. T. Kuwayama for supplying the 20 arc-sec Japanbathymetry data, the Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI), Japan for providing the near-shore
wave buoy data, Leica Geosystems and Maptek I-Site for providing data-processing software, andAsia Air Survey, Co., Japan for supplying the mobile laser scan data used in this project. Evon Silvia
and Shawn Butcher (Oregon State University), Lyle Carden (Martin & Chock, Inc.), Shinya Tachibana(Saitama University), and several Building Research Institute (BRI) collaborators led by Yasuo Okuda
assisted with the field work. Ian Robertson (University of Hawaii, Manoa) and Gary Chock (Martin &Chock, Inc.) provided guidance to the field effort.

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Fig. 1 Map depicting the general topography and bathymetry, the epicenter of the Tohoku earthquake,and locations of near-shore buoys.

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Fig. 2 Slip distribution, seafloor deformation, and tsunami waves at the end of the rupture.

Fig. 3 Computed (red) and measured (black) tsunami signals at near-shore buoys along the Tohoku
and Hokkaido coasts.

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Fig. 4 Computed surface elevation and recorded runup of the Tohoku tsunami. Black and blue dots
indicate measured runup and surface elevation from MSL.

Approximate
mobile scan data
coverage

Fig. 5 Scan locations (yellow circles) in Onagawa for topographic mapping. The red-dashed line
represents the approximate extents of mobile laser scan data provided by Asia Air Survey, Co.

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Fig. 6 Scans that have been roughly aligned, but not cleaned and filtered. The grayscale data aremobile laser scan data provided by Asia Air Survey, Co. (a) The colored scans are some of the static
scans, each colored a different color; and (b) Data points following topographic filtering.

Fig. 7 (a) Plan view and (b) Oblique view of processed LIDAR topographic data, colored byelevation. (Blue = low elevation (0 m) and Red = high elevation (>100 m))

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