18 de Julio 2017

Tsunami-HySEA: the model for TSUMAPS-NEAM project

The Tsunami-HySEA numerical model developed by the EDANYA Group of the University of Malaga has been selected as part of the European Project TSUMAPS-NEAM (http://www.tsumaps-neam.eu) to carry out the more than 50 million simulations that have been necessary to develop the first probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment map (PTHA) in the coasts of the region called NEAM (Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and connected seas).

The Tsunami-HySEA model has been selected since it is one of the fastest, most robust and efficient numerical models that currently exist globally. In fact, it is the official model adopted by the Italian and Spanish tsunami early warning systems, as well as being recently adopted as a numerical model to be used by the GDACS alert system sponsored by the European Commission and UNESCO. The speed of calculation of this model is based on the optimization of the algorithms developed by the EDANYA group to be used in GPU architecture, giving rise to codes capable of simulating tsunami phenomena much faster than real time

Finally, the probabilistic map developed has been presented recently and made available to the general public (it can be consulted at the following address: http://ai2lab.org/tsumapsneam/interactive-hazard-curve-tool/). The aim of producing this new map is to unify the criteria for hazard assessment and long-term hazard planning and mitigation both at national and regional levels with applications to, for example, evacuation plans in the face of this type of natural disasters, identification of critical infrastructure at risk, among others.