Parameter Sensitivity of a 2D Finite Volume Hydrodynamic Model and Its Application to Tsunami Simulation

A two dimensional finite volume hydrodynamic numerical model that solves the non-linear shallow water equations on an unstructured grid (xpswmm2D, using the TUFLOW FV solver) has been applied to simulate the landward propagation and subsequent overland inundation of a tsunami event at a test site in Japan, following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The model development required an extensive benchmarking and testing process to establish a suitably accurate spatial and temporal model domain and also a suitably accurate numerical scheme which could operate at practical scales and simulation times. The paper discusses the process undertaken to establish model suitability, sensitivity of model performance to spatial resolution and numerical parameters, and its application to further analyses.