Tsunami hazard assessment in the Ionian Sea due to potential tsunamogenic sources – results from numerical simulations

Abstract. In spite of the fact that the great majority of seismic tsunami is generated in ocean domains, smaller basins like the Ionian Sea sometimes experience this phenomenon. In this investigation, we study the tsunami hazard associated with the Ionian Sea fault system.

A scenario-based method is used to provide an estimation of the tsunami hazard in this region for the first time. Realistic faulting parameters related to four probable seismic sources, with tsunami potential, are used to model expected coseismic deformation, which is translated directly to the water surface and used as an initial condition for the tsunami propagation.

We calculate tsunami propagation snapshots and mareograms for the four seismic sources in order to estimate the expected values of tsunami maximum amplitudes and arrival times at eleven tourist resorts along the Ionian shorelines.

The results indicate that, from the four examined sources, only one possesses a seismic threat causing wave amplitudes up to 4 m at some tourist resorts along the Ionian shoreline.