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IUGG XXIV General Assembly July 2-13, 2007 Perugia, Italy
(S) - IASPEI - International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's
Interior
JSS002 Oral Presentation 1779
A comparison of tsunamis in Caribbean and Mediteranean; history,
possibility, reality
Prof. Ahmet Cevdet Yalciner
Civil Engineering Ocean Engineering IAPSO
Efim Pelinovsky, Tania Talipova, Narcisse Zahibo, Andrey Zaitsev, İRina
Didenkulova, Ceren Ozer, Isil Insel, Hulya Karakus, Andrey Kurkin, Irina Nikolkina
The Carribean sea is one of the biggest marginal seas in the planet and located in between lattitudes
7oN and 23oN, and longitudes -88oE and -60oE. It is bordered on the North and East by the West
Indies archipelago, on the South by South America mainland, and on the West by the Central American
isthmus. The Caribbean sea is well known and center of attraction with its tropical climate, storms, rain,
clear waters, sun and reefs. The Mediterranean sea is one of the biggest marginal seas in the planet
and located in between lattitudes 30oN and 47oN, and longitudes -5oE and 43oW. It is bordered on the
North and West by Europe, on the south by Africa, on the East by Asia. Siciliy divides the sea to eastern
and western basins. The Mediternaean sea is well known and is the center of attraction with its breeze,
clear waters, sun and remnants of ancient civilizations. There are three main geographical features of
the Caribbean Sea, which are i) Outer ring of mainly coral islands with white sand beaches from the
Bahamas, to the Turks and Caicos, the Cayman Islands, ii) Inner ring of more volcanic islands, with
black sands, includes the islands of the Greater Antilles - Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Puerto
Rico. iii) The alluvial coast of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (Cayenne) on the South American
mainland between the vast estuaries of the Orinoco and the Amazon. The fault zones around eastern
Mediterranean basin are Hellenic Arc, North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAF), East Anatolian Fault Zone
(EAF), Cyprus Arc, and Dead Sea Fault. There are series of volcanoes Vezuvius, Etna, Stromboli, Milos,
Antimilos, Antiparos, Santorini, Christiana, Colombus, Kos, Yali, Nisiros and others in the Mediterranean
. Hellenic arc is one of the important tsunami prone areas for the far eld propagation of tsunamis.
Numerous earthquakes and associated tsunamis in history in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas
seem as the precursor of the future similar events. In this study oceanographical, geographical,
geological and geophysical characteristics of the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas are presented and
discussed briefly. For comparison the general characteristics of historical tsunamis occured in both seas
documented in literature are tabulated. The estimated zones of tsunami sources in relation to the
earthquake activities are presented. The numerical modeling is applied to several different tsunami
cases. For illustration of the generation, propagation and coastal amplification of tsunamis, the
simulations of different tsunami scenarios for Caribbean and Mediterranean are developed, compared
and discussed.
Keywords: tsunami, caribbean, mediterranean