On the Influence of Slopes, Source, Seabed and Water Column Properties on T Waves: Generation at Shore

The term T waves is generally associated with acoustic waves generated by seismic events that subsequently travel horizontally in the ocean at the speed of sound. In this paper, we use a time-domain spectral-element method to perform a parametric study of the influence of seafloor slope, source position and media properties for a typical (downslope) T-wave generation scenario. We find that the energy and duration of these waves are particularly sensitive to the environment. In particular, the slopes and physical characteristics of the seabed play a crucial role for both the generation and the conversion of these waves. Likewise, the depth and position of the earthquake relative to the slope is of great importance, with the presence of privileged areas for the generation of T waves, which we map.