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The present work focuses on the preparatory phase of the design of the biodiversity monitoring network. The preliminary results of this first phase are then presented, starting from the formation of a cognitive framework based on previous knowledge of environmental parameters, the definition of sampling stations, areas, and detection points. At the same time, the results of the analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of the coasts are shown in the light of the new analyses and new measures, which, together with existing data, aim to inform the monitoring strategy.

Within the framework of Classical Continuum Thermomechanics, we consider an unsteady isothermal flow of a simple isotropic linear viscous fluid in the liquid state to investigate the transient flow conditions. Despite the attention paid to this problem by several research works, it seems that the understanding of turbulence in these flow conditions is controversial. We propose a dimensionless procedure that highlights some aspects related to the transition from viscous to turbulent flow which occurs when a finite amplitude pressure wave travels through the fluid. This kind of transition is demonstrated to be described by a (first) dimensionless number, which involves the bulk viscosity. Furthermore, in the turbulent flow regime, we show the role played by a (second) dimensionless number, which involves the turbulent bulk viscosity, in entropy production. Within the frame of the 1D model, we test the performance of the dimensionless procedure using experimental data on the pressure waves propagation in a long pipe (water hammer phenomenon). The obtained numerical results show good agreement with the experimental data. The results’ inspection confirms the predominant role of the turbulent bulk viscosity on energy dissipation processes.

The beach drainage can be included among the soft engineering methods aimed to counteract the shoreline retreat related to the sediment redistribution along the beach profile. The idea that the groundwater table plays a role in the mobilization of the sediment grains underlies the application of the beach drainage system (BDS) as a tool able to modify the natural dynamics of groundwater table at sandy beaches. Indeed, BDS consists of a series of alongshore buried drains aimed to lower the groundwater table. Due to the drainage, the thickening of the layer of dry sand makes the solid grains less prone to be mobilized by the action of the waves at the swash zone, where interaction phenomena between the percolating and the incoming water lens take place. This tool had a troubled history. Its first applications were encouraging. Since then, controversial performances of both experimental and prototype scale experiences have been observed around the world. This paper aims to present an up-to-date full review of the studies and experiments carried out so far, in order to provide the reader with a complete perspective on its strength and weakness as well as open challenges to be faced in the near future.

The presence of floaters should be taken into account when dealing with hydraulic analyses, e.g. when boats are moored along the river banks or large wood is expected to be conveyed by the river flow during floods. Many approaches have been proposed so far in order to consider the effects of floaters upon the flow features. Usually, they rely on the numerical resolution of the governing equation for both the fluid and the solid phases. Hence, their computational cost can be inadequate at the early stage of hydraulic studies or when large scale analyses have to be performed. A simplified method to compute the value of the resistance coefficient able to reproduce the effects of floaters upon the flow levels is proposed herein. The method is intended to provide the hydraulic parameters to be used within standard hydraulic simulations for which the effects of floaters must be accounted for; this is obtained by means of a modified resistance coefficient.

Berms deployed at the toe of conventional rubble mound breakwaters can be very effective in improving the stability of the armor layer. Indeed, their design is commonly tackled by paying attention to armor elements dimensioning. Past research studies showed how submerged berms can increase the stability of the armor layer if compared to straight sloped conventional breakwaters without a berm. To fill the gap of knowledge related to the interaction between breakwaters with submerged berm, waves and soil, this research aims to evaluate how submerged berms configuration influences the seabed soil response and momentary liquefaction occurrences around and beneath breakwaters foundation, under dynamic wave loading. The effects of submerged berms on the incident waves transformation have been evaluated by means of a phase resolving numerical model for simulating non-hydrostatic, free-surface, rotational flows. The soil response to wave-induced seabed pressures has been evaluated by using an ad-hoc anisotropic poro-elastic soil solver. Once the evaluation of the seabed consolidation state due to the presence of the breakwater has been performed, the dynamic interaction among water waves, soil and structure has been analyzed by using a one-way coupling boundary condition. A parametric study has been carried out by varying the berm configuration (i.e. its height and its length), keeping constant the offshore regular wave condition, the berm and armor layer porosity values, the water depth and the elastic properties of the soil. Results indicate that the presence of submerged berms tends to mitigate the liquefaction probability if compared to straight sloped conventional breakwater without a berm. In addition, it appears that the momentary liquefaction phenomena are more influenced by changing the berm length rather than the berm height.

Erosion at either dam or spillway foundations, destabilization in riverbanks, and damage in the natural environment located downstream of either dams or spillways represent crucial elements to be taken into account in the risk assessment of hydraulic structures. One of the main problems is related to the scouring that water flow may induce at the downstream boundary of spillways. This issue is exacerbated in the case of undersized stilling basins, i.e., when a significant level of energy migrates downstream by acting on unprotected natural riverbed. If the scour depths are large enough, the structural stability of the infrastructure will be threatened. This paper aims to illustrate an innovative technical solution suitable to protect the riverbed located just downstream of stilling basins by means of artificial Antifer blocks. These kinds of artificial blocks are widely used in the field of maritime construction, but in the literature, there are no theoretical formulations for their design within the frame of river engineering. In order to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed technical solution, it is applied to a real case investigated by means of physical modeling. The riverbed located just downstream of the stilling basin of Liscione Dam (Campobasso, Italy) experienced scour due to high discharges during and after extreme rain events. Different protection strategies have been tested to assess the influence of different placement methods and packing densities on the stability of Antifer block armor layers. Experimental findings reveal that regular placements behave more stable than irregular placements with a similar packing density.

Among one of the most challenging engineering problems, fluid-structure interaction processes are complex phenomena that have received much attention over the years [...]

The effects of submerged berms in attenuating the momentary liquefaction beneath rubble mound breakwaters under regular waves were investigated in a recent study. The present work aims to investigate the momentary liquefaction probabilities around and beneath breakwaters with submerged berms under random waves. The interaction between waves and breakwaters with submerged berms has been simulated through a phase-resolving numerical model. The soil response to the seabed pressure induced by random waves has been investigated using a poro-elastic soil solver. For three different breakwater configurations, the liquefaction depths under random wave conditions have been compared with those cases under representative regular waves. In the present study, the offshore spectral wave height ( H m 0 ) and the peak period ( T p ) of irregular waves are used as representative regular wave parameters. Results reveal the importance of considering random waves for a safe estimation of the momentary liquefaction probability. Indication about the minimum number of random waves, which is required to properly catch the liquefaction occurrences, has been also addressed.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to water quality and environmental aspects related to sediment transport driven by both ambient forcing and human activities [...]

There are coastal areas which are particularly prone to landslide-generated tsunami risk. The destructive effects caused by the impulsive waves, generated by landslide sources, can be strongly magnified by the characteristics of the so-called "confined geometries" (e.g. bays, reservoirs, lakes, volcanic islands, fjords, etc.). Complicated physical phenomena (e.g. trapping mechanisms, edge waves, wave runup, etc.) take place as a consequence of the interaction between the generated waves and the local bathymetry and control the tsunami propagation and interaction with the coast, often causing devastating consequences. Many past events of landslide-generated tsunamis testify this reality (e.g. Lituya Bay, Alaska, Fritz et al., 2009; Stromboli Island, Italy, Tinti et al., 2005; Anak Krakatau, Indonesia, Grilli et al., 2019). To reduce and mitigate the tsunami risk a proper comprehension, and modelling, of such complicated phenomena is crucial. Landslide-generated tsunamis have been largely studied by exploiting experimental, analytical and numerical modelling. Experimental tests are often time and money consuming, especially if 3D models are considered. Large facilities, as well as complicated experimental configurations and sophisticated measurement systems (e.g. Romano et al. 2016), are often needed. Furthermore, not always it is possible to explore in detail the influence of all the involved parameters, in particular those related to the landslide triggering mechanisms and rheology, that have a considerable influence on the wave characteristics in the so-called "near-field". To this end, numerical modelling can provide a valuable assistance. The new tools offered by the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods represent a valuable means for shedding light on the unresolved aspects. In particular, the 3D CFD modelling techniques appear to be crucial as far as the tsunami characteristics in the near-field, induced by landslide sources, are concerned. Indeed, the accurate reproduction of the energy transfer between the landslide and the water is essential to model the tsunami generation and propagation mechanisms, allowing to explore a large variety of landslide triggering mechanisms and rheology. In this paper we present a numerical study of the landslide-generated tsunamis in the near-field.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/liUdiV2qXPg

[EN] Homogeneous low-crested structures (HLCSs) on hard seabed are designed to protect beaches and regenerate coral reefs. The height of a HLCS depends on the placement grid which determines the crest freeboard, wave transmission and concrete consumption. In real seafloor conditions, it is not easy to define feasible placement grids for HLCSs on uneven sea bottoms. In this study, the parameters of the numerical model Bullet Physics Engine (BPE) are calibrated and validated using the results of small-scale physical model placement tests of fivelayer Cubipod HLCSs on horizontal rigid bottom. The BPE model showed a low sensitivity to variations in the calibrated parameters; the numerical model estimated the layer coefficients with global mean relative errors of 1.04% and 1.39% in the triangular and rectangular placements grids, respectively. Once the numerical model was calibrated, new numerical and physical model tests on a 4% rigid bottom slope were compared for validation. A five-layer Cubipod HLCS on a 4% bottom slope was simulated using the BPE numerical model showing a global mean relative error of 2.75% compared to the small-scale physical model tests. A good agreement was found between numerical and physical model tests of five-layer Cubipod HLCSs on both horizontal as well as 4% rigid bottom slope. The BPE numerical model was found a suitable tool to estimate the structure height of HLCSs and to optimize placement grids of HLCSs on real cases with hard sea bottom., The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (Grant RTI 2018-101073-B-I00) and also Karel De Keyser and Elias Jacobs for conducting the physical placement test.

This paper describes the results of site investigations, monitoring, stability analyses, and soil-pipe interaction modeling of a built-up slope located near Pineto (Abruzzo Province, Central Italy), where a gas pipeline exploded on March 6th, 2015, due to heavy rains inducing slope movements. The slope is formed by OC clay, covered with an upper 10- to 14-m-thick clayey-sandy silt colluvial layer. The explosion in the upper portion of the slope caused extensive damage to existing buildings and threatened human lives. Soon after the event, a site investigation and monitoring program was carried out. A detailed topographic survey and hydrological data were analyzed in order to characterize possible critical rainfall events. The stability of the slope was analyzed both in pre- and in post-explosion conditions. The profiles of the DMT horizontal stress index KD helped to identify multiple slip surfaces. Then, the results of the site investigation and stability analyses were used to implement a simplified finite element model aimed to describe the soil-pipeline interaction, taking into account the role of the observed wrinkle in the pipeline. The numerical simulations reveal the crucial role played by the slope movements, and by the wrinkle as well, in inducing the collapse of the pipe.

In recent years increasing attention has been paid to environmental effects that may result from marine dredging and disposal operations. In general, the fine-grained fraction of handled sediments can be dispersed far from the intervention site as a turbidity plume, depending on the specific site and operational parameters. Starting from a literature review, this paper suggests standards for estimating and characterizing the sediment source term, for setting up far-field modeling studies and analyzing numerical results, with the aim of optimizing, also from an economic point of view, the different project, execution and monitoring phases. The paper proposes an integrated modeling approach for simulating sediment dispersion due to sediment handling operations in different marine-coastal areas (off-shore, near-shore and semi-enclosed basins). Attention is paid to the characterization of sediment source terms due to different operational phases (removal, transport and disposal). The paper also deals with the definition of accuracy level of modeling activities, with regard to the main physical processes characterizing the different marine&ndash, coastal areas and to the type of environmental critical issues near the intervention site (if any). The main relationships between modeling and monitoring are given for the different design and management phases to support the selection of appropriate technical alternatives and monitoring actions and to ensure the environmental compliance of the proposed interventions.

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are used since 1960s for underwater operations. Depending on its size, a ROV may be used to perform either complex operations (i.e. work-class ROV) or underwater inspections (i.e. inspection class ROV or mini-ROV class). This paper deals with the using of mini-ROVs for environmental monitoring with attention paid to bathymetry surveys. In particular, it aims to propose the system architecture and algorithms to perform reliable and low-cost bathymetry surveys by underwater mini-ROVs.

This paper illustrates a methodology to get a reliable estimation of the local wave properties, based on the reconstruction of the motion of a moving sailboat by means of GNSS receivers installed on board and an original kinematic positioning approach. The wave parameters reconstruction may be used for many useful practical purposes, e.g. to improve of autopilots, for real-time control systems of ships, to analyze and improve the performance of race sailboats, and to estimate the local properties of the waves. A Class 40 oceanic vessel (ECO40) left from the port of &ldquo, Riva di Traiano&rdquo, located close to Rome (Italy) on 19 October 2014 to perform a non-stop sailing alone around the world in energy and food self-sufficiency. The proposed system was installed on ECO40 and the proposed method was applied to estimate the wave properties during a storm in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The results compared against two sets of hindcast data and wave buoy records demonstrated the reliability of the method.

A new system for estimating the synthetic parameters of sea states during physical investigations has been implemented. The technique proposed herein is based on stereographic analysis of digital images acquired with optical sensors. A series of ad hoc floating markers has been made and properly moored to the bottom of a large wave tank to estimate the synthetic parameters of generated waves. The implemented acquisition system and the proposed algorithm provide automatic recognition of all markers by a pair of optical sensors that synchronously captures their instantaneous location and tracks their movements over time. After transformation from the image to the real-world coordinates, water surface elevation time series have been obtained. Several experimental tests have been carried out to assess the feasibility and reliability of the proposed approach. The estimated wave synthetic parameters have been then compared with those obtained by employing standard resistive probes. The deviation were found to be equal to ~6% for the significant wave height and 1% for peak, mean, and significant wave periods.

The paper describes a measurement campaign carried out by means of GPS receivers installed on board of a moving sailboat and the application for the estimation of the local wave properties. The movements of the boat, as reconstructed using the present approach, may be used for many useful practical purposes, as for example the improvement of autopilots or for real time control systems of ships, to analyze and improve the performance of race sailboats, to estimate the local properties of the waves. An application of the method to estimate the wave properties during a storm in the Western Mediterranean Sea is presented, and the results compared against two sets of hindcast data and wave buoy records.

In this paper, we test a method for forecasting in real-time the properties of offshore propagating tsunami waves generated by landslides, with the aim of supporting tsunami early warning systems. The method uses an inversion procedure, that takes input data measurements of water surface elevation at a point close to the tsunamigenic source. The measurements are used to correct the results of pre-computed numerical simulations, reproducing the wave field induced by different landslide scenarios. The accuracy of the method is evaluated using the results of laboratory experiments, aimed at studying tsunamis generated by landslides sliding along the flank of a circular shoreline island. The paper investigates what the optimal position is of where to measure the tsunamis, what the effects are, the accuracy of the results, and of uncertainties on the landslide scenarios. Finally, the method is successfully tested using partial input time series, simulating the behaviour of the system in real-time during the tsunami event when forecasts are updated, as the measurements become available.

This paper presents a new set of 3D experiments aimed to gain insight on the role of the initial acceleration upon the generation process of tsunamis by submerged landslides that may occur at the flanks of conical islands. The experiments have been carried out in a large wave tank by varying the initial acceleration of the landslide model. A novel system, relying on the use of a computer controlled stepped motor, has been employed to control the motion of the landslide model. The experiments have been carried out in a parametric way by changing the initial acceleration of the landslide, aiming to reproduce dierent triggering mechanisms. Preliminary experimental findings confirmed the crucial role of the initial acceleration of the submerged landslide in generating tsunamis.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to assess the dispersal of resuspended sediments and related water quality problems due to dredging operations. This paper presents an analytical model aimed to predict the temporal evolution and spatial distribution in the far field of the suspended sediments concentration increase related to dredging activities or open water sediments disposal. In particular, whatever the dredging source strength and geometry can be considered to define the suspended sediments concentration leaving the immediate vicinity of the resuspension source. Indeed, a feature of the model is the removing of the hypotheses of continuous source and steady state, peculiar to the majority of available theoretical models. Hence, the proposed model is able to describe different dredging resuspension sources and to provide the temporal and spatial picture of the resulting plume. Of course, some hypotheses have to be assumed in order to make possible to achieve the analytical solution of the governing equation: the model is two dimensional in the horizontal plane; the ambient currents are assumed to be homogeneous in space and slowly time varying; the turbulent diffusion coefficients and flocculent settling velocity are homogeneous in space; the water depth is constant; the domain is infinite. Even with its limitations, the model is still able to provide a worst case preliminary assessment of sediments plume migration very useful to guide more detailed numerical analysis and to select the more appropriate simulation scenarios. The analytical model is detailed in order to be used for numerical model testing purposes. A series of practical applications is described through the paper (i) to catch the general features of the involved far field phenomena, (ii) to compare the model results to those of previous researches and (iii) to provide a series of benchmark cases useful for the testing of numerical models. The proposed model may be also used as a first rough prediction of the area affected by plume dispersion by considering different dredging scenarios (i.e. different equipment and operational techniques and forced by site-specific environmental conditions), and thus to provide a basis for more sophisticated modeling aimed to support dredging projects planning and management.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to environmental impacts that may re‐ sult from resuspension, sedimentation and increase in concentration of chemicals during dredging activities. Dredging dislodges and resuspends bottom sediments that are not captured by dredge-head movements. Resuspended sediments are advected far from the dredging site as a dredging plume and the increase in the suspended solid concentration (SSC) can strongly differ, in time and space, depending on site and operational condi‐ tions. Well-established international guidelines often include numerical modelling appli‐ cations to support environmental studies related to dredging activities. Despite the attention that has been focused on this issue, there is a lack of verified predictive techni‐ ques of plume dynamics at progressive distances from the different dredging sources, as a function of the employed dredging techniques and work programs, i.e., spatial and temporal variation of resuspension source. This chapter illustrates predictive techniques to estimate the SSC arising from dredges with different mechanisms of sediment release and to assess the spatial and temporal variability of the resulting plume in estuarine and coastal areas. Predictive tools are aimed to support technical choices during planning and operational phases and to better plan the location and frequency of environmental moni‐ toring activities during dredging execution.

On 19 October 2014 Matteo Miceli, a known italian oceanic sailor, left the Port of Riva di Traiano (Rome, IT) with the italian sailing boat ECO 40, for the Roma Ocean World Project. This ambitious challenge consists of a non-stop sailing alone around the World in energy and food self-sufficiency. ECO 40 is a Class 40 oceanic vessel (LOA of 12,0 m) that has been equipped with a data acquisition system for measuring both the met-ocean parameters recorded (apparent and real wind speed and wind direction, atmospheric pressure, current velocity, air temperature, sea temperature, etc.) and the kinematic characteristics of the boat itself (i.e., speed and course over ground). Furthermore, the boat has been equipped with three high precision GPS receivers, provided by Leica Geosystem, for measuring the motion of the boat and an inertial platform. Due to these high-precision instruments it is possible to fully measure and characterize the six degrees of freedom of the boat, and accordingly to use her as a sailing wave buoy. Within this paper we present the analysis of the met-ocean data measured by the boat during the storm occurred in the Gulf of Lion on the 21–22 October 2014 that ECO 40 has faced just few days after her departure. Furthermore, by analyzing the GPS signals by means of an innovative application of differential kinematic positioning technique, a detailed analysis of the boat heeling during the Gulf of Lion event has been carried out. The boat heeling measurements have been used to correct the measured wind data that have been compared with the hindcast time series.

Several, although not all, wind–wave gages are equipped with sensors capable of detecting sea-level oscillations within the tsunami frequency band. The present paper looks at the algorithms to be implemented in the software of these gages in order to automatically perform the real-time detection of a possible tsunami within recorded signals. In particular, a new algorithm is proposed and tested. The first part of the paper concentrates on the algorithms' characteristics, implementation strategies and basic testing. First of all, the situations in which wind–wave measurements are either essential, or useful for real-time tsunami detection are discussed. In the second place, already existing algorithms are recalled, specifying their characteristics and fields of application. Then, the characteristics of the new proposed algorithm – mainly based on an infinite impulse response, time domain filter – are illustrated and analyzed. Performance and efficiency of the considered algorithms are compared using synthetic time series. The second part of the paper discusses the algorithms' use in the framework of Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS), testing them in actual cases.

Automatic, real-time tsunami detection in sea-level measurements is a main component of a tsunami early warning system (TEWS). Although a great effort has been recently undertaken by the scientific and engineering community in developing new technologies (e.g. satellite altimetry, detectors of low-frequency elastic oscillations associated to a tsunami) capable of increasing the awareness of potential tsunamis in the minimum amount of time, at present direct detection in sea level measurements is still the main mean to confirm their actual generation and propagation. Clearly, the device used to collect these measurements has to be chosen between those equippedwith sensors capable of detecting sea-level oscillationswithin the tsunami frequency band. At present, the main devices that can be actually used should belong to the following classes

When earthquakes occur, suddenly bottom deformations will induce water response that is almost instantaneous. Then, bottom displacements affect wide areas and generate transient waves (tsunamis) usually characterized by a relatively small heightwith respect to their length, i.e. by a small steepness. Indeed, just after the earthquake, the water free surface mimics the final bottom deformations, that can be of the order of some meters, and small amplitude long waves start to propagate resulting in a potential transoceanic devastation (Synolakis et al., 2002). When either subaerial or submerged landslides occur, thedisplacementswill takeplace onboth larger temporal-, and smaller spatial-scale. The deformations are of the order of hundreds of meters and the generated waves are quite different from those induced by submarine earthquakes. Hence, landslide tsunamis tend to be a local phenomenon, although extreme. Since two centuries ago, submarine failures were related to “sea waves without earthquake” when great waves were observed without any account of earthquakes (e.g. Mallet & Mallet, 1858; Milne, 1898; Montessus de Ballore, 1907). In an illuminating reasoning Mallet & Mallet (1858) argued that “great underwater slippage takes place [...] the effect upon the surface of the sea is at the same moment to originate a positive and a negative wave. [...] The magnitude of the wave raised is dependent upon that of the mass of solid material that has suddenly changed its place, upon the depth of water in which the slippage has occurred, upon the rapidity of the transposition, and in minor degree upon the form and material of the portion of the bank that has slipped.” One of the more meaningful event occurred at Lituya Bay (Alaska, July 9, 1958), when a subaerial landslide triggered by an earthquake entered the water at the Gilbert Inlet and generated an impulse wave (Miller, 1960). The induced run-up was the highest known: the water rose up to 524m at the slope in front of the landslide, then thewaves propagated into the Bay and eventually radiated offshore through the Bay inlet with minimum effects outside the Bay itself. Another example, related to submarine failures, is the well documented tsunami generated by an underwater slump triggered by a magnitude 7 earthquake on July 17, 1998 close to the Sissano Lagoon, Sandaun Province, Papua NewGuinea (see Synolakis et al., 2002). The tsunami struck about 30 km wide area, i.e. rather small, by inducing a maximum run-up of about 15 m and killing over 2100 people. Landslide generated impulse waves can occur not only at the sea boundaries, but also in enclosed basins (i.e. reservoirs and lakes). The event that took place at the Vajont Valley (Italy) on October 9, 1963 is perhaps the more sorrowful one. A subaerial landslide of about 6

This paper describes new three dimensional experiments on water waves generated by landslides. The landslide is reproduced by a rigid elliptical body, sliding along an inclined plane (slope of 1/3, 1 vertical, 3 horizontal). The generated water waves are free to propagate both offshore and alongshore, since the plan dimensions of the used wave tank are of at least one order of magnitude larger than the width of the landslide, which can be considered to be a scale of the wave length. The experimental study has been carried out reproducing both subaerial and partially submerged landslides. The wave generation process is studied by means of video records of the near field flow and measurement of the landslide movement; the properties of the waves propagating along the coast are described on the basis of runup gauges. The waves observed during the experiments always present first a crest and then a trough; as the first wave propagates away from the generation area the crest tends to become smaller than the trough and the maximum runup along the coast is given by the second or by the third wave. An important feature is that the observed runup along the coast firstly grows with the distance from the generation area, it reaches a maximum value at about two times the width of the landslide. and then decreases. An estimate of the celerity at which the waves propagate along the coast is given on the basis of gauge measurements: it results that the crests propagate faster than the troughs, and the wave period increases. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transient waves generated by a box falling into water are analytically and experimentally investigated (Scott Russell wave generator). Within the frame of linear theory, a new analytical solution for the leading wave is proposed. It is shown that both the impulse pressure of the box’s impact on the free surface and the velocity field generated during the underwater phase (wave generator type boundary condition) have to be taken into account when predicting wave amplitude and period. The analytical solution, in satisfactory agreement with experiments performed in a two-dimensional flume, can be used for validating numerical models and for estimating the order of magnitude of landslide-generated waves.

This paper describes new three-dimensional experiments carried out at the University of L'Aquila (Italy) reproducing water waves generated by landslides sliding down a straight steep (1/3) sloping coast. The landslide is represented by an impermeable body. The propagation of the waves along the coast is investigated in details on the basis of run-up measurements. This paper presents preliminary analysis of the experimental data. © 2007 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.