Spatially Varying Tidal Planes for Tsunami Hazard Assessment in Gladstone, Australia

A novel technique models tsunami inundation using spatially varying highest astronomical tide levels, addressing a key limitation where a single tidal plane leads to over or under-estimation. The method is demonstrated using the Gladstone region as a case study, with comparisons to scenarios at different tidal levels and a 'mini' probabilistic hazard assessment at three sites. Presented at the 2025 Australasian Coasts & Ports Conference, this work supports tsunami evacuation planning and marine hazard procedures.

Use Cases

• Refine tsunami evacuation zones based on spatially varying tidal inundation models.
• Compare probabilistic tsunami hazard assessments at sites with different highest astronomical tide levels.
• Model marine hazards and onshore inundation from tsunamis using nested grids with 10-meter resolution.
• Test tsunami scenarios against different tidal planes without requiring separate simulations.

Strengths

• Method addresses a specific, documented problem where highest astronomical tide varies from 1.4 m to over 5.4 m along Queensland's Coast.
• Case study includes comparisons at three sites with markedly different tidal levels: Lady Elliot Island, South Trees, and Rosslyn Bay.
• Simulations use nested grids with resolution down to 10 meters to resolve inundation details.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au

Collection Method

Proposed modeling technique demonstrated via case study and comparisons with existing hazard assessments.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-04 07:43:06.293026; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gladstone region and specific sites (Lady Elliot Island, South Trees, Rosslyn Bay) in Queensland, Australia.