A glacier-ocean interaction model for tsunami genesis due to iceberg calving

Glaciers calving icebergs into the ocean significantly contribute to sea-level rise and can trigger tsunamis, posing severe hazards for coastal regions. Computational modeling of such multiphase processes involves complex solid–fluid interactions. The authors develop a new continuum damage Material Point Method (MPM) to model dynamic glacier fracture under the combined effects of gravity and buoyancy, as well as subsequent tsunami-like waves induced by released icebergs. The model reproduces key tsunami features from laboratory experiments and matches calving characteristics, iceberg size, tsunami amplitude, and wave speed measured at Eqip Sermia, a Greenland tidewater glacier. This hybrid approach advances modeling of solid–fluid interactions, with potential to refine empirical calving laws used in large-scale earth-system models and improve hazard assessments and mitigation in coastal regions under climate change.

Joshuah Wolper, Ming Gao, Martin P. Lüthi, Valentin Heller, Andreas Vieli, Chenfanfu Jiang, Johan Gaume