Energy Decay of the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami in the World Ocean

The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami generated off the coast of Sumatra on 26 December 2004 was recorded by a large number of tide gauges throughout the World Ocean. This study uses gauge records from 173 sites to examine the characteristics and energy decay of the tsunami waves from this event in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Findings reveal that the decay (e-folding) time of the tsunami wave energy within a given oceanic basin is not uniform, as previously reported, but depends on the absorption characteristics of the shelf adjacent to the coastal observation site and the time for the waves to reach the site from the source region. In general, the decay times for island and open-ocean bottom stations are found to be shorter than for coastal mainland stations. Decay times for the 2004 Sumatra tsunami ranged from about 13 h for islands in the Indian Ocean to 40–45 h for mainland stations in the North Pacific.