Date: May 28, 2025, 12:00 PM (UTC+8)
Speaker: Prof. Tso-Ren Wu
Title: From Coast to Ocean: Exploring Tsunami Hazards from the South China Sea Megathrust to the Ryukyu Trench
Biography
Tso-Ren Wu is a Professor at the Graduate Institute of Hydrological and Oceanic Sciences (IHOS), National Central University (NCU), Taiwan. Dr. Wu has been Director of the Interdisciplinary Program of Earth System Science at NCU since 2022. He was appointed Director of the Earth Science Research Promotion Center at the National Science and Technology Council from 2023 till now.
His research focuses on Tsunami Science, Local Scour Simulation, Storm Surge Simulation, 3D Numerical Modelling, Two-way Coupled Moving-Solid Model, and Landslide and Debris Flow Simulation.
Professor Wu also applied mechanical theory to clip dolls and obtained a room full of dolls 🙂
To utilize academic findings to provide the public with more security is always a noble mission for scientists to pursue. Like Taiwan, some countries, such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands, are threatened by earthquakes and tsunamis. In addition to internationally promoting popular science on tsunamis in those countries, Dr. Wu assists those countries in building a tsunami and storm surge forecasting system. This is to reduce casualties. In gratitude for Dr. Wu’s contribution to tsunami disaster prevention, the Ministry of Agriculture of Vietnam issued Dr. Wu a certificate of appreciation.
Abstract
In this presentation, Professor Tso-Ren Wu will share his unique and interdisciplinary research journey in ocean sciences. Professor Wu earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, specializing in three-dimensional (3D) simulations of landslide-generated tsunamis. His groundbreaking doctoral work produced the world’s only model at the time capable of accurately simulating 3D landslides and resulting tsunami generation.
Simultaneously, Professor Wu parallelized and optimized the renowned tsunami model COMCOT. This upgraded version accurately forecasted tsunami wave propagation and impacts during the 2011 Tōhoku (East Japan) tsunami, contributing to timely alerts and avoiding mass panic in Taiwan.
Later, he extended COMCOT’s capabilities to model typhoon-induced storm surges. With its high speed and accuracy, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration has officially adopted the COMCOT tsunami and storm surge systems as its standard operational forecasting tools.
Additionally, his 3D modeling tools have been applied to the study of iceberg-tsunami generation in the Arctic due to glacier calving. His simulations explore how tsunami waves influence air-sea interactions in coastal environments.
In this updated presentation, Professor Wu will also discuss recent findings on tsunami hazards associated with the subduction megathrust of the South China Sea and hazard assessments related to the Ryukyu and Okinawa Trench. These new results have important implications for regional early warning systems and disaster preparedness in the western Pacific.
Prof. Wu will share advanced numerical modeling techniques with audiences, how scientific research can be applied to real-world disaster mitigation, and how interdisciplinary collaboration with government agencies can improve resilience against natural hazards.
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