INVESTIGATION OF TSUNAMI HAZARD IN JASK PORT DUE TO LARGEST POSSIBLE EARTHQUAKES OF MAKRAN SUBDUCTION ZONE

Two huge tsunamis of the present century have attracted the attention of researchers to this oceanic phenomenon. Although tsunamis can be generated byvariety of different sources like earthquakes, submarine landslides, volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts, but subduction zones earthquakes are known as the mostcommon source of tsunamis. One of the earth s subduction zones is Makran Subduction Zone (MSZ) that is located at the northwest of Indian Ocean near southern coasts of Iran and Pakistan. The results of the research carried out recently based on thermal modeling of the MSZ, have shown that past assumptions may have significantlyunderestimated the earthquake and tsunami hazard in the MSZ; and it is potentially capable of producing major earthquakes, up to Mw 8.7-9.2 [1]. Hence, the probabilityof recurrence of seismic tsunami in the Makran zone is relatively high and it can be considered as an obvious hazard for neighboring countries, like Iran.Jask Port is one of the most important coastal areas of Iran, regarding to its population and strategic situation. It is located at the west of Makran zone and can be affected by possible tsunamis. In order to assess tsunami hazard, the impact and run-up of MSZ seismic tsunamis, caused by largest possible earthquakes, on Jask Port is simulated in this study. For this purpose, GEOWAVE known as a comprehensive numerical tsunami model is applied.