A numerical wave flume based on the particle finite element method (PFEM) is applied to simulate wave overtopping for impermeable maritime structures. An assessment of the performance and robustness of the numerical wave flume is carried out for two different cases comparing numerical results with experimental data. In the first case, a well-defined benchmark test of a simple low-crested structure overtopped by regular nonbreaking waves is presented, tested in the lab, and simulated in the numerical wave flume. In the second case, state-of-the-art physical experiments of a trapezoidal structure placed on a sloping beach overtopped by regular breaking waves are simulated in the numerical wave flume. For both cases, main overtopping events are well detected by the numerical wave flume. However, nonlinear processes controlling the tests proposed, such as nonlinear wave generation, energy losses along the wave propagation track, wave reflection, and overtopping events, are reproduced with more accuracy in the first case. Results indicate that a numerical wave flume based on the PFEM can be applied as an efficient tool to supplement physical models, semiempirical formulations, and other numerical techniques to deal with overtopping of maritime structures.

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An uplift of the ocean bottom caused by a submarine earthquake can trigger acoustic‐gravity waves that travel at near the speed of sound in water and thus may act as early tsunami precursors. We study the spatiotemporal evolution of the pressure field induced by acoustic‐gravity modes during submarine earthquakes, analytically. We show that these modes may all induce comparable temporal variations in pressure at different water depths in regions far from the epicenter, though the pressure field depends on the presence of a leading acoustic‐gravity wave mode. Practically, this can assist in the implementation of an early tsunami detection system by identifying the pressure and frequency ranges of measurement equipment and appropriate installation locations.