During the 2003 Tokachi-Oki tsunamigenic earthquake the real-time JAMSTEC observatory obtained records which provided a unique opportunity to have a look deep inside the tsunami source. Considering water column as a compressible medium we processed the bottom pressure records in order to estimate amplitude, duration and velocity of bottom displacement. Spectral analysis of the records revealed a clear manifestation of the low-frequency elastic oscillations of water column. We also presented 3-D finite-difference numerical model developed in the framework of linear potential theory of ideal compressible fluid to better understand dynamical processes in the tsunami source. The model reproduces position of the main spectral maximum rather correctly. However, due to neglecting of crust elasticity and to lack of exact knowledge of spatiotemporal laws of bottom motion, there is an essential difference between in-situ observed and computed spectra.

A new method for the specification of initial conditions in the tsunami problem is suggested. The initial elevation of a water surface is determined from the solution of the three-dimensional problem in the framework of potential theory with account for both the horizontal and vertical components of the bottom deformations and the distributions of depths in the vicinity of the source. The tsunamigenic Central Kuril Islands earthquakes in 2006 and 2007 are taken as examples to demonstrate the efficiency of the new method.