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Tsunami

A tsunami (/(t)sˈnɑːmi, (t)sʊˈ-/ (t)soo-NAH-mee, (t)suu-;[1][2][3][4] from Japanese: 津波, lit.'harbour wave',[5] pronounced [tsɯnami]) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances) above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.[6] Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.

For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation) and Tidal wave.

Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their wavelength is far longer.[7] Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide.[8] For this reason, it is often referred to as a tidal wave,[9] although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might give the false impression of a causal relationship between tides and tsunamis.[10] Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves, with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called "wave train".[11] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous, and they can affect entire ocean basins. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history, with at least 230,000 people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.


The Ancient Greek historian Thucydides suggested in his 5th century BC History of the Peloponnesian War that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes,[12][13] but the understanding of tsunamis remained slim until the 20th century, and much remains unknown. Major areas of current research include determining why some large earthquakes do not generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do. This ongoing research is designed to help accurately forecast the passage of tsunamis across oceans as well as how tsunami waves interact with shorelines.

Tsunami

津波

tsunami

tsunami

Over-riding plate bulges under strain, causing tectonic uplift.

Over-riding plate bulges under strain, causing tectonic uplift.

Plate slips, causing subsidence and releasing energy into water.

Plate slips, causing subsidence and releasing energy into water.

The energy released produces tsunami waves.

The energy released produces tsunami waves.

I = 2 for = 2.8 metres

I = 3 for = 5.5 metres

I = 4 for = 11 metres

I = 5 for = 22.5 metres

etc.

Amplitude, Wave Height, or Tsunami Height: Refers to the height of a tsunami relative to the normal sea level at the time of the tsunami, which may be tidal High Water, or Low Water. It is different from the crest-to-trough height which is commonly used to measure other type of wave height.

[72]

Run-up Height, or Inundation Height: The height reached by a tsunami on the ground above sea level, Maximum run-up height refers to the maximum height reached by water above sea level, which is sometimes reported as the maximum height reached by a tsunami.

Flow Depth: Refers to the height of tsunami above ground, regardless of the height of the location or sea level.

(Maximum) Water Level: Maximum height above sea level as seen from trace or water mark. Different from maximum run-up height in the sense that they are not necessarily water marks at inundation line/limit.

Several terms are used to describe the different characteristics of tsunami in terms of their height:[68][69][70][71]

Tsunami hazard sign at Bamfield, British Columbia

Tsunami hazard sign at Bamfield, British Columbia

A tsunami warning sign in Kamakura, Japan

A tsunami warning sign in Kamakura, Japan

A Tsunami hazard sign (Spanish - English) in Iquique, Chile

A Tsunami hazard sign (Spanish - English) in Iquique, Chile

Tsunami Evacuation Route signage along U.S. Route 101, in Washington

Photo of evacuation sign

at NOAA

Tsunami Terminology

In June 2011, the VOA service of the Voice of America broadcast a 15-minute programme on tsunamis as part of its weekly Science in the News series. The programme included an interview with an NOAA official who oversees the agency's tsunami warning system. A transcript and MP3 of the programme, intended for English learners, can be found at The Ever-Present Threat of Tsunamis.

Special English

tsunamis: tsunamis travel fast but not at infinite speed. retrieved March 29, 2005.

abelard.org.

Dudley, Walter C. & Lee, Min (1988: 1st edition) Tsunami!  0-8248-1125-9 website

ISBN

Iwan, W.D., editor, 2006, Summary report of the Great Sumatra Earthquakes and Indian Ocean tsunamis of December 26, 2004 and March 28, 2005: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, EERI Publication #2006-06, 11 chapters, 100-page summary, plus CD-ROM with complete text and supplementary photographs, EERI Report 2006–06.  1-932884-19-X website

ISBN

Kenneally, Christine (December 30, 2004). "Surviving the Tsunami." Slate.

website

Lambourne, Helen (March 27, 2005). "Tsunami: Anatomy of a disaster." . website

BBC News

Macey, Richard (January 1, 2005). "The Big Bang that Triggered A Tragedy," , p 11—quoting Dr Mark Leonard, seismologist at Geoscience Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald

from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Interactive Map of Historical Tsunamis

Tappin, D; 2001. Local tsunamis. Geoscientist. 11–8, 4–7.

Telegraph.co.uk

Girl, 10, used geography lesson to save lives

Noypi.ph

Philippines warned to prepare for Japan's tsunami

Boris Levin, Mikhail Nosov: Physics of tsunamis. Springer, Dordrecht 2009,  978-1-4020-8855-1.

ISBN

Kontar, Y. A. et al.: Tsunami Events and Lessons Learned: Environmental and Societal Significance. Springer, 2014.  978-94-007-7268-7 (print); ISBN 978-94-007-7269-4 (eBook).

ISBN

Kristy F. Tiampo: Earthquakes: simulations, sources and tsunamis. Birkhäuser, Basel 2008,  978-3-7643-8756-3.

ISBN

: Tsunamis. Entstehung, Geschichte, Prävention, (Tsunami development, history and prevention) C.H. Beck, Munich 2013 (C.H. Beck Reihe Wissen 2770), ISBN 978-3-406-64656-0 (in German).

Linda Maria Koldau

Walter C. Dudley, Min Lee: Tsunami! University of Hawaii Press, 1988, 1998, Tsunami! University of Hawai'i Press 1999,  0-8248-1125-9, ISBN 978-0-8248-1969-9.

ISBN

: Numerical Modeling of Water Waves CRC Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8493-2311-8.

Charles L. Mader

Harvey Segur, Anjan Kundu, Tsunami and Nonlinear Waves, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2007  978-3-540-71255-8

ISBN

page (in English) from Japan Meteorological Agency

Tsunami alert

(CTIC)

Caribbean Tsunami Information Centre

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

Recent and Historical Tsunami Events and Relevant Data