Physics of Tsunamis Essay - 960 Words

Tsunamis are waves, or series of waves, created by a disturbance in the ocean. Most of the time this disturbance is by an earthquake but can be from meteorites, landslides, or even explosions. They are sometimes known as tidal waves but this is a misnomer because tsunamis have nothing to do with tides. While tsunamis are feared particularly in light of the December 26th tsunami, the physics behind them is fascinating. One the largest tsunamis in recent history was the Cascadia tsunami in 1700. This occured when two continental plates (stretching from Vancouver to California) slipped causing a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. The resulting tsunami stretched across the entire Pacific and is recorded in Japanese history. Researchers have†¦show more content†¦The 1960 earthquake in Chile was ripe for causing a tsunami, and it caused one of the largest tsunamis in recent history. The tsunami stretched across the entire Pacific causing large-scale destruction in Hawaii and Japan and in other places. Some towns in Japan were saved as the result of watchers whose job included checking the ocean for unusual behavior. Several hundred people owe their lives to the men that saved entire towns. The Alaskan Quake of 1964 caused a significant tsunami as well, killing 122 people and causing over $106 million in damage. The most recent major tsunami was in the Indian Ocean. This is unusual because almost all tsunamis take place in the Pacific. On the morning of December 26th, 2004 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake rocked Southeast Asia. This quake triggered a tsunami that is the most deadly to date. Almost 300,000 people have died as a result of the tsunami, and hundreds of thousands more are displaced or homeless. The quake was the largest in 40 years and was so large that it moved the ocean several meters vertically at the epicenter; this is enormous for tsunamis. In some places the tsunami was as high as 15 meters but in many areas it just occured as a rushing wall of water, more similar to a flood than waves. The ocean receded very far before rushing back in, exposing fish and seafloor never seen before. This piqued the curiousity of many people thus causing many more deaths than there would have been.Show MoreRelated Physics of Tsunamis Essay examples1377 Words   |  6 PagesPhysics of Tsunamis This paper will discuss the physics and warning systems of tsunamis, a destructive wave force that researchers have been studying for many years. Tsunamis are different than tides or surface waves because undersea earthquakes, instead of winds or the gravitational pull of the moon or sun, generate them. They can reach speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour but can be undetected until they reach shallow water, then unexpectedly arise as deadly waves. Tsunamis evolve fromRead MoreA Report On Marine Geophysicists1081 Words   |  5 Pagesgeophysicists is the peculiarity of tsunamis that impel such extensive danger. After 2004, a 9.1 earthquake induced the Indian Tsunami that killed more than 250,000 people and left a million others affected in one day, people started to observe the amount of destruction caused by tsunamis (Helal Mehanna, 2008, p.787). The disaster was of such a magnitude that now has educated most people about the subject. The idea of it being a usual wave began to seem unlikely. Tsunamis are provoked by different phenomenaRead MoreMonetary Policy And Housing Markets Essay959 Words   |  4 Pagesperiod than actually occurred†¦ thus indirectly the Fed’s interest rate policies contributed to the housing bubble.† The effects of monetary policy played in the housing market development was significant that it sent tsunami waves across the U.S housing market. Like the laws gravity in physics states an object that goes up must come down, the financial market also relates to that theory as the market goes through ups and downs during the fiscal years. U.S was going through a recession in 2006 era and thenRead MoreAnalysis : Falling Celestial Bodies : Asteroid Trajectory And Impact Duration 4 Weeks1480 Words   |  6 PagesTHIS FORM WITH FINAL ASSESSMENT Student Identification: Grade 11 SUBJECT DETAILS SUBJECT Physics Year 2015 TEACHER Term 2 UNIT TITLE â€Å"Falling† Celestial Bodies: Asteroid Trajectory and Impact Duration 4 weeks General Assessment Information This is an individual, non-experimental research based assessment item. Students may however, work collaborativelyRead MorePersonal Statement753 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered these people my journalism professors, and worked with them to develop the skills I still use to translate research and scientiï ¬ c news for my audiences. Because of my bachelor’s degree in physics, my main focus was on space science, though I also reported on major events such as the Indonesian tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. On a more ongoing basis, I researched, designed, and presented a wide variety of programs on many topics, such as the This Week In Space Science live/multimediaRead MoreRogue Waves2080 Words   |  9 Pagesdescribe these troughs as riding a down elevator. Further, rogue waves differ from tsunamis and tidal waves in that the latter are both extremely rare instances which are caused by an earthquake, volcanic eruptions, or landslide which displaces a large volume of water, thus creating a single large wave whereas rogue waves are more of a more regular and fundamental property of the sea (BBC par. 8; McDonald A21). Moreover, tsunamis are relatively small waves in height but long in length whereas rogue wavesRead MoreBoston Molasses Disaster855 Words   |  3 PagesOn the fateful January day in 1919, a sound described as machine gun fire was heard, and a fifteen foot wave came crashing through the street at thirty five miles an hour, killing dozens and injuring hundreds more. Many scientists point out that a tsunami that size would not have caused such devastating effects, due to molasses being a non-Newtonian fluid. Depending on how the molasses is made, it can have 5,000 to 10,000 times the viscosity of water. Swimming through the substance is nearly impossibleRead MoreTides1740 Words   |  7 Pagesphenomenal Fundy Tides, which overpower the rivers flowing into the Bay of Fundy and reverse their direction two times a day. Extraordinary tides occur when the tidal wave length is two to four times the length of the Bay. By virtue of blind luck or physics, the tide is amplified into a standing wave, like water sloshing in a bathtub. For a breaking wave to form, the surging tide must meet an obstacle. When the ocean meets the river going in the opposite direction, the sea hesitates, piles up behindRead MoreDisasters Caused By Natural Disasters1175 Words   |  5 Pagesbe classified as either a human caused disaster which basically involves the negligence or irresponsibility of one single person or a group of people, or natural caused disasters. Natural disas ters may happen due to volcanic eruption, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. and many other causes. Sometimes disaster can also be intertwined between both human caused and natural disasters. In this essay we are going to talk about some of the most famous engineering disaster which has an intertwined fate with naturalRead MoreAnne: Armageddon Reaction Paper1265 Words   |  6 Pagesserious. Not so. The best description of Armageddon is an action-adventure film sprinkled with comedy. Every effort is made to excite and entertain. No effort is made to educate or inform. Scientific accuracy is tossed out the window. The laws of physics are continually violated in order to maximize the drama. What happened to the good old movie classics that tried to teach us something about life?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is amazing that the asteroid is able days in advance to send warning signals consisting of