Tsunami

Tsunami are deadly ocean waves from the sharp jolt of an undersea earthquake. Landslides and meteorite impacts may also form a tsunami. Tsunami can travel at speeds of 800 kilometers per hour (500 miles per hour).  

Tsunami waves have small wave heights relative to their long wavelengths, so they are usually unnoticed at sea. When traveling up a slope onto a shoreline, the wave is pushed upward. As with wind waves, the speed of the bottom of the wave is slowed by friction. This causes the wavelength to decrease and the wave to become unstable. These factors can create an enormous and deadly wave.

Since tsunami are long-wavelength waves, a long time can pass between crests or troughs. Any part of the wave can make landfall first. 

Large tsunami in the Indian Ocean and more recently Japan have killed hundreds of thousands of people in recent years. The west coast is vulnerable to tsunami since it sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Scientists are trying to learn everything they can about predicting tsunamis before a massive one strikes a little closer to home.

Source: Tsunami. Retrieved from http://www.ck12.org/earth-science/Tsunami/lesson/Tsunami/ on September 1, 2013. 

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Last modified: Monday, 12 February 2018, 12:38 PM