Lecture-10
Tsunamis
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What is a tsunami?
Aristotle believed that powerful explosions of air trapped within the
earth caused tsunamis.
This erroneous theory was trusted for two millennia.
It was only after the massive Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that the
English scientist John Michell demonstrated that tsunamis are, in fact,
caused by underwater earthquakes. He was able to show that
tsunamis consist of very long waves that travel fastest in deep water,
which is why, after the Lisbon quake, they hit the Caribbean before
some parts of Northern Europe.
The knowledge of plate tectonics helped in understanding tsunamis
further.
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What is a tsunami?
soo-NAH-mee or Harbor Wave is a Japanese word: tsu means harbor & nami means wave
Definition: a ‘gravity wave’ in
the sea (or other body of
water) produced by sudden
displacement of the seafloor
and the water column above
it
Damaging tsunami waves
propagate much further than
damaging earthquake waves
Tsunami can cause
simultaneous catastrophic
Source: International Business Times losses on opposite sides of
ocean basins
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Regular Wind generated waves
Speed: 10-20 mph
10 Feet
300 Feet
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Tsunami in deep ocean
Speed: 450-650 mph
1-2 Feet
316,800 Feet
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Tsunami while approaching shore
Speed: 35-220 mph
10-100+ Feet
5,000 – 10,000 Feet
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Earthquake Destruction: Tsunami
Tsunami Movement: ~600 mph in deep water
~250 mph in medium depth water
~35 mph in shallow water
Source: USGS public domain
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Earthquake Destruction: Tsunami
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Earthquake Destruction: Tsunamis
Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically
displaces the overlying water.
The water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position.
Waves are formed as the displaced water mass, which acts under the influence of
gravity, attempts to regain its equilibrium.
Tsunami travels at a speed that is related to the water depth - hence, as the water
depth decreases, the tsunami slows.
The tsunami's energy flux, which is dependent on both its wave speed and wave
height, remains nearly constant.
Consequently, as the tsunami's speed diminishes as it travels into shallower
water, its height grows. Because of this effect, a tsunami, imperceptible at sea,
may grow to be several meters or more in height near the coast and can flood a
vast area.
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Earthquake Destruction: Tsunamis
10
Cycle of events in Tsunami
Underlying
Geological
Event Water
Displaced
Detection
Tidal
Surge
Opportunities
Wave
Propagation
Tidal
Withdraw
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Why is tsunami so destructive?
Speed of the tsunami v = [gd]
g = acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/sec2)
d = depth of ocean (m)
Deeper water means higher speed
For d = 4,600 m, v = 763 km/hr (speed of jet plane)
Normal sea waves have wavelengths of 10s m: tsunami wavelengths
are typically 100s km
In deep water, tsunami velocities may be of the order of 200m/s
(~700km/h)
Deep water amplitude is typically < 1m: minimal energy loss and
waves barely detectable
In shallow water, tsunami slow: wavelength decreases and
amplitude increases (sometimes to 10s m)
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How is tsunami formed?
Over 90% triggered by
earthquakes (most beneath
the sea floor)
Only a small % of submarine
quakes trigger tsunami
(fortunately!)
Other tsunami-producing
events
volcanic eruptions
Submarine landslides
and subaerial
landslides
large asteroid/comet
impacts
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Tsunami prone locations
Scotland 7000y
Japan 1792
Grand & 1993
Banks
Alaska 1929 Turkey 1999
1964 Lisbon
1755
PNG 1998
Chile 1960
Indonesia
Pacific Atlantic
1992, 1995
400 tsunami in 2% recorded
last 100 years tsunami
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Earthquake & Tsunami
South Asia, 26 Dec 2004
Source: Loud (2004)
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Earthquake & Tsunami: South Asia, 26 Dec 2004
• Greatest earthquake in 40 years
• Magnitude 9.0 on Richter scale
• 150 km off W coast / N Sumatra Island / Indonesia
• Generation of disastrous tsunami in 11 countries bordering Indian
Ocean
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Earthquake & Tsunami: South Asia, 26 Dec 2004
• Location: Beneath the Indian Ocean west
of Sumatra, Indonesia
• Epicenter: East of the Sunda Trench
• Overriding plate: Burma Plate
• Subducting plate: India Plate
Source: wikipedia 17
Tsunami Waves: Height & Travel time
Height:
• 10 m: Coastline of
Sumatra, near the
fault boundary
• 4 m: Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Somalia
& Seychelles
Travel times:
From minutes (Sumatra)
to 8 hours (Somalia)
Source: wikipedia 18
The Most Affected Area by the Tsunami
NW coast of Sumatra, Aceh province,
Indonesia
100 km (62 miles)
from the epicenter
Waves height:
15 m. (50 ft.)
80,000 death
(1/2 of total)
Source: Loud (2004) 19
The impacts of earthquake &
tsunami on South Asia
Dead:139.290
Injured:32,327
Missed:14,950
Displaced: 1,754,433
Source: WHO 20
Earthquake & Tsunami
Thoku, Japan, 11 March 2011
Source: NOAA center for tsunami research
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Tsunami of Japan, 2011
Japan has experienced a very large earthquake on 11 March 2011.
Severe shaking of buildings was experienced in Tokyo. The tsunami
that followed this earthquake has drowned several parts of Japan and
caused serious damages.
Part of houses
swallowed by tsunami
burn in Sendai, Miyagi
Prefecture (state) after
Japan was struck by a
strong earthquake off its
northeastern coast
Friday, March 11, 2011.
New York Times
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Tsunami of Japan, 2011
The houses and cars in
Northern Japan were swept
away by the tsunami waves.
The tsunami waves traveled far
inland, the wave of debris
racing across the farmland,
carrying boats and houses with
it.
The tsunami, seen crashing into
homes in Natori, Miyagi prefecture. AP
Houses were washed away
by tsunami in Sendai, Miyagi
Prefecture in eastern Japan,
after Japan was struck by a
magnitude 9.0 earthquake
off the northeastern coast.
New York Times
23
Tsunami of Japan, 2011
Source: NOAA center for tsunami research
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Tsunami Warning Systems
Source: google images
Tsunami monitoring systems have been strategically deployed near regions with a
history of tsunami generation, to ensure measurement of the waves as they propagate
towards coastal communities and to acquire data critical to real-time forecasts.
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Tsunami Warning System: Principle
The basic principle of the system for detecting and warning against tsunamis
comes in two stages.
Firstly, sensors in the ocean detect seismic activity. Increases in seismic activity are
the main cause of a tsunami and as such, signs of a earthquake at sea can be the
beginning of a tsunami.
These initial detectors are supplemented by buoys, round floating plastic objects
in the sea, and tide gauges which record an increase in the sea-level. When both
of these factors match, it is clear that a tsunami is imminent.
Evacuating people before a tsunami wreaks havoc is so important that warnings
often begin once an initial earthquake at sea has been detected.
Generally, the entire process is automated and it can be as little as two minutes
before the seismic sensors detecting movement and a message being relayed
through computers and an alert system is activated. This includes sirens being
sounded throughout the coastal towns and villages that are likely to be affected.
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Tsunami Warning System: Principle
Satellite
Surface Buoy
Hydrophone
Acoustic Link
5,000 M
Tsunami
Detector
Anchor 27
References
Gill (1982) Atmosphere-Ocean dynamics, International Geophysics Series,
Volume 30, Academic press.
LeBlond and Myask (1978) Waves in the Ocean. Elsevier.
Carrier (1971) The Dynamics of Tsunamis. In Mathematical problems in the
Geophysical Sciences. Amer. Math. Soc.
Bryant (2001) Tsunami: The underrated hazard, Cambridge University Press.
Loud, P. (2004) Areas in Indonesia devastated by the 2004 tsunami. http://
www.peterloud.co.uk/indonesia/tsunami.html (accessed on 29 March 2012)
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/tsunami.htm (Accessed on 29 March
2012)
http://www.nature.com/news/specials/tsunami/index.html (Accessed on 29
March 2012)
Videos: http://www.asiantsunamivideos.com/
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