a long-wavelength, high-energy, surface wave on a body of water, usually generated by geological forces. Tsunamis are also called "tidal waves" because their approach causes substantial amounts of water to recede from the shoreline in a manner reminiscent of the tide going out. The inland surge when the wave breaks can be highly destructive.
Questions tagged [tsunami]
20 questions
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8 answers
Why do tsunami waves begin with the water flowing away from shore?
A sign of a tsunami is that the water rushes away from the shore, then comes back to higher levels. It seems that waves should be both + and - polarized and that some tsunamis should go in the opposite direction. That is the first indication of them…
Carl Brannen
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Will tsunami waves travel forever if there was no land?
If there was no land for tsunami waves to collide with, can the waves travel around the globe for forever?
Bodvarion
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Can a mega-tsunami have a height of 30,000 feet or more?
Is it possible on Earth?
Roughly what size would an impactor have to be to cause a tsunami of this height? And it's speed, energy equivalent in tons, megatons, etc.?
user37673
- 69
4
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3 answers
Physics of tsunami: the relationship between wavelength, sea depth and the height of the water
If I understand correctly, when an earthquake occurs, energy will be transferred to the water, resulting in water waves. As the waves reach seashore, because the sea depth is getting shallower and wavelength is getting shorter, the height of the…
Graviton
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How good is current tsunami prediction?
We all know that predicting tsunami and earthquake is difficult, with too many variables involved.
But with the advent in data collection and computing power and better models, one should be able to predict tsunami better than in the past. How…
Graviton
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Tsunami effects of a nuclear explosion
Sea surface nuclear explosion arouses a tidal wave of water.
How does this kind of wave compare to naturally occurring tsunamis? E.g. what would be the potential of a 100KT bomb 100km away the from shore to flood that shore?
SF.
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4
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1 answer
Fluid dynamics tsunami
I have been given a energy head (pressure) in meters for a given tsunami on land.
If the tsunami hits a wall 1 meter by 1 meter, is it possible to calculate the height it will reach.
I am thinking it is due to the fact that a liquid is…
user50180
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2 answers
Question about the difference between a tsunami caused by a meteorite and one caused by an under water earthquake
Picture the situation where a meteorite falls somewhere on one of our oceans and gives off all its kinetic energy to the water (let's ignore the thermal energies involved like, for example, the heat caused by the atmospheric entrance friction).
Now…
Deschele Schilder
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Why amplitude of tsunami increases as it tavels ashore?
I read that there is a displacement between 2 (oceanic) tectonic plate and this drop cause a big potential energy on the wave directly above, I don't buy it because obviously many video footages showed the amplitude of the tsunami gradually becomes…
user6760
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Can you only predict a tsunami 50% of the time on the beach?
I am quite sure my professor claimed, that you can’t always predict a tsunami incoming on the beach by looking at the water pulling into the ocean.
She said that’s only possible 50% of the time, depending on where the tsunami is in it’s…
nammerkage
- 750
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1 answer
Tsunami : power of destruction
I'm not sure this is the good place to ask those questions. Sorry if it isn't.
Are there studies that evaluated the resistance of buildings against tsunami ? What kind of buildings could manage a tsunami with waves of 30 meters ? or a mega tsunami…
Xoff
- 133
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vote
2 answers
Can someone explain why waves shoal?
So, I was talking about Tsunamis with friends and as I started looking into it, I learned about the phenomena of shoaling. As water begins moving from deep areas into shallow areas, the waves increase in height until they crash or break onto shore.…
Justin Montego
- 113
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1 answer
Energy required for a large tsunami
There has been a recent panic regarding the volcano eruption on La Palma in the Canary Islands. That this volcano might cause a massive tsunami that would kill millions.
Wouldn't a 50 meter tsunami large enough to inundate the eastern seaboard…
dawg
- 113
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vote
1 answer
What does the motion of water in tsunamis look like?
This is what normal wave motion looks like.
Do tsunamis that travel at 60mph look any different?
Dale
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How to survive a direct hit of a Tsunami?
It's probably a question too general for this forum, but I'm not sure.
The other day, I was in the beach, near the sea, and a big wave came towards me. So, instead of running from the wave, I decided to dive into the wave and come out on the other…
