What is a tsunami?

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves with very long wavelengths (typically hundreds of
kilometres) caused by large-scale disturbances of the ocean, such as:
earthquakes
landslide
volcanic eruptions
explosions
meteorites
hese disturbances can either be from below (e!g! underwater earthquakes with large
vertical displacements, submarine landslides) or from above (e!g! meteorite impacts)!
sunami is a "apanese word with the #nglish translation: $harbour wave$! %n the past,
tsunamis have been referred to as $tidal waves$ or $seismic sea waves$! he term $tidal
wave$ is misleading& even though a tsunami's impact upon a coastline is dependent upon
the tidal level at the time a tsunami strikes, tsunamis are unrelated to the tides! (ides
result from the gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets!) he term $seismic
sea wave$ is also misleading! $(eismic$ implies an earthquake-related generation
mechanism, but a tsunami can also be caused by a non-seismic event, such as a landslide
or meteorite impact!
sunamis are also often confused with storm surges, even though they are quite different
phenomena! A storm surge is a rapid rise in coastal sea-level caused by a significant
meteorological event - these are often associated with tropical cyclones!
)haracteristics
sunamis cause damage by two mechanisms: the smashing force of a wall of water
travelling at high speed, and the destructive power of a large volume of water draining off
the land and carrying all with it, even if the wave did not look large!
*hile everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about +,, metres
(--, ft) and a height of roughly . metres (/!/ ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a
wavelength of about .,, kilometres (+., mi)! (uch a wave travels at well over 0,,
kilometres per hour (1,, mph), but owing to the enormous wavelength the wave
oscillation at any given point takes ., or -, minutes to complete a cycle and has an
amplitude of only about + metre (-!- ft)!
2..3
his makes tsunamis difficult to detect over
deep water! (hips rarely notice their passage!
As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow, wave shoaling
compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 0, kilometres per hour (1, mph)! %ts
wavelength diminishes to less than ., kilometres (+. mi) and its amplitude grows
enormously! (ince the wave still has the same very long period, the tsunami may take
minutes to reach full height! #xcept for the very largest tsunamis, the approaching wave
does not break, but rather appears like a fast-moving tidal bore!
2.-3
4pen bays and
coastlines ad5acent to very deep water may shape the tsunami further into a step-like
wave with a steep-breaking front!
*hen the tsunami's wave peak reaches the shore, the resulting temporary rise in sea level
is termed run up! 6un up is measured in metres above a reference sea level!
2.-3
A large
tsunami may feature multiple waves arriving over a period of hours, with significant time
between the wave crests! he first wave to reach the shore may not have the highest run
up!
2.73
About 0,8 of tsunamis occur in the 9acific 4cean, but they are possible wherever there
are large bodies of water, including lakes! hey are caused by earthquakes, landslides,
volcanic explosions glacier calvings, and bolides!
Tsunami: What to Do and How to Survive
sunamis used to be the stuff of movies and until it:s devastation in Asia, most people
didnt think it was possible for tsunamis to occur in that magnitude! *ith that reali;ation,
people have become aware of the risk and possible consequences of this natural calamity!
*hat is a tsunami<
sunamis are not caused by strong winds but by tectonic displacements (earthquakes,
volcano eruptions, landslides) that occur on the seafloor! #arthquakes that produce
tsunamis are those that reach /!1 or more on the 6ichter scale! he average speed of the
waves is -,, mph and can last from 1 minutes to an hour!
%n open sea, tsunamis usually go unnoticed, having amplitudes of 5ust + meter or even
less! =owever, in some situations, waves that enter shallow water can swell to several
feet and in some rare cases, rise high enough to strike coastal areas with terrible force!
*ho:s at risk<
9eople who live in coastal areas located along or near the 9acific 4cean are most prone to
tsunamis! his area is most vulnerable because of seismic activity in what is called the
6ing of >ire! %t has also occurred in 9uerto 6ico, Alaska, =awaii and the ?irgin %slands!
*hat to do in a tsunami emergency
*hen a strong earthquake is felt, leave the water immediately, get to shore and go as far
away as you can from the beach, fast! %f your location allows it, go to a higher ground! %f
the area you are in is mostly flat, go as far inland as you can! %f you can spot the wave,
you are too close to escape it, regardless of its apparent distance!
une in to your local radio station, the weather radio or turn on the ? for news and
updates! hey will inform you if there is a tsunami watch or warning issued in your area
and where the emergency centers are!
@ocate all members of your family and make sure everyone is informed! Agree on a place
to meet in case you:re not together and make sure it:s safe and as far away from the shore
as possible!
%f you have family members who have special needs like elderly people, small children or
infants and those with disabilities, you might want to evacuate early! Aou might also
want to prepare your pets for moving, so bring emergency supplies for them as well!
)heck your emergency supply kits and bring them with you! %t would be a good idea if
they had been regularly restocked but if not, take what you can or get what is needed if
you still have the time and opportunity! 4therwise, opt to get water, food and extra
clothes instead!
Aou might want to secure your house, but remember that this is the last priority! Aour life
and that of your family:s are the most important considerations during a tsunami
emergency! #xpect items in your house to be swept away and if you could still secure
them, do so!
sunami watch vs! tsunami warning
A tsunami watch is different from a tsunami warning! A tsunami watch means that the
presence of a dangerous tsunami is not yet confirmed or verified, although it is possible
there is one! %t also includes predictions on what time the tsunami is expected and where
it will possibly strike!
A tsunami warning means that there is a confirmed tsunami in your area and it could be
close! he warning will include the time at which the tsunami is expected and which
areas are affected!
As a last emergency tip
%f you find yourself under the mercy of an incoming wave, climb onto the rooftop of your
house or on the highest point of the nearest structure and brace yourself! =old on tightly
to anything that:s strong and stable enough! )limb a tree if you have to and dont let go!
%f you:re already in the water, grab a floating ob5ect that can hold your weight and hold
onto it until you can reach stable ground or when help is available! Brab onto anything
that is firm and strive to get out of the water as much as possible! he current will be
strong and there could be heavy and sharp debris in the water that could crash into you!
sunamis, like most things nature produces, are uncontrollable! he only advantage is
that they do come with a warning (a strong earthquake)! he only way to survive it is to
be prepared, be ready to go and to keep your wits about you!
The physics of a tsunami
sunamis can have wavelengths ranging from +, to 1,, km and wave periods of up to an
hour! As a result of their long wavelengths, tsunamis act as shallow-water waves! A wave
becomes a shallow-water wave when the wavelength is very large compared to the water
depth! (hallow-water waves move at a speed, c, that is dependent upon the water depth
and is given by the formula:
where g is the acceleration due to gravity (C D!0 mEs
.
) and H is the depth of water!
%n the deep ocean, the typical water depth is around 7,,, m, so a tsunami will therefore
travel at around .,, mEs, or more than F,, kmEh!
>or tsunamis that are generated by underwater earthquakes, the amplitude (i!e wave
height) of the tsunami is determined by the amount by which the sea-floor is displaced!
(imilarly, the wavelength and period of the tsunami are determined by the si;e and shape
of the underwater disturbance!
As well as travelling at high speeds, tsunamis can also travel large distances with limited
energy losses! As the tsunami propagates across the ocean, the wave crests can undergo
refraction (bending), which is caused by segments of the wave moving at different speeds
as the water depth along the wave crest varies!
What happens to a tsunami as it approaches land?
As a tsunami leaves the deep water of the open-ocean and travels into the shallower water
near the coast, it transforms! %f you read the $he physics of a tsunami$ section, you will
know that a tsunami travels at a speed that is related to the water depth - hence, as the
water depth decreases, the tsunami slows! he tsunami's energy flux, which is dependent
on both its wave speed and wave height, remains nearly constant! )onsequently, as the
tsunami's speed diminishes, its height grows! his is called shoaling! Gecause of this
shoaling effect, a tsunami that is unnoticeable at sea, may grow to be several metres or
more in height near the coast!
he increase of the tsunami's waveheight as it enters shallow water is given by:
where h
s
and h
d
are waveheights in shallow and deep water and H
s
and H
d
are the depths
of the shallow and deep water! (o a tsunami with a height of + m in the open ocean where
the water depth is 7,,,m would have a waveheight of 7 to 1 m in water of depth +, m!
"ust like other water waves, tsunamis begin to lose energy as they rush onshore - part of
the wave energy is reflected offshore, while the shoreward-propagating wave energy is
dissipated through bottom friction and turbulence! Hespite these losses, tsunamis still
reach the coast with tremendous amounts of energy! Hepending on whether the first part
of the tsunami to reach the shore is a crest or a trough, it may appear as a rapidly rising or
falling tide! @ocal bathymetry may also cause the tsunami to appear as a series of
breaking waves!
sunamis have great erosion potential, stripping beaches of sand that may have taken
years to accumulate and undermining trees and other coastal vegetation! )apable of
inundating, or flooding, hundreds of metres inland past the typical high-water level, the
fast-moving water associated with the inundating tsunami can crush homes and other
coastal structures! sunamis may reach a maximum vertical height onshore above sea
level, often called a run-up height, of tens of metres!
How are tsunamis measured or observed?
%n the deep ocean, a tsunami has a small amplitude (less than + metre) but very long
wavelength (hundreds of kilometres)! his means that the slope, or steepness of the wave
is very small, so it is practically undetectable to the human eye! =owever, there are ocean
observing instruments that are able to detect tsunamis!
Tide Gauges
ide gauges measure the height of the sea-surface and are primarily used for measuring
tide levels! Iost of the tide gauges operated by the Gureau of Ieteorology's Jational
idal )entre are (#A>6AI# stations ((ea @evel >ine 6esolution Acoustic Ieasuring
#quipment)! hese consist of an acoustic sensor connected to a vertical tube open at the
lower end which is in the water! he acoustic sensor emits a sound pulse which travels
from the top of the tube down to the water surface, and is then reflected back up the tube!
he distance to the water level can then be calculated using the travel time of the pulse!
his system filters out small-scale effects like wind-waves and has the capacity to
measure sea-level changes within +mm accuracy!
he tide gauge at )ocos %sland observed the tsunami on Hecember ./th .,,7 as it passed
by the island, as shown in these observations made during Hecember!
Satellites
(atellite altimeters measure the height of the ocean surface directly by the use of electro-
magnetic pulses! hese are sent down to the ocean surface from the satellite and the
height of the ocean surface can be determined by knowing the speed of the pulse, the
location of the satellite and measuring the time that the pulse takes to return to the
satellite! 4ne problem with this kind of satellite data is that it can be very sparse - some
satellites only pass over a particular location about once a month, so you would be lucky
to spot a tsunami since they travel so quickly! =owever, during the %ndian 4cean tsunami
of Hecember ./th .,,7, the "ason satellite altimeter happened to be in the right place at
the right time!
he picture below shows the height of the sea surface (in blue) measured by the "ason
satellite two hours after the initial earthquake hit the region southeast of (umatra (shown
in red) on Hecember ./, .,,7! he data were taken by a radar altimeter on board the
satellite along a track traversing the %ndian 4cean when the tsunami waves had 5ust filled
the entire Gay of Gengal! he data shown are the differences in sea surface height from
previous observations made along the same track .,--, days before the earthquake,
showing the signals of the tsunami!
The DAT System
%n +DD1 the Jational 4ceanic and Atmospheric Administration (J4AA) began
developing the Heep-ocean Assessment and 6eporting of sunamis (HA6) system! An
array of stations is currently deployed in the 9acific 4cean! hese stations give detailed
information about tsunamis while they are still far off shore! #ach station consists of a
sea-bed bottom pressure recorder which detects the passage of a tsunami! (he pressure
of the water column is related to the height of the sea-surface) ! he data is then
transmitted to a surface buoy via sonar! he surface buoy then radios the information to
the 9acific sunami *arning )enter (9*)) via satellite! he bottom pressure recorder
lasts for two years while the surface buoy is replaced every year! he system has
considerably improved the forecasting and warning of tsunamis in the 9acific!
The !ndian "cean tsunami of #$th December #%%&
An undersea earthquake in the %ndian 4cean on ./th Hecember .,,7 produced a tsunami
that caused one of the biggest natural disasters in modern history! 4ver .,,,,,, people
are known to have lost their lives!
he waves devastated the shores of parts of %ndonesia, (ri @anka, %ndia, hailand and
other countries with waves reported up to +1 m high, reaching as far as (omalia on the
east coast of Africa, 71,, km west of the epicentre! 6efraction and diffraction of the
waves meant that the impact of the tsunami was noticed around the world and sea-level
monitoring stations in places such as Gra;il and Kueensland also felt the effect of the
tsunami!
his animation (+,!7Ib) was produced by scientists in the Gureau of Ieteorology's
Jational idal )entre! A numerical model was used to replicate the generation and
propagation of the tsunami and it shows how the waves propagated around the world's
ocean basins!
he earthquake took place at about +am L) (0am local time) in the %ndian 4cean off
the western coast of northern (umatra! *ith a magnitude of D!, on the 6ichter scale, it
was the largest since the +D/7 earthquake off Alaska and equal fourth largest since +D,,,
when accurate global seismographic record-keeping began!
he epicentre of the earthquake was located about .1, km south-southeast of the
%ndonesian city of Ganda Aceh! %t was a rare megathrust earthquake and occurred on the
interface of the %ndia and Gurma tectonic plates! his was caused by the release of
stresses that develop as the %ndia plate subducts beneath the overriding Gurma plate! A
megathrust earthquake is where one tectonic plate slips beneath another, causing vertical
motion of the plates! his large vertical displacement of the sea-floor generated the
devastating tsunami, which caused damage over such a large area around the %ndian
4cean!
he earthquake was also unusually large in geographical extent! An estimated +.,, km
of faultline slipped about +1 m along the subduction ;one over a period of several
minutes! Gecause the +,.,, km of faultline affected by the quake was in a nearly north-
south orientation, the greatest strength of the waves was in an east-west direction!
Gangladesh, which lies at the northern end of the Gay of Gengal, had very few casualties
despite being a populous low-lying country!
Hue to the distances involved, the tsunami took anywhere from fifteen minutes to seven
hours (for (omalia) to reach the various coastlines! ((ee this travel time map)! he
northern regions of the %ndonesian island of (umatra were hit very quickly, while (ri
@anka and the east coast of %ndia were hit roughly two hours later! hailand was also
struck about two hours later, despite being closer to the epicentre, because the tsunami
travelled more slowly in the shallow Andaman (ea off its western coast!
4n its arrival on shore, the height of the tsunami varied greatly, depending on its distance
and direction from the epicentre and other factors such as the local bathymetry! 6eports
have the height ranging form .-- m at the African coast (Menya) up to +,-+1 m at
(umatra, the region closest to the epicentre!