Mackay Clayton

Application Paper- PHYS 1010-04, 11/21/16

Professor Janalee Harrison
The article I chose for this report is:
"The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 07
Jan. 2005. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html>.
It gives an overview of the events that occurred along the coast of Indonesia on
December 26, 2004. There were many factors in the tsunami, all of which were caused by the
natural forces of our moving, living planet. By analysing these occurrences as they are described
in National Geographics article and applying the following principles of physics to them, we
will better understand what caused this catastrophe. Using this knowledge, we will be more
prepared should similar danger be brewing in the future.
At the beginning of the second paragraph, the article states that the tsunami was the result
of Giant forces that had been building up deep in the Earth for hundreds of years, these forces
being the increasing pressure between the tectonic Indian plate and the Suma plate as the former
was pushing beneath the latter1. Because of the force of the static friction between the two plates
being greater than the force of the Indian plates movement, the net force remained at a value of
zero and the plates remained stationary for those hundreds of years, building up a huge amount
of pressure. This occurrence is a demonstration of Newtons first law of motion, or inertia.
The lack of awareness of this law of physics-- and the resulting lack of knowledge that
these tectonic plates were building up energy-- contributed to the unpreparedness that made this
event into such a disaster.
My second application for my article is the law of conservation of momentum. As the two
aforementioned tectonic plates shifted against each other, they caused an earthquake on the ocean
floor. This displaced an amount of volume which caused large bodies of ocean water to be pulled
to the epicenter of the earthquake, where they collided. As these masses of water collided and
rebounded, they maintained their original momentum in opposite directions, away from the
epicenter of the earthquake toward surrounding landmasses.
The initial pull of water towards the epicenter of the earthquake makes the ocean recede
an unusual distance from shore, more than any ordinary tide. This is one of the clearest indicators
of a tsunami, and knowledge of this phenomenon would have given many people the opportunity
to flee or seek higher ground before the tsunami struck.
Another application that can be seen in the earthquake that caused this catastrophic
tsunami is the principle of potential energy, in this case gravitational potential energy. In the fifth
paragraph of the article, it reads that the rupture between the two tectonic plates was, more than
600 miles (1,000 kilometers) long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by perhaps 10 yards
(about 10 meters) horizontally and several yards vertically. The several meters of change in
height of the oceans weight from before this shift to afterwards represents the amount of
potential energy it held, which became kinetic energy. This is the energy that was transferred into
the water and became tidal waves.

The fourth application is the effect of the superposition principle, which the waves have
on each other as they draw closer to shore. As waves were slowed by the resistance of the
landmass, the waves behind them would collide with them, creating constructive interference.
This interference lowered the frequency of the waves as they combined, but it also drastically
increased their amplitude. The tidal waves of the tsunami, as stated in paragraph eleven, reached
heights as high as fifteen meters at the crest. Their frequency also diminished at this stage, so
there could be from five minutes to a whole hour between crests.
My final application that can be seen in the tsunamis destructive force is Newtons third
law of motion. The article states that these waves destroyed buildings and killed people along the
coast. Newtons law states that each impact or action has an equal and opposite reaction. The
immense speed and mass of the waves was proportionally larger than that of any object on the
shore, so even though the reaction force of people and buildings on them is equal, and would
eventually slow the waves, these objects would experience a large amount of acceleration in the
process. This vector force would be sufficient to cause a human being to suffer serious injury or
death, and can tear up almost anything in its path.
From these principles and laws of physics, we are able to gain a much greater
understanding of how this catastrophe occurred and how its effects could have been reduced. The
inertia, momentum, potential energy, wave superposition, and reactive forces we encounter in
nature are immense. However, by informing ourselves about them and reacting accordingly, we
can change the outcomes of these forces for the better.
Main Article:
"The Deadliest Tsunami in History?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 07 Jan.
2005. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html>. Referred to
throughout as, the article.
Other Sources:
1. "Tectonics of Sumatra-Andaman Islands." Tsunamis and Earthquakes: Tsunami Generation
from the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake - USGS PCMSC. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
<http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/sumatraEQ/tectonics.html>.

The Deadliest Tsunami in History?

National Geographic News
Updated January 7, 2005
Tsunamis: Facts About Killer Waves
The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the
energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Giant forces that had been building up deep in the Earth for hundreds of years were released suddenly on
December 26, shaking the ground violently and unleashing a series of killer waves that sped across the
Indian Ocean at the speed of a jet airliner.
By the end of the day more than 150,000 people were dead or missing and millions more were homeless
in 11 countries, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history.
The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the
Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the USGS, which monitors earthquakes worldwide. The
violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous
amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction.
The earthquake was the result of the sliding of the portion of the Earth's crust known as the India plate
under the section called the Burma plate. The process has been going on for millennia, one plate pushing
against the other until something has to give. The result on December 26 was a rupture the USGS
estimates was more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by
perhaps 10 yards (about 10 meters) horizontally and several yards vertically. That doesn't sound like
much, but the trillions of tons of rock that were moved along hundreds of miles caused the planet to
shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.
Above the disturbed seafloor the great volume of the ocean was displaced along the line of the rupture,
creating one of nature's most deadly phenomena: a tsunami. Within hours killer waves radiating from the
earthquake zone slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, snatching people out to sea,
drowning others in their homes or on beaches, and demolishing property from Africa to Thailand.
Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean, at least in human memory. They are most
prevalent in the Pacific. But every ocean has generated the scourges. Many countries are at risk. (Read
"Tsunami: Facts About Killer Waves" for more about killer waves' causes and warning signsinformation
that can be a lifesaver in a tsunami zone.)
For more about the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 scroll down the page.
The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as much as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 kilometers) to Africa, arriving
with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property.
A tsunami may be less than a foot (30 centimeters) in height on the surface of the open ocean, which is
why they are not noticed by sailors. But the powerful pulse of energy travels rapidly through the ocean at

hundreds of miles per hour. Once a tsunami reaches shallow water near the coast it is slowed down. The
top of the wave moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically.
The Indian Ocean tsunami caused waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places, according to
news reports. But in many other places witnesses described a rapid surging of the ocean, more like an
extremely powerful river or a flood than the advance and retreat of giant waves.
Tsunamis can extend inland by a thousand feet (300 meters) or more. The enormous force and weight of
so much water sweeps away almost everything in its path. As many as a third of the people who died in
the Indian Ocean tsunami were children; many of them would not have been strong enough to resist the
force of the water. Many people were crushed by debris or when the sea hurled them against structures.
Witnesses said the approaching tsunami sounded like three freight trains or the roar of a jet. In some
places the tsunami advanced as a torrent of foaming water.
In several places the tsunami announced itself in the form of a rapidly receding ocean. Many reports
quoted survivors saying how they had never seen the sea withdraw such a distance, exposing seafloor
never seen before, stranding fish and boats on the sand. Tragically the novelty of the sight apparently
stoked the curiosity of the people who ran out onto the exposed seafloor. Tourists in Thailand were seen
wandering around photographing the scene.
Geographic Knowledge Saved Lives
People who knew geography knew what the receding ocean meant. Survivors who knew it meant trouble
reported how they ran for high ground, rounded up family and friends, and tried to warn people who were
drawn to the water's edge. Experts say that a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes'
warning to escape to high ground. That may have been enough time for many of the people who were
killed by the 2004 tsunami to save themselves, if only they knew what to do.
A British newspaper reported that a school student, on vacation in Thailand, recalled a geography lesson
about tsunamis and what the withdrawal of the ocean meant. She warned her family and they saved
themselves.
In India a man told the Associated Press how he saved his village of some 1,500 people because he
recalled watching a National Geographic television documentary about tsunamis [Killer Wave], and
remembered that when the ocean receded it was a sign of danger. He sounded the alarm and led the
people to high ground, saving almost the entire village.
Somehow the animals also seemed to know that disaster was imminent. Many people reported that they
saw animals fleeing for high ground minutes before the tsunami arrived. Very few animal bodies were
found afterwards.
When the ocean started to return on December 26 it was in the form of the tsunamia series of crashing
waves in some places and a sudden flood hundreds of yards inland in others. Reports quoted survivors
saying they could not run away fast enough, although many people did manage to escape.

Death struck randomly. People who were together when the tsunami struck were separated in the torrent.
Some survived; others succumbed or disappeared. A baby was found floating safely on a mattress.
Survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami reported that the sea surged out as fast and as powerfully as it
came ashore. Many people who had survived the wall of water rushing inland were seen being swept out
to sea when the ocean retreated.
A tsunami is a series of waves, and the first wave may not be the most dangerous. A tsunami "wave train"
may come as surges five minutes to an hour apart. The cycle may be marked by repeated retreat and
advance of the ocean. Some people did not know this on December 26. Once the first wave had gone,
they thought it was safe to go down to the beach.
The Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed thousands of miles of coastline and even submerged entire islands
permanently. The island country Maldives rises only a few feet above sea level, but it is largely protected
by outlying coral reefs. Even so, the tsunami swept across the reefs and was reported to have washed
over some islands entirely. The capital and many tourist resorts in the Maldives were flooded.
Astonishingly, relatively few people were killed. The country was likely protected from the full force of the
tsunami by its reefs.
Rotting Corpses
As the day of horror drew to a close the ocean calmed. But where at the start of the day people were
going about their normal lives or relaxing at exotic beach resorts now millions of people were struggling
with the reality of tens of thousands of dead or missing relatives, destroyed homes, and shattered lives.
The thousands of corpses, many hanging in trees or washed up on beaches, immediately started to rot in
the tropical heat. With no food or clean water and open wounds, the risk of famine and epidemic diseases
was high. Health authorities feared that the death toll might double to 300,000.
Across the world the magnitude of the disaster and the scale of the suffering prompted a new waveone
of sympathy, support, and assistance for the people affected by the tsunami.
Deep beneath the ocean, at the source of the great earthquake and tsunami, the Earth's tectonic plates
continued their relentless pressing against one another. Pressure was already building for the day when
pent-up energy will once again be released violentlybut hopefully not for hundreds of years.