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What is a tsunami ?
A tsunami is a very long ocean wave generated by sudden displacement of the sea floor or of the oceanic mass
Terminology
The term tsunami is a Japanese word meaning harbour wave It was so named because the wave is harmless until it enters a harbour It is frequently called a tidal wave, but it has nothing to do with tides
1990-2000
Locally-generated tsunamis
The subduction zone of Cascadia has potential for very large offshore quakes (M 8) There is a great danger of locally-generated tsunamis here, since they travel so fast Many large cities are found on the coast
Structure of a wave
Wavelength, , can exceed 200 km
normal ocean waves have wavelengths of about 100 m trough; peak; wave height, h; amplitude
Shallow water
In shallow water, the tsunami waves pile up As a result, velocities and wavelengths decrease... but at the same time, amplitudes can increase enormously...
Amplitudes
In deep water, wave amplitudes are generally less than 1 meter
but in shallow water, amplitudes can reach 40 meters or more above normal sea level
Landslides
Meteorite impacts
Earthquakes
Mainly vertical crustal movements so strike-slip faults perhaps less hazardous ...although these too can trigger mass movements such as landslides
Types of faults
Earthquakes
In general, the larger the quake, the larger the tsunamibut not a perfect correlation Some anomalously large tsunamis generated from small quakes ...energy released at longer periods than can be registered on normal seismometers ?
Shallow quakes
Quake energy seismic moment = slip x fault area x rigidity of rocks For a given quake magnitude, if displacement is large, then rigidity may be low This may indicate that the shallow parts of subduction zones are frictionally weak (unconsolidated sediments, fractures, fluids, etc.)
Submarine landslides
Another contributing factor to large tsunamis may be submarine landslides:
-generated by shaking associated with the earthquake -cause additional displacement of water, thus a larger and more complicated tsunami event
Subduction association
Tsunamis typically are associated with earthquakes generated at subduction zones
Volcanic activity
Displacement of rock Submarine caldera collapse (e.g., along faults) (Krakatau 1883) Entrance of pyroclastic flows into water (Krakatau 1883) Subaerial lateral collapse, generating debris avalanches which enter water (Unzen 1792)
Landslides
Landslides often are generated by quakes or volcanoes
also occur on subduction trench slopes (steep) also can occur in enclosed bodies of water (lakes, bays, reservoirs, etc.) (rockfalls, slumps of unconsolidated material, etc.)
Landslides
Enormous submarine landslides can occur on the flanks of ocean islands (e.g., Hawaii, Canaries)
Canary Islands
Meteorite impacts
Too terrible to contemplate !!! Hundreds to thousands of meters in height ? Terminal Cretaceous event Read and find out !
4 case histories
Alaska 1964 (earthquake-generated) Krakatau 1883 (caldera-generated)
epicenter
Old Valdez
1964 events
27 March 1964, 5:36 PM local time (early evening, people in their homes) Magnitude 9.2 quakelargest ever recorded in North Americasecond largest ever Shaking lasted 4-5 minutes (to compare, the 1906 San Francisco event lasted 4560 seconds
Tectonic setting
Subduction in the Aleutian region results in very large quakes Between 1899-1965:
7 quakes with M 8
60 quakes with M 7
Tsunami generation
In this region, tsunamis are generated by two mechanisms: 1) large vertical movements of the sea floor along faults (local and distant tsunamis) 2) slumping of material, both underwater and from land to water, by ground shaking
Boat runups
Carried inland by tsunami waves, boats acted as battering rams, efficiently destroying buildings Here is a beached boat at Seward after the events
Effects at Valdez
The landslides carried burning oil out into the bays while the tsunamis returned the burning oil to the harbours and townsites, exacerbating the fires
Unconsolidated sediments
Wave runup
This is Valdez Inlet after the main tsunami hit
Here the wave runup was the highest, reaching 67 meters At Kodiak, tsunami effects were made worse by tectonic subsidence (faulting)
Wave runup
Valdez
It took 2-3 minutes to generate the tsunami from the landslide 30 people died $ 15 million US in damage
Distant effects
As you can see, the wave affected the entire Pacific basin
Each colour band represents a 1-hour tsunami travel time increment
The tsunami was hugely destructive along the west coast of Canada and the US (but only 16 dead)
It is mainly a submarine volcano, with its top sticking out of the water
Krakatau
Caldera collapse
The cataclysmic eruption occurred on 26-27 August 1883 A submarine caldera was formed Displacement of material during collapse generated a series of devastating tsunamis
Two views of the caldera margin on Rakata, one soon after the eruption and the other in 1979
This is Anak Krakatau, which emerged through the sea in 1928. It is within the caldera
Tsunami
36,000 people were killed by the tsunami along the coasts of Java and Sumatra At least 3 great waves occurred 165 coastal villages were destroyed by the waves The largest waves were recorded by tide gauges up to 7,000 km away on the Arabian Peninsula
Tsunami
Coral blocks up to 600 tons were carried inland these served efficiently as natural battering rams Runup heights reached 40 meters
Maximum runup heights in meters (from Simkin and Fiske, 1983) Telok Betong
Telok Betong
Before...
and after Shaded grey is submerged area buoy
red=boat
yellow=buoy blue=hill
hill
The District Hall in Telok Betong. The tsunami stopped just before this building, sparing the people cowering inside
The hill near Telok Betong. The lower part of the hill has been cleansed of its vegetation by the tsunami
Magnitude 9.0-9.3
A warning to Indonesians: Kerry Siehs poster and efforts to educate people beforehand
Courtesy USGS
Tsunami runups (blue) and maximum tsunami heights (black) in Sri Lanka
Global propagation of the 26 December 2004 tsunami based on a model by Titov et al 2005 in Science
Tsunami wave heights around the world (from Titov et al 2005 Science)
Mt. Mayuyama
islands
scar
Fugen-dake
Mt. Mayuyama
Tsunamis
The debris avalanche entered the Ariake Sea, generating a tsunami
The wave killed between 14,000 and 15,000 people in coastal communities
Geological map, showing 1792 debris avalanche deposit
Extent of the 1792 debris avalanche deposit and the scar on Mt. Mayuyama Note the islands
deposit
and after
1: 1700 quake
1: 1700 quake
quake in 1964
Tsunami hazards
Extensive flooding
Action of wave on coastal structures, both natural and built The incredible force of the waves can remobilize huge objects
Mitigation efforts
Warning times
Every ~750 km of travel distance is equal to about 1 hour of warning time So, as discussed above, there is very little warning time for tsunami generated by local sources, compared to those from distant sources
Quake-generated tsunamis
In general, the size of the quake is an approximate indication of the size of the tsunami But this guide doesnt always work To determine the amount and orientation of crustal displacement at the surface, the moment magnitude is more useful than the Richter magnitude
Moment magnitudes
The point is that we cannot always rely on quake magnitude to determine the magnitude of the tsunami
Warning systems
Mainly based on earthquake data Pacific-wide warnings: require at least 1 hour warning time More local networks require warning times less than 1 hourthis is difficult
Response to tsunami
Requires good emergency planning and preparation an educated and trained public
Personal mitigation
Run (dont walk) to higher ground
Hazard maps
As we have seen for earthquakes and volcanoes, hazard maps are critically useful pieces of information Here are two examples, the first from Hawaii, and the second from Eureka, California
Eureka, California
Located in northwestern California, and is part of Cascadia Hazards from tsunamis, liquefaction, ground shaking associated with liquefaction, etc.
Tsunamis -reading
Billings, L.G., 1915. Some personal experiences with earthquakes. National Geographic, v. 27, no. 1, January 1915, pp. 57-71. Gonzlez, F.J., 1999. Tsunami! Scientific American, May, 1999. Niven, L., and J. Pournelle, 1983. Lucifers Hammer. New York, Fawcett Crest, 629 pp. Simkin, T., and R.S. Fiske, eds, 1983. Krakatau 1883, the volcanic eruption and its effects. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 69-81.
Tsunamis - web
Canada:
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/naturalhazards/natu ralhazards1999/tsunamis http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Tsunami_Preparedness_Inform ation.html
U.S.:
http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/index.html
http://www.tsunami.noaa.gov/
U.K.:
http://www.nerc-bas.ac.uk/tsunami-risks/