津波

Tsunami
Characteristics and causes
Tsuna
mi
In English these
phenomenon are
referred to by their
Japanese name, derived
from the meaning
‘harbour wave’.


Few other languages



have their own word for

Tsunami .


Acehnese, northern
Sumatra, Indonesia is
one them calling them
ië beuna or alôn
buluëkof
The top satellite picture
of Kalutara, Sri Lanka
was taken about an hour
after the first tsunami
wave hit on December
26, 2004. Water is
rushing back out to sea
after inundating the land.
The lower picture shows
what the same area looks
like under normal
conditions.
 How are Tsunamis created?

T h e p o te n tia l e n e rg y th a t re su lts fro m p u sh in g w a te r a b o ve m e a n se a

le ve lis th e n tra n sfe rre d to h o rizo n ta l p ro p a g a tio n o f th e tsu n a m i
w a ve ( kin e tic e n e rg y ). Fo r th e ca se sh o w n a b o ve , th e e a rth q u a ke
ru p tu re o ccu rre d a t th e b a se o f th e co n tin e n ta l slo p e in re la tive ly
d e e p w a te r. S itu a tio n s ca n a lso a rise w h e re th e e a rth q u a ke ru p tu re
o ccu rs b e n e a th th e co n tin e n ta l sh e lf in m u ch sh a llo w e r w a te r.
Panel 2 — Split : Within several minutes of the earthquake , the
initial tsunami ( Panel 1 ) is split into a tsunami that travels out
to the deep ocean ( distant tsunami ) and another tsunami that
travels towards the nearby coast ( local tsunami ). The height above
mean sea level of the two oppositely traveling tsunamis is
approximately half that of the original tsunami ( Panel 1 ). ( This is
somewhat modified in three dimensions , but the same idea holds .)
The speed at which both tsunamis travel varies as the square root
of the water depth . Therefore , the deep - ocean tsunami travels
faster than the local tsunami near shore .
Panel 3 — Amplification : Several things happen as the local tsunami
travels over the continental slope . Most obvious is that the
amplitude increases . In addition , the wavelength decreases . This
results in steepening of the leading wave -- an important control of
wave runup at the coast ( next panel ). Note that the first part of
the wave reaching the local shore is a trough , which will appear as
the sea receding far from shore . This is a common natural warning
sign for tsunamis . Note also that the deep ocean tsunami has
traveled much farther than the local tsunami because of the higher
propagation speed . As the deep ocean tsunami approaches a distant
shore , amplification and shortening of the wave will occur , just as
with the local tsunami shown above .
Panel 4 — Runup : Tsunami runup occurs when a peak in the tsunami
wave travels from the near - shore region onto shore . Runup is a
measurement of the height of the water onshore observed above a
reference sea level . Except for the largest tsunamis , such as the
2004 Indian Ocean event , most tsunamis do not result in giant
breaking waves ( like normal surf waves at the beach that curl over
as they approach shore ). Rather , they come in much like very strong
and fast - moving tides ( i . e ., strong surges and rapid changes in sea
level ). Much of the damage inflicted by tsunamis is caused by
strong currents and floating debris . The small number of tsunamis
that do break often form vertical walls of turbulent water called
bores . Tsunamis will often travel much farther inland than normal
waves . Do tsunamis stop once on land? No ! After runup , part of the
tsunami energy is reflected back to the open ocean and scattered
by sharp variations in the coastline . In addition , a tsunami can
generate a particular type of coastal trapped wave called edge
waves that travel back - and forth , parallel to shore . These effects
result in many arrivals of the tsunami at a particular point on
Much of the damage inflicted by tsunamis is
caused by strong currents and floating debris .
The small number of tsunamis that do break
often form vertical walls of turbulent water
called bores . Tsunamis will often travel much
farther inland than normal waves . Do tsunamis
stop once on land? No ! After runup , part of the
tsunami energy is reflected back to the open
ocean and scattered by sharp variations in the
coastline . In addition , a tsunami can generate
a particular type of coastal trapped wave
called edge waves that travel back - and forth ,
parallel to shore . These effects result in
many arrivals of the tsunami at a particular
point on the coast rather than a single wave
as suggested by Panel 3 . Because of the
complicated behavior of tsunami waves near the
coast , the first runup of a tsunami is often
not the largest, emphasizing the importance of
One hour after the December
26th Tsunami
How did the tsunami
travel?
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/sum
T h e D e ce m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 0 4 M = 9 . 2 S u m a tra -A n d a m a n
e a rth q u a ke o ccu rre d a lo n g a te cto n ic su b d u ctio n
zo n e in w h ich th e In d ia P la te , a n o ce a n ic p la te , is
b e in g su b d u cte d b e n e a th th e B u rm a m icro -p la te ,
p a rt o f th e la rg e r S u n d a p la te .
The figure below, from the
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Earthquake Summary Poster, shows:the interplate th
 How did the Tsunami travel?
 http://es.ucsc.edu/~ward/indo.mov


 http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,1380592,00.html


HTTP://WALRUS.WR.USGS.GOV/T
 How was this event
reported?
http://www.command-post.org/nk/2_ar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/tsuna
 Your turn
• How are Tsunami generally created?
• What other causes are there?
• Referring to the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami, briefly explain the causes.
• What is a megatsunami? How does it
differ from a ‘normal tsunami?
• What type of threat do tsunami
cause? Describe how the water
behaves.
•
T h e d ire ctio n o f
co n ve rg e n ce o f th e
In d ia Pla te re la tive to
th e S u n d a p la te ( th ick
a rro w s o n m a p a b o ve )
is o rie n te d o b liq u e to
th e o rie n ta tio n o f th e
in te rp la te th ru st ( i. e .,
tre n ch a xis). Fo r
o b liq u e su b d u ctio n
zo n e s su ch a s th is,
m o ve m e n t b e tw e e n th e
tw o p la te s ca n b e
a cco m o d a te d o n e o f
tw o w a ys a s sh o w n in
th e fig u re b e lo w
( Michael , 1990 ).

T h e S u m a tra su b d u ctio n zo n e is ch a ra cte rize d b y d e co u p le d fa u ltin g ,

a s in ( b ) a b o ve . In th is ca se , n e a rly p u re th ru st fa u ltin g o ccu rs a lo n g
th e in te rp la te th ru st a n d strike -slip fa u ltin g o ccu rs in th e o ve rrid in g
p la te , m o st n o ta b ly a lo n g th e G re a t S u m a tra n fa u lt.