Tsunami: © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved

Chapter 5
Tsunami
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Swept Away
 March 11, 2011: giant magnitude 9.0
earthquake struck off coast of Japan
 Vertical movement of ocean floor pushed
water into waves
 Ten-meter-high tsunami waves swept ashore, 20
minutes after tsunami sirens
 Waves carried away everything in path
 Disabled cooling system of Fukushima nuclear
reactors resulted in meltdown, radioactive
contamination
Tsunami Generation
 Tsunami: Japanese name for harbor wave
 Waves rise highest where focused into bays or
harbors
 Sometimes called tidal waves, but not related
to tides
 Commonly generated by earthquakes
 Can be generated by any sudden
displacement of large volume of water
 Volcanic eruptions, landslides or rockfalls,
volcano flank collapses, asteroid impacts
Earthquake-Generated Tsunami
 Most tsunami are generated during shallow-
focus, underwater earthquakes
 They cause sudden rise or fall of seafloor,
displacing a large volume of water
 Most commonly, earthquake is on reverse
or thrust fault in a subduction zone
 See Figures 5-3 and 5-4 for tsunami event
sequence
Tsunami Formation

Stuck
Overriding Slow distortion

Subd
uctin plate
g p la
te
Between earthquakes
Tsunami
Tsunami starts during earthquake Waves
spread
Stuck area ruptures,

releasing energy in an
earthquake
During an earthquake Minutes later
Stepped Art
Figure 5-2 p96
Initiation of a Tsunami

 Factors affecting height of tsunami wave:
 Earthquake magnitude
 Area of rupture zone
 Rate and volume of water displaced
 Sense of ocean floor motion
 Depth of water above rupture

 Size of earthquake-generated tsunami in
open ocean limited to maximum
displacement (offset) on fault
 15 m vertical offset from moment magnitude 8
earthquake
 Maximum wave height (in open ocean): 15 m
 Wave height increases as waves pushed into
shallow water and bays

 Most vulnerable parts of U.S. include Hawaii
and Pacific coast
 Major tsunami forms once a decade in Pacific
Ocean
 Likely sources of tsunami-generating
earthquakes:
 Subduction zones off Japan, Kamchatka,
Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Mexico, Peru, Chile,
and the Pacific Northwest of U.S.
Tsunami Generated by Volcanic Eruptions
 Volcanic processes can displace large
volumes of water and trigger tsunami:
 Fast-moving flows of hot volcanic ash
 Submarine volcanic explosions
 Collapse of volcano in giant landslide
 Tsunami generated by volcanic eruptions
are poorly understood; maximum is size
unknown
 Montserrat Island’s Soufriere Hills, 2003
 Volcano collapsed, spilled volcanic material
into ocean, generated tsunami
 Run-up as high as 21 m on nearby islands
 Krakatau, 1883
 Mountain exploded in enormous eruption
 Waves as high as 30 m hit Java and Sumatra
 More than 35,000 people killed

 Mediterranean island volcano Santorini
collapsed during eruption, 1630–1550 BC
 Huge tsunami waves hit Crete, Turkey, and
Israel
 May correlate to legend of Atlantis

Tsunami from Fast-Moving Landslides or
Rockfalls
 Can displace immense amounts of water
and generate tsunami
 Height of fall has more effect than volume
of mass that displaces water
 Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1958
 Nearby earthquake detached section of cliff,
sliding into coastal fjord
 Created largest wave on record (150 m)
 Killed only two people
Rockfalls
 Southern Chile, 2007
 Magnitude 6.2 earthquake caused large
landslide that triggered 7.6-m tsunami waves
 Submarine landslides occur underwater
 Can generate tsunami
 8,000 years ago: Storegga landslide offshore
Norway caused 11-m-high tsunami

Rockfalls
 1929 magnitude 7.2 Grand Banks
earthquake triggered submarine landslide
 27 people died on coast of Newfoundland
 Region’s recurrence interval: 600 to 3,000 years
 Fractures along continental shelf off Virginia
and North Carolina suggest possibility of
future underwater landslides

Continental Shelf Collapse

Rockfalls
 Major subduction-zone earthquake in
Caribbean could trigger tsunami, which
would inundate low-lying Gulf and East
coasts of U.S.
 Papua New Guinea, 1998
 Small subsea slide caused by earthquake-
generated tsunami that killed 2,200 people

Future Tsunami in Puerto Rico

Rockfalls
 West side of Lake Tahoe
 Shelf of lake sediments collapsed after melting
of glaciers
 Catastrophic landslide and tsunami
 North half of sediment shelf did not collapse—
may do so in future

Lake Tahoe Landslides and Tsunami

Tsunami from Volcano Flank Collapse
 Flanks of many volcanic islands occasionally
collapse and slide into ocean, displacing
thousands of cubic kilometers of water
 Resultant tsunami waves can be hundreds
of meters high

Tsunami from Volcano Flank Collapse
 Studies of ocean floor around Hawaii
revealed 68 giant debris avalanche deposits
 Some of which must have caused massive
tsunami waves
 Similar situations on slopes of Lesser
Antilles in Caribbean, Mount Etna,
Marquesas Islands, Reunion Island, Canary
Islands

Hawaii Volcano Flank Collapse

Tsunami from Asteroid Impact
 Impact of large asteroid into ocean would
generate large tsunami that would radiate
outward from impact site
 1-km asteroid falling into 5-km deep ocean:
 Would generate 3-km-deep cavity
 Kilometer-high waves decreasing rapidly in size
away from impact site
 Different wave frequencies would interfere and
cause immense run-up on shore
Tsunami Movement
 Waves described by:
 Wavelength: distance between two waves
 Height: measured from trough to crest
 Period: time between passage of two
successive wave crests
 Tsunami in open ocean
 Small wave heights
 Average wavelength about 360 km
 Period may be 30 minutes
Characteristics of Waves

Tsunami Movement
 Water particles travel in circular motion that
fades downward to reach seafloor
 Wave drags on sea bottom and slows,
gaining amplitude
 Becomes steep front of water riding over
continental shelf toward land
 Speed in open ocean: up to 870 km/hr
 Speed approaching land: 150–300 km/hr
Tsunami Wave Height

Wave Velocity and Water Depth

Tsunami on Shore
 Tsunami may appear in several ways:
 Ordinary breaking waves on shore, but with
higher velocity and larger size; high, breaking
wave; rapid rise of sea level, without much of a
wave
 Waves advance faster than person can run,
and even faster than a strong swimmer
swept inland or carried out to sea
 Loose debris impacts structures and people
Coastal Effects
 Mouths of rivers and coastal bays funnel
waves, dramatically raise height
 Waves amplified by high tide or constructive
interference between different frequency
waves
 Can curve to opposite side of island
 Waves can break on coral reefs surrounding
islands, resulting in less shore impact
Run-up
 Height of wave as it rushes onshore
 Depends on distance from fault rupture,
and whether wave strikes open coast or bay
 Trimline
 Line along mountainside with tall trees upslope
(unaffected) and shorter, younger trees
downslope (wiped out by run-up)
 Evidence of past tsunami run-up

Period
 Initial mound of water oscillates up and
down a few times before fading away—
generates series of waves
 Giant wave is followed by others, often
larger than first
 Calm sea or sea in retreat could be trough
before crest of next wave
 Waves may continue for several hours
Tsunami Tide Gauge

Tsunami Hazard Mitigation
 Land-use zoning: limit buildings to
elevations above those potentially flooded
 Structures to resist wave erosion and scour
 Orient streets and buildings perpendicular
to wave crest
 Well-rooted trees can slow wave
 Large ditch or reinforced concrete wall can
reduce impact of first wave
Battered Tsunami Barrier

Tsunami Warnings
 Warning systems now perfected for far-field
(far from the source) tsunami
 Pacific Ocean tsunami warning network
 Monitors large earthquakes and ocean waves
 Transmits warnings to 26 countries
 Accurately calculates travel time for tsunami
 Detects ocean surface heights from readings of
tidal sensors and ocean bottom sensors

Travel Times for Different Earthquake
Zones

Buoy Warning System

Tsunami Warnings
 Satellites could be used to detect tsunami
waves
 Very long wavelength and fast speed
distinguish them from other ocean surface
disturbances
 Limited warning for tsunami generated by
nearby earthquake
 Local warning dissemination measures a critical
piece
Surviving a Tsunami
 After an earthquake tremor, move well
inland or to higher ground
 If no high ground, move inland (tsunami
waves dissipate on land) or to upper floor of
well-reinforced building away from beach
 Never go to shore to watch tsunami
 Do not return after first wave

Tsunami Zone Signs

Future Giant Tsunami
 Known major hazards that will affect North
America in the future:
 Giant tsunami following huge subduction-zone
earthquake in Pacific Northwest
 Catastrophic flank collapse of shield volcano on
Big Island of Hawaii
 Catastrophic flank collapse of shield volcano on
Canary Islands in Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Northwest Tsunami:
Historical Record of Giant Tsunami
 Last major earthquake in 1700
 Many giant earthquakes at intervals of a few
hundred years
 Evidence of giant tsunami:
 Sedimentary layer sequence
 Tsunami-flattened forests
 Sand sheets up to 18 m above sea level

The Ghost Forest

Kilauea, Hawaii: Potentially Catastrophic
Volcano Flank Collapse
 Displaced coral blocks, scrubbed slopes
 Evidence of monstrous waves from collapse of
volcanic segment
 Head scarps of collapsed segment became
gigantic coastal cliffs (pali)
 Some more than 200 m high
 Landslides occur about every 100,000 years
 Most recent slide was 105,000 years ago
Kilauea, Hawaii: Potentially Catastrophic
Volcano Flank Collapse
 1975: southern flank of Kilauea moved 7 m
seaward, dropped 3 m in magnitude 7.2
earthquake
 Flank continues to drop incrementally

Kilauea Sliding Seaward

Fig. 5-24, p. 111
Canary Islands: Potential Catastrophe in
Coastal Cities across the Atlantic
 Evidence of repeated collapse of volcano
flanks
 Possibly initiated by subsidence of summit
caldera into magma chamber
 Most recent was 170,000 years ago
 Next collapse could come at any time
 Wave could reach Portugal in 2 hours, Great
Britain in 3 hours, Canada and U.S. in 6 to 9
hours, with wave heights up to 20–25 m
The Atlantic Coast

Fig. 5-25, p. 112

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Chapter 5

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Overriding Slow distortion

Stuck area ruptures,

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

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© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

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