This For example, at the deepest ocean depths the tsunami wave speed will be as much as 800 km/h, about the same as that of a jet aircraft. waves increase in height as they reach a coastline and are capable of The northern regions of the Indonesian island of Sumatra were hit very quickly, while Sri Lanka and the east coast of India were hit roughly two hours later. 3 0 obj
Much rarer are tsunamis caused by gas pockets from beneath the sea or lake floor or meteor impacts. Volcanoes can also produce tsunamis by explosive eruptions, caldera collapse and/or flank collapse. A tsunami strikes northeast Japan after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, generating waves up to 133 feet high along some areas of the coast. Local bathymetry may also cause the tsunami to appear as a series of breaking waves. As it nears the coastline, and moves into shallower water, tsunamis usually slow down, but the wave height can grow to 100 feet! In 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) of water, this works out to almost 475 mph (765 km/h). Click the link below to download this 2MB PPT File: http://passyworldofmathematics.com/MAVconfPPTs/TsunamiMathPPTv1.pptx, Ocean Mathematics Overview Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Record all of the data in the data table in your lab notebook. A wave becomes a shallow-water wave when the wavelength is very large compared to the water depth. Image Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com. Tsunami! This earthquake also created submarine landslides. Does the uneven bottom affect the wave velocity? Use the metric ruler for accuracy. An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean on 26th December 2004 produced a tsunami that caused one of the biggest natural disasters in modern history. For the 2004 Sumatra Some people think tidal wave is an English substitute for tsunami. Students reason this out. What happens to a tsunami as it approaches land? and Sun, the term tidal wave is no longer used. In the deep ocean, Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot. endobj
This will allow you to see the waves clearly. After the tsunami, which killed thirty Many lives have been saved when residents of If the tsunami is generated from a large earthquake over a large area, its initial wavelength and period will be greater. The water particles do not move, but they transfer energy to the next particle of water. For more information about the peer review process itself, please see https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html. Shallow-water wave celerity depends on ocean depth. The vast majority of tsunamis originate during undersea Kodiak,!Alaska:about32minutes! (Available at, (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 26kB May30 13), https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/activity_review.html, Marine Hazards, Oceanography, Tsunami | College Lower (13-14) | Online Ready, Used this activity? Have a comment on this page? tsunamis can have crests that are more than 20 minutes and hundreds of The Qiantang River in East China is the site of a famous tidal bore, a surge of water that rushes from the river mouth inland. <>
Tsunamis can be caused by any process that causes the depth of a water body to suddenly change in elevation. The speed and amplitude are very different from theoretical values: the speed is about 0.31 km/s, whereas the average tsunami speed in the Pacific is 0.2 km/s. A sound speed profile shows the speed of sound in water at different vertical levels. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service. But subsequent surges are irregular and it is not possible to predict which surge is likely to be the biggest or how much time will pass between surges. A tsunami is a powerful wave, usually created by a large-scale motion of You will need an extra-long plastic storage box to use as a water tank. The last is the arrival time of conventional tsunamis given by tsunami modelling (Fig. KauaiIsland,Hawaii:about6hours! Proceed with caution if showing these Tsunami videos to middle school students. substantial damage nearly 14,500 kilometers (9,000 miles) away in Japan. JetStream, Comments? to tsunamis that travel across the ocean. In the open ocean the waves are not high at all, and can pass under ships with no noticeable effect. The distance between waves is the wavelength. Wait for the water to completely settle down every time, before you drop the wood block. Expand for more detail and links to related resources. thousands of miles across the ocean without losing their energy. ; The countries that sustained the greatest damage along its coasts were Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. the earthquake. Mariners at sea will not normally notice a tsunami as it passes beneath their hulls. The tsunami's energy flux, which is dependent on both its wave speed and wave height, remains nearly constant. a) Question: A tsunami is a fast-moving sea wave typically caused by an underwater earthquake. The most common cause is a large earthquake that occur beneath the sea floor and cause the sea floor to uplift or subside. Line up the bottom of the wood block at the marked line. March 1994, 2839. Fig. On 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. See Warning in instructor notes for current (as of May 17, 2013) limitations of extracting data from this database. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the size of a tsunami wave and how the enormous wave can take people onshore by surprise. In deep water, tsunamis can travel at speeds comparable to a commercial jetliner! In the deep ocean, the height of a tsunami is usually too small to be noticed, even by small boats in the water. If you suddenly notice that the water has gone out much further than normal, treat this as a warning that the water could suddenly rush back in and evacuate. Create a data table in your lab notebook, like the one shown below: Have your volunteer ready with the stopwatch to start timing how long it takes a wave to travel from one end of the tank to the other. learn more about digital elevation models, Earth had its 7th-warmest January on record. From your research, what are some of the warning signs that a tsunami might be heading to shore? Grading of lab results including ocean depth and student response to the analysis questions that follow. After a Tsuanami wave rushes in, it can also rush back out to sea again, carrying debris and people miles out to sea. a plot of the speed of sound in the ocean as a function of depth, where the vertical axis corresponds to . A tsunami can be caused by any disturbance that moves a large amount of In this next video the Tsunami overcomes the protective sea wall that had been built around a Japanese town: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvy2Lb_wEw&w=540&h=334]. Emergency managers can also use coastal DEMs to predict the extent of storm surge from hurricanes and other natural events. This is called subduction. The earthquake was so enormous that Earth's crust ruptured 1,200 km! A tsunami is a very long-wavelength wave of water that is generated by sudden displacement of the seafloor or disruption of any body of standing water. So the increase in Power is not double when we double the length, but is around 1 and a half times more powerful. Like many compound words, it no longer strictly means a harbor wave, but now internationally is used to describe the series of surges in oceans or lakes following the displacement of the sea or lake floor, which moves the entire column of water above it. If you enjoyed this post, why not get a free subscription to our website. distinguishable from the surrounding wind waves without sensitive A 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the Sea of Japan caused waves 5 to 10 evacuate to high ground. For help creating graphs, try this website: If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers: You can find this page online at: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/OceanSci_p014/ocean-sciences/tsunamis-water-depth-wave-velocity. As stated above, in deeper water, the wave travels at a faster speed than in shallow water. Donate any amount from $2 upwards through PayPal by clicking the PayPal image below. But when you feel an earthquake at the coast, especially one that shakes for a long time, dont wait to observe the water retreat. Smithsonian Magazine The average speed of the tsunami was about 750km across the Pacific Ocean. You may print and distribute up to 200 copies of this document annually, at no charge, for personal and classroom educational use. just as damaging: in 1883, the tsunami caused by the eruption of the A tsunami is a series of waves made in a body of water, like the ocean, that can cause serious destruction when they hit the coastline. Tsunami waves in the deep ocean can travel at high speeds for long periods of time for distances of thousands of kilometers and lose very little energy in the process. Tsunamis are caused by the potential energy of water when it is suddenly uplifted or dropped down relative to the water around it. Use the ruler to confirm the water depth. Image Source: http://millicentandcarlafran.files.wordpress.com. Take it to the MAX! The arrival time of the first surge in a tsunami can be accurately predicted within minutes as it only depends on where the source is located and the distance and sea floor depths to coastal areas. Mathematics of Aircraft and Train Disasters, Olivers Hill Wall Collapse | Passy's World of Mathematics, Tsunami Mathematics | Passy's World Old Site, Mathematics of Surfing | Passy's WordPress Test Blog, Surfboard Geometry and Design | Passy's WordPress Test Blog, Ocean Mathematics | Passy's WordPress Test Blog, Wave Power Mathematics | Passy's World of Mathematics, Mathematics of Ocean Waves and Surfing | Passy's World of Mathematics, Surfboard Geometry and Design | Passy's World of Mathematics, Ocean Mathematics | Passy's World of Mathematics, Mathematics of Ships at Sea | Passy's World of Mathematics. Waves What causes tsunami waves to increase as they move toward shore? For Detailed mathematical equations of water waves look something like this: Image Source: http://www.oceanographers.net. Will this hold true even in your water tank? Standard registration deadline: June 30, 2023, Submit abstracts (for oral, poster, teaching demo, and Share-a-Thon sessions) by March 1, Receive early registration discount - Register by May 3, Sign up to receive updates on the 2023 EER. (n.d.). But A Tsunami is actually a series of waves. In this way, the tsunami speed perturbations due to variations of ocean depth profiles, rather than to changes in bathymetry, are examined. It is earths largest ocean and is almost entirely ringed by subduction zones, the type of geologic feature that is most likely to produce very large earthquakes with vertical sea floor deformation. Speed (km/hour) Distance (km) Travel . In 1995 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began developing the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) system. Fill the water tank with a few centimeters (cm) of water. We use cookies and those of third party providers to deliver the best possible web experience and to compile statistics. 3 - 5 illustrate the characteristics of tsunami wave speed and amplitude at distinct times and coast slopes. The speed and height of the tsunami wave depends on the depth of the ocean floor. Your membership is helping to ensure that this site can continue to serve geoscience educators. Bureau Home > Tsunami Warnings > Tsunami Facts and Information, Need Emergency Advice? Determine the distance from the epicenter to the locations below and calculate the travel time to each location. Hazards resources from Teach the Earth include: The InTeGrate website and CSU Chico faculty team members are featured in an article in The Chronicle For Higher Education describing the community efforts to incorporate climate science more broadly into curricula. As the waves approach land, their energy intensifies, and the height of the wave can increase to as high as 60 meters. In this ocean science project, you will model tsunami waves in a water tank and investigate the velocity (speed) of the waves as it depends on water depth. For tsunamis that are generated by underwater earthquakes, the amplitude of the tsunami is determined by the amount by which the sea-floor is displaced. The word alone evokes fear and panic. Teach the Earth the portal for Earth Education, From NAGT's On the Cutting Edge Collection, This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection, Resources in this top level collection a) must have scored Exemplary or Very Good in all five review categories, and must also rate as "Exemplary" in at least three of the five categories. At such high speeds, a tsunami generated in Aleutian Islands may reach Hawaii in less than four and a half hours. WARNING Some of this footage is quite disturbing, as it shows people running and not escaping the wave. Use caution when working with the lamp and the water tank. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. Source of water that is located close to where you will be testing, Wood, 2 inches (in.) During 2011, most of us viewed news reports of powerful and devastating Tsunami waves that were produced by a 9.0 magnitude Earthquake off the shore of Japan. meteorite impacts). 1). All tsunamis involve the entire column of water from the sea floor to the ocean surface. If you read the "How do tsunamis differ from other water waves?" section, you discovered that a tsunami travels at a speed that is related to the water depth - hence, as the water depth decreases, the tsunami slows. Reports have the height ranging form 2-3 m at the African coast (Kenya) up to 10-15 m at Sumatra, the region closest to the epicentre. If you enjoyed this post, why not get a free subscription to our website. Much better to be safe than sorry, and practicing your evacuation skills means you will know what to do when a bigger earthquake causes a major tsunami. Your feedback and comments may be posted as customer voice. Most tsunamis occur in seismically active regions such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. Also evident in these videos is that there are several Tsunami waves coming one after each other. Please Contact Us. This is the reason the passage of tsunami in the deep ocean is not noticed by observers on ships at sea (Adams et al., 2005). Do you and your volunteer see it travel from one end of the tank to the other? Be sure to record all of the data in the data table in your lab notebook. Plot wave velocity as a function of water depth, using Equation 1. As waves move toward a beach, the shallower water decreases the wavespeed, so the wavelength becomes shorter and the peak heights increase. (Tides result from the gravitational influences of the moon, sun, and planets.) because tsunamis are not caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon We consider tsunami motions in an unbounded ocean layer of constant depth h underlain by . If you can't find this particular storage box, then find a box that has a minimum length of 40 cm and a minimum depth of 5 cm. The height of the tsunami waves that came to shore in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were between 24 and 30 m high! The record shows distinctive . What is the relationship between wave velocity and water depth? These equations require super computers to help work on them. . The speed of a tsunami depends on the depth of the water. However, when the Tsunami approaches close to a shoreline, and the depth decreases to a few hundred meters, the speed slows down, (as per the above maths equation), to a few hundred km / hr. This relation can be expressed by the equation, S=2.97, where S, is the speed (in meters per second) of a tsunami in which the average depth of the water is d meters. Material on this page is offered under a
The tsunami wave length can stretch nearly 100 miles and this large wavelength allows the tsunami . Early registration deadline: May 3, 2023 Once a tsunami has been generated, its energy is distributed throughout the water column, regardless of the ocean's depth. The record displays typical open-ocean tsunami characteristics that a maximum wave height of 2.5 m, detected at the second wave, was followed by rapid amplitude decay thereafter. The tsunami speed, which is dependent on the water depth, does not . At sea, the height of a tsunami wave is not usually The marked line cookies and those of third party providers to deliver the best possible web and! Party providers to deliver the best possible web experience and to compile statistics a wave becomes a shallow-water wave the. Customer voice nearly 14,500 kilometers ( 9,000 miles ) away in Japan energy of water from the epicenter the. True even in your lab notebook without losing their energy intensifies, and Thailand Kodiak, Alaska. 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