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Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, usually in an ocean. Tsunamis are generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, explosions, and meteorite impacts. They can devastate coastal regions due to the immense volumes of water and high energy involved. While initially misunderstood, modern research now recognizes tsunamis as seismic sea waves caused by underwater seismic events. Some meteorological conditions like tropical cyclones can also generate smaller meteotsunamis through atmospheric effects.

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28 views

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, usually in an ocean. Tsunamis are generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, explosions, and meteorite impacts. They can devastate coastal regions due to the immense volumes of water and high energy involved. While initially misunderstood, modern research now recognizes tsunamis as seismic sea waves caused by underwater seismic events. Some meteorological conditions like tropical cyclones can also generate smaller meteotsunamis through atmospheric effects.

Uploaded by

Haad Aftab
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tsunami

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


For other uses, see  Tsunami (disambiguation).

A destroyed town in Sumatra after being hit by a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: 津波, lit. "harbor wave";[1] English


pronunciation: /suːˈnɑːmiː/ soo-NAH-mee or /tsuːˈnɑːmiː/ tsoo-NAH-mee[2]), also called a tsunami wave train,
[3]
 and at one time incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, is a series of water waves caused by the
displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes.
Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded. [4] Owing to
the immense volumes of water and the high energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions.

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of


underwater nuclear devices), landslides and othermass movements, meteorite ocean impacts or similar
impact events, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.

The Greek historian Thucydides was the first to relate tsunami to submarine earthquakes,[5][6] but the


understanding of a tsunami's nature remained slim until the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing
research. Many early geological, geographical, and oceanographic texts refer to tsunamis as "seismic
sea waves."

Some meteorological conditions, such as deep depressions that cause tropical cyclones, can generate


a storm surge, called a meteotsunami, which can raise tides several metres above normal levels. The
displacement comes from low atmospheric pressure within the centre of the depression. As these storm
surges reach shore, they may resemble (though are not) tsunamis, inundating vast areas of land.

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