Tsunami, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 29, 2013

10 Tsunamis That Changed History

Destructive change The tsunami of April 1, 1946 broke over Pier No. 1 in Hilo Harbor, Hawaii. The man in the foreground (lower left) became one of the 159 deaths on the islands. (Image credit: NOAA)A new focus on tsunami hazards since the 2004 Indonesia earthquake and its killer waves...

Mar 29, 2013

Killer Waves: How Tsunamis Changed History

In a jumbled layer of pebbles and shells called the Dog's Breakfast deposit lies evidence of a massive tsunami, one of two that transformed New Zealand's Maori people in the 15th century. After the killer wave destroyed food resources and coastal settlements, sweeping societal changes emerged, including the building of...

Apr 4, 2013

Images: Tsunami Boat Ecosystem

Tsunami Debris Fish (Image credit: Travis Haring (WDFW))A small fish found aboard a boat that washed ashore in Washington state on March 22, 2013. The boat was a Japanese skiff that may have been set loose by the 2011 Japan tsunami. Boat Organisms (Image credit: Allen Pleus (WDFW))The small boat...

Apr 4, 2013

Live Fish Found In Likely Tsunami Debris

The strangest stowaways yet have arrived on U.S. shores via debris possibly from the 2011 Japan tsunami: Live fish. The fish, which live off the coast of Japan and Hawaii, apparently made their way across the Pacific in a drifting 18-foot (5.5 meter) skiff. Of the five fish that made...

Apr 9, 2013

Possible Tsunami Debris Washes Up In California

A possible piece of tsunami debris from the 2011 Japan earthquake was discovered Sunday night (April 7) on a Northern California beach. The skiff has several numbers and Japanese writing hiding under the massive pile of tubular gooseneck barnacles encrusting the top and sides. It washed ashore about a mile...

Apr 19, 2013

Earthquakes Are East Coast's Biggest Tsunami Threat

The U.S. East Coast's biggest tsunami threat lurks just offshore, according to research presented today (April 19) at the Seismological Society of America's annual meeting in Salt Lake City. Recent earthquake swarms off the Massachusetts coast highlight the threat of tsunamis from nearby earthquakes, rather than faraway islands, said John...

Apr 29, 2013

Japan Tsunami Debris Confirmed in California

A small skiff recently washed ashore near Crescent City, Calif. But this was no ordinary ship — it floated there all the way from Japan, dislodged from its native land more than 25 months ago by a monster tsunami, government scientists have confirmed. It's the first confirmed piece of debris...

May 3, 2013

Fishing Float Rides 2 Tsunamis … and Survives

A barrel-size black plastic float torn loose by the 2011 Japan tsunami may have been tossed into a Canadian forest by a second tsunami in 2012, researchers say. Though the hollow float hasn't been officially confirmed as tsunami debris, it is identical to a float embossed with the name Musashi...

May 3, 2013

Fishing Float Rides 2 Tsunamis ... and Survives

A barrel-size black plastic float torn loose by the 2011 Japan tsunami may have been tossed into a Canadian forest by a second tsunami in 2012, researchers say. Though the hollow float hasn't been officially confirmed as tsunami debris, it is identical to a float embossed with the name Musashi...

May 22, 2013

GPS Could Issue Tsunami Alert in Minutes

The global positioning system (GPS) — the same system that helps people navigate unfamiliar places — could also serve as an early-warning system for tsunamis, according to new research. When a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011, coastal residents received an inaccurate estimate of the earthquake's magnitude before...

Jun 17, 2013

No, You Can't Outrun a Tsunami

Maybe the fastest man in the world could run a 6-minute mile for 6 miles (10 kilometers) while a terrifying wall of water chased him through a coastal city. But most people couldn't. Yet a myth persists that a person could outrun a tsunami. That's just not possible, tsunami safety...

Jun 26, 2013

Derecho May Have Caused Tsunami in New Jersey

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. Researchers are examining a possible meteotsunami that may have hit the coast of New Jersey June 13. The Tsunami Warning Center relayed an account of the events as seen by Brian Cohen, who was out spear fishing in the Barnegat Inlet in Ocean County...

Aug 5, 2013

Bizarre 'Meteotsunami' Stirred Waves in UK

A tsunami that struck the UK in 2011 was caused by a storm roiling the ocean hundreds of miles away, a new study confirms. The meteotsunami (or weather-induced tsunami) of June 27, 2011, caused swells on a normally calm estuary on a sunny day, left some people knee-deep in water...

Aug 16, 2013

Underwater Avalanche! Melting Ice Caps Could Trigger Tsunamis

If melting ice caps trigger rapid sea level rise, the strain that the edges of continents could experience might set off underwater landslides, new research suggests. Submarine landslides happen on every continental margin, the underwater parts of continental plates bordering oceanic plates. These underwater avalanches, which can happen when underwater...

Sep 5, 2013

California Tsunami Would Have Costly Aftermath

The fearsome aftermath of a tsunami striking California might cost at least $3.4 billion to repair, but neither of the state's nuclear power plants would be damaged, suggests a new analysis that could help officials and the public prepare for a tsunami and reduce risks before any such disasters happen....