Tsunami Characteristics
- The majority of tsunamis on Earth are modest and non-destructive, making them one of the rarest threats.
- When a tsunami enters shallow water, its wavelength shortens while the period remains constant, increasing the wave height. Over deep water, tsunami has very long wavelengths.
- Offshore, tsunamis have a small wave height. This can be as small as a few centimeters or as tall as over 30 meters. Most tsunamis, nevertheless, feature waves that are no higher than 3 meters.
- It spreads out from the source and covers the entire ocean in all directions.
- It often consists of a sequence of waves, each lasting somewhere between a few minutes and several hours.
- These are the tremor-generated waves, not the actual earthquake waves.
- Because not all tsunamis behave the same way, there is no season for them. Where, when, and how damaging it will be are all unknown. A few miles distant, a tiny tsunami may be very big.
- Different coasts may be affected differently by one tsunami. Any ocean coast could experience a tsunami at any time.
- Only if the tremor’s epicenter is below oceanic waters and its magnitude is large enough will a tsunami’s effects be felt.
- The depth of the water affects the wave’s speed in the ocean. In comparison to deep ocean waters, it is more prevalent there. As a result, a tsunami’s effect is felt greater in the area close to the coast than it is over the ocean.
What is a Tsunami?
Tsunami is a Japanese word that sounds like “soo-nah-me,” with “tsu” standing for harbor and “nami” for wave. Tsunamis are waves brought on by the abrupt movement of the ocean’s surface as a result of earthquakes, seafloor landslides, landfalls into the water, powerful volcanic eruptions, or meteorite impacts.
The word “tidal wave,” which was once used to describe tsunami, is now universally avoided because the formation of the tsunami has nothing to do with tides (which are driven by the gravity of the Earth, Moon, and Sun). There are times when a tsunami will also include one or more choppy breaking waves, despite the fact that sometimes they will appear at the coast as a swiftly rising or lowering tide.