Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Almost Done

I have finished all my research and I just need to put pictures and diagrams in. I am now decorating my model which is almost done.

What is the aftermath of a tsunami?

Here is my final version for What is the aftermath of a tsunami?

Once a tsunami hits the shore the tsunami wave loses its energy quite quickly and the water drains back into the sea. However it leaves a devastated area which will take months, or even years to return to normal. The waves leave a vast amount of destruction and debris behind. As well as ruined buildings and roads, rescue workers have the difficult task of dealing with the bodies of people and animals killed by the tsunami.

An earthquake can make coastal levels drop. High tides can then flood the land turning it to salt marshes where crops cannot grow. Power and water supplies will be cut off and without fresh drinking water, people are at great risk of disease.

Those lucky enough to have survived the initial impact of a tsunami are still in danger due to disease. Rotting corpses, smashed sewer lines, overcrowded refugee camps and contaminated freshwater are all factors in getting a disease.

Body disposal, and the disinfecting of affected areas, was a primary concern in the days following a tsunami. A significant amount of time and effort is spent on this problem. Massive pits and trenches are dug to quickly bury the dead bodies in hopes that the spread of diseases will be minimized. Grave sites and corpses are also sprayed with disinfectant to further combat the spread of disease. However, the total avoidance of disease spread was impossible. Infectious diseases such as yellow fever, diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid fever are just some of the many that threaten survivors of the tsunami.

Sometimes the most devastating effect of a tsunami can be fire, caused when gas pipes are severed and fuel tanks smashed.

Earthquakes can cause major changes to the seabed and can affect ocean currents. The coast can be altered too. An earthquake can make a coastline drop, leaving it permanently underwater.

What has been the biggest tsunami recorded and where and when did it hit?

Here is my final version for What has been the biggest tsunami recorded and where and when did it hit?

The highest tsunami recorded was in Alaska in 1958. It reached over 500 metres high because the waves were forced into the narrow bay. Luckily only two people were killed.
The Lituya Bay wave is generally described as the largest tsunami ever recorded in modern times, and has been given the special name of mega-tsunami. It was caused by a massive landslide, triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 8.3. When the wave rushed across the bay it ran up the valley walls to a height of 576 m at its maximum, (1720 ft) and over 100 m for the rest of the bay area. Note the damage marks, especially top right of the picture, where trees were stripped clean away from the valley walls from hundreds of metres up the sides. Lituya Bay was considered to be a safe haven for fishing boats, as it was always calm, even during storms. There were three boats in the bay at the time of the earthquake and the resulting massive landslide, and incredibly two of the boats and their crew survived the mega tsunami to tell the tale.
The Asian tsunami on December 26th 2004 is the worst to have happened in modern times. Although it was not as powerful as the Krakatoa tsunami, it was particularly devastating because of the huge loss of life – the greatest ever recorded. The tsunami hit in the middle of the morning during the busy holiday season.

If the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands erupted it could cause a huge landslide. If it triggered a mega tsunami it could destroy the east coast of the United States.

What warnings are given out when a tsunami is coming?

Here is my final answer for What warnings are given out when a tsunami is coming?

All oceans and most countries near oceans have a tsunami warning system. A tsunami warning system does three things.
1. It has a seismic monitoring network to detect seismic activity like earthquakes and a sea level monitoring network to detect sea level changes that may indicate a tsunami.
2. It has software to scientifically model the size, arrival time and impact points of the tsunami generated by the seismic event.
3. It has an established system for issuing warnings to emergency services and the general public in the affected areas about the approaching tsunamis.

What are the safety procedures when a tsunami hits?

Here is my final answer for What are the safety procedures when a tsunami hits?

The safety procedure of when a tsunami hits is:
1. Watch out for animals behaving oddly – they can detect a tsunami before humans.
2. If you feel the shudder of an earthquake head inland – a tsunami may be coming.
3. Move quickly to higher ground or the top floor or roof of a building.
4. Listen out for official warnings and expect more waves – the next wave may be bigger than the last.
5. Abandon all belongings – there is no time to collect possessions.
6. Don’t count on your car – the roads may be blocked.

Can tsunamis be prevented?

Here is my final answer for Can tsunamis be prevented?

Tsunamis can’t be prevented because they are the result of natural disasters. But there are a few things which can help track and take the power out of a tsunami.

Satellites and tracking buoys can track when a tsunami has been created and can track how fast they are travelling, how long they are, how tall they are, and can track where they are going. These help because they can then warn people that a tsunami is coming.

Tsunami walls are a precaution they some places have to try and stop tsunamis. Tsunami walls are very high and strong walls that when a tsunami hits, the walls can stop the tsunami from coming any further. Usually it places that are known to of have tsunamis hit regularly that have tsunami walls. Even though tsunami walls are quite large, they don’t always work.
Scientists have worked out that mangrove trees could help reduce the force of a tsunami. Mangrove trees can reduce the force of a tsunami because they are so well connected to the ground, they can withstand storms and tsunamis. There are not many mangrove trees around because they are chopped down for building construction.

What happens when a tsunami meets the shore?

Here is my final answer for What happens when a tsunami meets the shore?

Before a tsunami hits the shore the wave is a giant water wall. Then the water will crash down with tremendous power. It then rushes through the land taking with it anything in its path. Houses, trees and people don’t stand a chance as the water rushes through. The original colour of the water is white because of all the whitewash when the waves crash down. Then as soon as the water rushes through the land it changes colour to brown because of all the dirt and debris. Everything in the wave’s path is then picked up to make a floating death river.

Flying debris can kill. Since everything in its path is picked up all the water is filled with wood, dirt and other types of debris. Many of those killed in the Asian tsunami did not drown but were killed by pieces of wood and metal swept along by the wave.

Many people think that a tsunami is one large wave, but it’s not. A tsunami is a series of large waves. Waves can rush towards the shore for several hours. This makes it difficult to rescue people trapped by the water.

Are there areas in the world that have the most tsunamis?

Here is my final answer for Are there areas in the world that have the most tsunamis?

Obviously countries near oceans are at risk but there are certain areas with a greater risk.

The earth’s surface is made up of tectonic plates. A fault line is where two tectonic plates meet and when they do meet they either slide past each other, scrape together or crash head on causing an earthquake.

Fault lines are where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are most likely to happen and are also areas most affected by tsunamis. A major fault line stretching around the edges of the Pacific Ocean is often called “The Pacific Ring of Fire”. Other fault lines can cause tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of Africa.
Places with reefs, bays and sloping beaches are in great risk because if a tsunami waves come in contact with a reef or bay, it can increase the height and power of the tsunami. Places with a bay that goes into a channel are at risk because a narrow channel, make a tsunami very high.

What are the signs of an approaching tsunami?

I added a bit to my last answer

There are many signs of an approaching tsunami to warn you. The first is that you should recognize the original cause of the tsunami. If there is an earthquake in the ocean then straight away you should know that there is a chance a tsunami is coming. It is easy to recognize an earthquake because you can feel the ground shake.

If there is a land volcanic eruption you will be able to see the smoke and feel the ground shake and then you should know that a tsunami is coming. An underwater volcanic eruption is harder to recognize because there is no smoke but you can still feel the ground shake.

If a meteorite lands in the ocean you may be able to recognize it because of it roaring through the sky and the smashing of it into the water.

A very clear sign that something is going to happen is the behaviour of animals. Animals can sense when a tsunami is coming long before humans can. In the Asian tsunami many people saw birds flying inland and making loud noises which was the signal that a tsunami was coming.

The main sign of an approaching tsunami is water rushing away from the shore. When a tsunami is approaching the waves suck all the water away from the shore to gain height and power. The water looks like it is retreating to the horizon. From the time the water is sucked away to the time it hits the shore is a few minutes.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

What are the signs of an approaching tsunami?

Here is my final version of what are the signs of an approaching tsunami

There are many signs of an approaching tsunami to warn you. The first is that you should recognize the original cause of the tsunami. If there is an earthquake in the ocean then straight away you should know that there is a chance a tsunami is coming. It is easy to recognize an earthquake because you can feel the ground shake.

If there is a land volcanic eruption you will be able to see the smoke and feel the ground shake and then you should know that a tsunami is coming. A underwater volcanic eruption is harder to recognize because there is no smoke but you can still feel the ground shake.

If a meteorite lands in the ocean you may be able to recognize it because of roaring through the sky and the smashing of it into the water.

The main sign of an approaching tsunami is water rushing away from the shore. When a tsunami is approaching the waves suck all the water away from the shore to gain height and power. The water looks like it is retreating to the horizon. From the time the water is sucked away to the time it hits the shore is a few minutes.

Friday, September 28, 2007

How does a meteorite cause a tsunami?

Here is my final verison of how does a meteorite cause a tsunami?

A meteorite can easily cause a tsunami of it lands in an ocean. If a meteorite lands in the ocean is will first off all turn water around it to steam because of how hot it is and secondly make tsunami waves rush from where the meteorite hit.

A meteorite landing in the ocean acts exactly like a stone being dropped into water. The meteorite hits the water with tremendous force and takes up the place where the water previously was. This then makes the water rush away and produce tsunami waves.

There have been over 200 meteorites that have impacted the Earth in the earth’s history. The biggest one is believed to be that meteorite that hit the earth and had a part in killing the dinosaurs.

Meteorites hitting the earth are extremely dangerous because of how big the tsunamis can be. If a meteorite ten kilometres wide crashed into the sea, it would produce waves up to three kilometres high and would flood nearby continents.

How does a volcanic eruption cause a tsunami?

Here is my final version of how does a volcanic eruption cause a tsunami?

A volcanic eruption can cause a tsunami is a few different ways. The two types of eruptions are a normal volcanic eruption and the other is an underwater volcanic eruption.

A normal volcanic eruption or a land eruption is less likely to cause a tsunami because when it erupts there is no water above it to make a tsunami. A land eruption can cause a tsunami in three ways. The first is when the volcano erupts the original explosion and shaking can disturb the water and cause waves. The second is when the volcano erupts and all the hot lava and ash slides down the mountain side and can cause a landslide made of land and lava. The land then falls into the water and makes tsunami waves. The third way is that the eruption from volcano can cause some seismic activity which can be an earthquake. If these three combine it can crate a huge tsunami with massive power.

An underwater volcanic eruption is more likely to cause a tsunami because when it erupts there is water above it. An underwater volcanic eruption can create an earthquake, landslide and tsunami waves just like a normal volcanic eruption. The thing that makes an underwater volcanic eruption so dangerous is that when it erupts, the lava and power from the explosion pushes up and makes the water go sideways resulting in large waves.

Volcanic eruptions cause 4.6% of tsunamis, 9.1% of tsunami deaths and have killed 41,002 people. The two major volcanic generated tsunamis have been the Krakatau eruption in August 1883 which killed 36,000 people and Japanese Unzen eruption in May 1792 which killed 4,300 people.

How does a landslide cause a tsunami?

Here is my final version of how does a landslide cause a tsunami?

Landslides that cause tsunamis are called submarine landslides because these landslides take place underwater.

Submarine landslides usually happen in a continental shelf or an underwater trench. Landslides happen here because these areas have large slopes. These areas can have slumping rock, unconsolidated sediment, or weaknesses in the rock areas. Most landslides occur from earthquakes which cause a landslide.

Submarine landslides happen when there is a great mass of land underwater that slides or gets displaced from its original position and falls onto the seabed. The land mass then takes up the space that the water previously had which makes the water rise and make waves.

The size of the waves depends upon the volume of the material moved, the depth pf the submergence and the speed of the landslide. The speed of the landslide depends on how the landslide occurred. Earthquake caused landslides travel very fast because it is a quick break away from the original land mass. Landslides they happen from gradual breakaway travel slower because it is a very slow breakaway.

How does an earthquake cause a tsunami?

Here is my final version of how does an earthquake cause a tsunami?

A tsunami can happen when one tectonic plate is forced underneath another on the seabed. This movement is slow and gradual and can go on for centuries. Eventually the strain on the upper plate becomes too much and it lurches violently upwards causing an earthquake. The vast amount of water pushed upwards by the earthquake can create a tsunami.

Tectonic plates make up the earth’s surface. They rest on a vast layer of hot rock called the mantle. These plates are moving slowly at all times. Where the edges meet they either slide past each other, scrape together or crash head on. The area where the plates meet is called a fault line.

Earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale. The higher the reading on the scale, the larger the earthquake and larger the tsunami. The same is when it is a low reading on the Richter Scale.

Seismic activity is the most common cause of tsunamis. Over the past two millenniums earthquakes have produced 82.3% of all tsunamis.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

What is the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?

Here is my final version of what is the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave

The difference between a tsunami and a title wave is that tsunamis are created by an earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruptions or meteorites. Tidal waves are caused by tides and can mean a few different types of waves. The other difference is that tsunami waves spread from the original source while a tidal wave only goes in one direction, to the shore.

What do tsunamis look like?

Here is my final version of what does a tsunami look like?


Stokes waveTo put it simple, a tsunami looks like a giant wall of water rushing towards the shore. The waves can be over 30 metres tall before they hit the shore and when they do, there is a rush of white water causing destruction.

Tsunami waves can take different shapes, there are 5 different wave types. The sinusoidal wave, stokes wave, solitary wave, N-waves and the double waves.

How far do tsunamis travel?

Here is my final version of how far do tsunamis travel?

When a tsunami is generated, the distance travelled by the waves depends on how fast and powerful the waves are.

Once a tsunami has been generated, its energy is distributed throughout the water column, regardless of the ocean's depth. The waves will travel outward on the surface of the ocean in all directions away from the source area, much like the ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond. The wavelength of the tsunami waves and their period will depend on the generating mechanism and the dimensions of the source event.

The period of the tsunami waves may range from 5 to 90 minutes depending on how long the waves are. The wave crests of a tsunami can be a thousand km long, and from a few to a hundred kilometres or more apart as they travel across the ocean.

A tsunami wave will travel across the ocean until it dies down into a small wave or until it reaches land. When a tsunami is created in the middle of the ocean, the countries closest to the original area will be hit with large and powerful waves while countries far away will be hit with small waves.

Tsunamis can travel for thousands of kilometres across the ocean and can reach countries far away in a couple of hours. For example the Asian tsunami in 2004 was generated just west of Indonesia and Thailand hit both countries within an hour, hit India and Sri Lanka within 2 hours, hit Australia within 5 hours and hit Africa within 10 hours. Obviously Indonesia and Thailand got hit the worst because the tsunami was in full flight when it hit while Africa got hit with small and not powerful waves.

How powerful are tsunamis?

Here is my final version of how powerful are tsunamis?

A tsunami is one the most powerful forces in the world. People, boats and entire villages can be tossed inland or swept out to sea. Tsunami waves can rip up forests and are strong enough to lift cars into trees and knock houses from their foundations.

The power of a tsunami wave depends on what caused it and how powerful the event was. For example an earthquake with a high reading on the Rictor Scale will produce a more powerful tsunami than an earthquake with low reading on the Rictor Scale.

How fast can tsunamis travel?

Here is a the final version of how fast can tsunamis travel?

The speed of a tsunami depends on how deep the water is, so the deeper the water, the faster the waves travelling. In very deep oceans a tsunami can travel on speeds of up to 900km per hour, faster than a jet aeroplane.

As it approaches land the shallow water acts as a brake at the front of the wave, slowing it down to around 200km/h. Meanwhile the back of the wave is still travelling very fast as it catches up to the front of the wave. This causes it then to look like a giant wall of water.

How big are tsunamis?

Here is my final version of how big are tsunamis?

The size of a tsunami can be determined by what it is caused by. If the tsunami is caused by an earthquake, the bigger the earthquake is, the bigger the waves. It is the same with landslides, volcanic eruptions and meteorites.

The average size of a tsunami when it is travelling in open water is just centimetres in height. This is because the water is very deep and therefore the wave has a great height underwater. The length of the wave when it is in the open water can reach up to 100 kilometres long. These waves can be separated by as much as an hour. This is what makes a tsunami so powerful.

The size of a tsunami can change dramatically when it reaches the shore. Usually the length of the wave becomes smaller but is still very powerful. The height of the wave is the one that changes the most. The height changes from a few centimetres to more the 30 metres. This happens because when the wave reaches shallow water, the wave height underwater has no where to go so it pushes up making the wave a towering figure.

There is such thing as a mega tsunami which is a huge tsunami. A mega tsunami can be more than 100 metres high and can be very powerful. A mega tsunami can start like any other tsunami, but it usually takes something like a huge earthquake or landslide for it to become much more powerful than normal tsunamis.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Construction part 1

I have completed construction part 1. If have put the waterproof barrier which separates the land from the water on the model. The next stage is making underwater land plate which will lift the water up.

What does the word tsunami mean?

Here is my finished version of what does a tsnuami mean?

The word tsunami comes from two Japanese words “tsu”, meaning harbour, and “nami”, meaning wave. Put it together and it means harbour wave. This term can be misleading because tsunamis do not always occur at harbours. Tsunamis can hit any single coastline at any single moment.

The term tsunami or harbour wave was first created by local Japanese fisherman who returned to their local port to find the area surrounding their harbour was demolished. They had been at sea the whole day and did not see or feel the tsunami passing under them. When they arrived back at the harbour all the harbour area was destroyed by the massive wave. Tsunamis are rich in Japanese history, there have been 195 recorded tsunamis.

Tsunamis are in many other ancient cultures. For example in the Indigenous Australian Aboriginal history, there is a dreamtime story which tells of a meteorite falling from the sky and made the ground shake. The following morning the land was covered by water.

In the ancient Kwenaitchechat legend, there is a story where the local people felt the ground shake and they moved towards the beach to prevent being flung into a tree or end up on their sides. The water at the beach then started to recede and a series of large waves hit. The waves destroyed all that was in its path. Then on the on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Japan, without any warnings, large tsunami waves started coming in. This proves that a earthquake in one region can make its way across oceans as a tsunami.

There are also other real life stories from tsunamis in the last two centuries from places like Krakatau, Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland and Papua New Guinea.

What is a tsunami?

Here is my finished version of what is a tsunami?

A tsunami is a series of waves or a wave train created when a body of water, an ocean or sea, is rapidly displaced on a massive scale. The disturbance vertically displaces the water column. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions and meteorites can generate tsunamis. These waves can be generated in oceans, bays, lakes or reservoirs.

A tsunami has a very small wave height offshore (around centimetres in height) and a very long wavelength that can stretch for hundreds of kilometres between the wave crests and it but when the tsunami comes to shore it can get quite large vertically. Tsunamis can go unnoticed by boats at sea because a tsunami passing through feels like going over a hump. Fishermen in boats do not recognize it because a tsunami is not tall out in the sea but is very long and wide.

Tsunamis can travel across the ocean at speeds of up to 700kph. The speed of the tsunami waves depend on the depth of the water, so the deeper the water, the faster the tsunami. As it approaches land the shallow water acts as a brake at the front of the wave, slowing it down to around 200mph. Meanwhile the back of the wave is still travelling very fast as it catches up to the front of the wave. This causes it then to look like a giant wall of water.

These giant waves can travel for thousands of miles across the sea and still create a lethal energy that destroys people, wildlife, landscapes and even powerful enough to destroy buildings.

A tsunami is like when you throw a stone into a pond. The stone takes over the space that was previously filled with water. This movement of water disturbs the rest of the pool and produces a series of waves. Little ripples spread away from where the stone hit because the force is pushing the water away. A tsunami is like this because large waves spread from where the occurrence happened but the tsunamis are much, much larger.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Got My Stuff

I have borrowed three books which have all the information I need. I have made a practice model of my real model and this weekend I am starting to construct it

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

What is a tsuami?

This is my basic anwser for what is a tsunami. I will add on to it.

A tsunami is a series of waves or a wave train created when a body of water, an ocean or sea, is rapidly displaced on a massive scale. The disturbance vertically displaces the water column. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions and meteorites can generate tsunamis.

A tsunami has a very small wave height offshore and a very long wavelength that can stretch for hundreds of kilometres. But when the tsunami comes to shore it can get quite large vertically. Tsunamis can go unnoticed by boats at sea because a tsunami passing through feels like going over a hump. Boats do not recognize it because a tsunami is not tall at the sea but is very long and wide.

These giant waves can travel for thousands of miles across the sea and still create a lethal energy that destroys people, wildlife, landscapes and even powerful enough to destroy buildings.

A tsunami is like when you throw a stone into a pond. Little ripples spread away from where the stone hit. A tsunami is like this because large waves spread from where the occurrence happened but the tsunamis are much, much larger.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Websites for research

Here are some websites for my research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami which has general information on tsunamis
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/visualization/collections/tsunami.html which has some visual information on tsunamis
http://www.bom.gov.au/info/tsunami/tsunami_info.shtml which has general information on tsunamis
http://www.ga.gov.au/urban/factsheets/tsunami.jsp which has the definition of what a tsunami is
http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/physics/physics.html which has general information on tsunamis
http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/historic/historic.html which has some informatioon on famous tsunamis
http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/warning/warning.html which has information on the tsunami warning system
http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/mitigation/mitigation.html which has some facts on tsunamis
http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/exhibits/tsunami/tsun_physics.html which has general information on tsunamis
http://fohn.net/biggest-tsunami/ which has information on famous tsunamis
http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/index.html which is a tsunami research site
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/ which tells you how to survive a tsunami

Sunday, April 1, 2007

WASP Topic

For my topic for my WASP I have chosen Tsunamis. My main question is what causes tsunamis? For my model I want to make a miniture tsunami. I will make a beach and get a wave to hit it.
My other questions will be:
What does the word tsunami mean?
How big are tsunamis?
How fast can they travel?
How powerful are they?
How far can they travel?
What's the difference between a tsunami and a title wave?
What are the signs of an approaching tsunami?
Are there areas in the world have the most tsunamis?
If so why is this?
What happens when a tsunami meets the shore?
Can tsunamis be prevented?
What are the safetey procedures when a tsunami hits?
What warnings are given out when a tsunami is coming?
What has been the biggest tsunami recorded and where and when did it hit?
What is the aftermath of an tsunami?
What affect does it have on the enviroment?

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I have created my blog

I have created my blog for my WASP project. Hooray!