Tidal wave gif12/21/2023 This retreating of sea water is an important warning sign of a tsunami, because the wave’s crest and its enormous volume of water typically hit shore five minutes or so later. When it does, it produces a vacuum effect that sucks coastal water seaward and exposes harbor and sea floors. What Happens When It Hits LandĪ tsunami’s trough, the low point beneath the wave’s crest, often reaches shore first. The tops of the waves move faster than their bottoms do, which causes them to rise precipitously. But as they approach shoreline and enter shallower water they slow down and begin to grow in energy and height. In deep ocean, tsunami waves may appear only a foot or so high. And their long wavelengths mean they lose very little energy along the way. At that pace, they can cross the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean in less than a day. Tsunamis race across the sea at up to 500 miles (805 kilometers) an hour-about as fast as a jet airplane. They may even be launched, as they frequently were in Earth’s ancient past, by the impact of a large meteorite plunging into an ocean. Tsunamis may also be caused by underwater landslides or volcanic eruptions. Most tsunamis–about 80 percent–happen within the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” a geologically active area where tectonic shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common. When the ocean floor at a plate boundary rises or falls suddenly, it displaces the water above it and launches the rolling waves that will become a tsunami. These awe-inspiring waves are typically caused by large, undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore. A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land.
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