Tsunami

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For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation) and Tidal wave.
This article is about disturbances in bodies of water that are sometimes called "seismic sea
waves". For the radiated energy that earthquakes generate, see Seismic wave.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at Ao Nang, Krabi Province, Thailand

3D tsunami animation

A tsunami (from Japanese: 津波, "harbour wave";[1] English pronunciation: /suːˈnɑːmi/ soo-NAH-
mee[2]) or tidal wave, also known as a seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body
caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large
lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of
underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other
disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.[3] Unlike
normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are generated by the
gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water.
Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves because their
wavelength is far longer.[4] Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead
initially resemble a rapidly rising tide.[citation needed] For this reason, it is often referred to as a "tidal
wave", although this usage is not favoured by the scientific community because it might give the
false impression of a causal relationship between tides and tsunamis.[citation needed] Tsunamis
generally consist of a series of waves, with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a
so-called "internal wave train".[5] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large
events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can
be enormous, and they can affect entire ocean basins. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was
among the deadliest natural disasters in human history, with at least 230,000 people killed or
missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
The Ancient Greek historian Thucydides suggested in his 5th century BC History of the
Peloponnesian War that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes,[6][7] but the
understanding of tsunamis remained slim until the 20th century and much remains unknown.
Major areas of current research include determining why some large earthquakes do not
generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do; accurately forecasting the passage of tsunamis
across the oceans; and forecasting how tsunami waves interact with shorelines.