Emma Harrison
May 31, 2012
7A Science
Ms. M
Tsunamis
Tsunamis
are very rare but can be deadly when they do occur. Tsunamis are a natural disaster. They happen when two different tectonic plates
collide. Many times this happens when an
earthquake occurs underneath the ocean floor. There is so much pressure between the two
tectonic plates that the top plate flips up creating a massive wave. The wave goes in all directions and is called
a tsunami. In this essay, I will explore
three main things about this so called rare natural disaster. The first topic I will explore what a tsunami
is and how tsunamis happen. Second, I
will tell you what the effects of a tsunami are. Lastly, I will talk about what is being done
to save lives when a tsunami occurs.
Not
many tsunamis happened during the twentieth century. So many people may not have a very clear
understanding of them. That is why I am going to tell you what a tsunami
is. A tsunami is a series of big waves that are
formed when a large amount of ocean water is suddenly displaced. This happens when an earthquake, volcano, or
landslide occurs on the ocean floor or even from a meteorite falling into the
ocean. Eighty percent of all tsunamis
mainly occur in the Pacific Rim area due to the large number of different
tectonic plates in this region. When the
water is displaced, it creates a wave that move in all directions at a very
fast rate. These wave trains can move as
fast as a jet plane and can cross an ocean in a day or less. The closer the waves get to shore the higher
the waves become and the more damage it does.
In fact, you might not even notice a tsunami wave if you were in the
middle of the ocean because it slows down after leaving the epicenter.
As
I said previously, tsunamis are very dangerous.
Often there is no warning a tsunamis is headed your way. The first sign of tsunamis to the naked eye
happens about five minutes before the first wave hits shore. You might notice the tide going out
unexpectedly and farther than normal exposing the ocean floor. If you see this happening at the beach, run
for high ground. The first wave that
hits will be larger than normal but not necessarily the biggest. In a tsunami there will be a series of waves
that hit but they can be as far about as one hour. Tsunamis push ocean water far inland with
great force destroying everything in its path. For example, cars, buildings, trees, bridges,
and people are tossed about and pulled back to sea. Many people drown when the tsunamis hits land,
others die from injuries caused by being hit by debris, or disease from
polluted water on land after a tsunami.
For example, in December 2004 over 200,000 people died in Indonesia,
Thailand, Madagascar, Shi Lanka, India, and Africa due to the worst tsunamis
every recorded. It was caused by a 9.2
earthquake that occurred off the cost of Sumatra, Indonesia.
At
that time, there was no warning system which is one of the reasons the 2004 tsunamis
caused so many deaths. Even with a warning system today, there is
often no way to save the lives of people living in coastal areas near the
epicenter of tsunamis. However, tsunamis
warning systems can help people who live farther away by alerting them in advance
tsunamis is coming. There are warning systems for this type of
natural disaster in the Pacific Rim today.
Using sensors on the ocean floor,
scientists can detect disturbances such as earthquakes or underwater volcanic eruptions
that can cause tsunamis to occur. The
sensors send messages to buoys on the ocean surface. The buoys transmits messages to satellite
that are sent to Hawaii where they monitored.
Based on this data, scientists can predict a tsunami and when it might
hit land. There are many issues that interfere
with a warning system. For example, in
the Pacific Rim over twenty countries must cooperate to make it
successful. They speak many different
languages and some countries are more wealthy than others so they all need to
work together to make the system effective.
In
conclusion, although tsunamis are rare they are also very deadly.
bib-
Not
many tsunamis happened during the twentieth century. So many people may not have a very clear
understanding of them. That is why I am going to tell you what a tsunami
is. A tsunami is a series of big waves that are
formed when a large amount of ocean water is suddenly displaced. This happens when an earthquake, volcano, or
landslide occurs on the ocean floor or even from a meteorite falling into the
ocean. Eighty percent of all tsunamis
mainly occur in the Pacific Rim area due to the large number of different
tectonic plates in this region. When the
water is displaced, it creates a wave that move in all directions at a very
fast rate. These wave trains can move as
fast as a jet plane and can cross an ocean in a day or less. The closer the waves get to shore the higher
the waves become and the more damage it does.
In fact, you might not even notice a tsunami wave if you were in the
middle of the ocean because it slows down after leaving the epicenter.
Excellent work Emma! You explained what a tsunami is, how it occurs, and safety tips as well as warning systems. Clearly society depends on further developments to keep people safe from tsunamis, but we are off to a good start.
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