Cancel

gear Push settings

bars

homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Brilliant picture shows tsunamis estimated heights

This picture, created by a computer model at NOAA displays the expected heights of the tsunamis created by the 8.9 earthquake in Japan (which may be “upgraded” to 9.0 – calculating magnitudes is a pretty delicate issue). Of course the largest wave heights are expected near the epicenter, off the coast of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. […]

Mihai Andrei
March 12, 2011 @ 2:24 pm

share Share

This picture, created by a computer model at NOAA displays the expected heights of the tsunamis created by the 8.9 earthquake in Japan (which may be “upgraded” to 9.0 – calculating magnitudes is a pretty delicate issue).

Of course the largest wave heights are expected near the epicenter, off the coast of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. Generally speaking, the heights will decline with distance, but the near-shore heights will also decrease; for example coastal Hawaii will not expect heights of that encountered in coastal Japan.

The earthquake is one of the most powerful ever to be recorded, and it took most geophysicists and geologists by surprise, as almost nobody was expecting an event of this magnitude. Tsunamis caused even more damage, and things can get significantly worse for Japan (and not only) if the meltdown of several affected nuclear plants isn’t prevented. It seems however that the Japanese are handling the situation very well, and everybody is doing everything they can to limit the damage, and most of all, casualties.

share Share

It Looks Like a Ruby But This Is Actually the Rarest Kind of Diamond on Earth

One of Earth’s rarest gems finally reveals its secrets at the Smithsonian.

Scientists Used Lasers To Finally Explain How Tiny Dunes Form -- And This Might Hold Clues to Other Worlds

Decoding how sand grains move and accumulate on Earth can also help scientists understand dune formation on Mars.

Identical Dinosaur Prints Found on Opposite Sides of the Atlantic Ocean 3,700 Miles Apart

Millions of years ago, the Atlantic Ocean split these continents but not before dinosaurs walked across them.

Scientists Tracked a Mysterious 200-Year-Old Global Cooling Event to a Chain of Four Volcanoes

A newly identified eruption rewrites the volcanic history of the 19th century.

Scientists Found Traces of Gold Leaking from Earth’s Core

Traces of ruthenium in Hawaiian lava reveal long-suspected core–mantle leakage.

This beautiful rock holds evidence of tsunamis from 115 million years ago

The waves that shook the world 115 million years ago left behind an amber trail.

Meet Mosura fentoni, the Bug-Eyed Cambrian Weirdo with Three Eyes and Gills in Its Tail

Evolution went strong in this one.

Whale Tagging at Dawn and Other Stunning Photos of Science in the Wild

Science doesn't just happen in labs—it unfolds under Arctic skies, in frog-filled forests, and atop misty mountains.

Antarctica has a huge, completely hidden mountain range. New data reveals its birth over 500 million years ago

Have you ever imagined what Antarctica looks like beneath its thick blanket of ice? Hidden below are rugged mountains, valleys, hills and plains. Some peaks, like the towering Transantarctic Mountains, rise above the ice. But others, like the mysterious and ancient Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in the middle of East Antarctica, are completely buried. The Gamburtsev […]

Obsidian Artifacts Reveal a Hidden, Thriving Economy in the Aztec Empire

Aztecs weren’t just warriors and priests, they were savvy traders.