NOAA Tsunami Worksheet
1: What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water. (A.K.A, a HUGE Wave!)
2: When did this tsunami happen? (date)
Christmas Day, 2004.
3: How many people died, in how many countries?
There were over almost 280,000 casualties in 11 countries.
4: What is the name of the warning center in Hawaii?
The PTWC, or the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
5: An area where one tectonic plate is pushing under another is called?
A Subduction Zone
6: What magnitude was this earthquake? What is a seismograph?
This earthquake was about a magnitude 9.
Each unit in magnitude is a factor of 36 of radiant energy of an earthquake.
Earthquake scientists get paged when an earthquake of a factor of 6 or larger
occurs.
7: How do tsunami sensor buoys work? Explain.
They monitor the depth of the water above them.
How many warning sensors/buoys are there in the Pacific?
In the Indian Ocean?
Pacific: 32 buoys
Indian Ocean: 000000000!
8: This earthquake was shallow. How many kilometers deep was it?
It was 30 kilometers deep.
9: What is “tsunami initiation”? Explain.
It is the displacement of a large amount of water by moving crust, sometimes starting a tsunami.
10. If the waves on the beach suddenly suck out and expose the ocean floor for a large
distance out, WHY should you not run out to check it out? What should you do
instead?
You should not check it out because is shows that a tsunami is coming shortly. You should RUN!!
11: How fast does the tsunami wave travel? Why is this different than a “surfer’s wave”?
Tsunamis usually travel at 1,000 kilometers per hour.
12: What does a boat in the open ocean feel during a tsunami wave?
Almost nothing, the tsunami is passing under them.
13: What warning sign often occurs at the beach during a tsunami? What is
Amplification?
Before a tsunami reaches the shore, the water recedes, almost a mile!
Amplification is when the back of the wave is traveling faster than the front.
14: Is there usually only one wave in a tsunami?
Is there a pattern to the waves? Explain.
No. There are usually mulitiple waves in a tsunami, with no pattern.
15: Where is greater damage likely, on a gently sloping beach or a steeply sloping beach?
Explain why.
There is more damage likely on a sloping beach
16: True or false, you are safe as the tsunami wave is passing back out?
FALSE!
17: How did the quake affect the earth’s day?
The quake made the earth's day shorter and made the earth wobble in it's orbit.
18: What area of the United States is at risk for the same type of earthquake?
Hawaii.
19: What are the four causes of a tsunami?
How many people on Earth are at risk of a tsunami?
20: What is happening in the Cascadia Subduction Zone? What could happen?
It is a zone similar to the Sumatran zone with plates that could snap like the ones there.
21: What is being done to help prepare for future tsunamis?
Buoys are being added, and warning systems are becoming more accurate.
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water. (A.K.A, a HUGE Wave!)
2: When did this tsunami happen? (date)
Christmas Day, 2004.
3: How many people died, in how many countries?
There were over almost 280,000 casualties in 11 countries.
4: What is the name of the warning center in Hawaii?
The PTWC, or the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
5: An area where one tectonic plate is pushing under another is called?
A Subduction Zone
6: What magnitude was this earthquake? What is a seismograph?
This earthquake was about a magnitude 9.
Each unit in magnitude is a factor of 36 of radiant energy of an earthquake.
Earthquake scientists get paged when an earthquake of a factor of 6 or larger
occurs.
7: How do tsunami sensor buoys work? Explain.
They monitor the depth of the water above them.
How many warning sensors/buoys are there in the Pacific?
In the Indian Ocean?
Pacific: 32 buoys
Indian Ocean: 000000000!
8: This earthquake was shallow. How many kilometers deep was it?
It was 30 kilometers deep.
9: What is “tsunami initiation”? Explain.
It is the displacement of a large amount of water by moving crust, sometimes starting a tsunami.
10. If the waves on the beach suddenly suck out and expose the ocean floor for a large
distance out, WHY should you not run out to check it out? What should you do
instead?
You should not check it out because is shows that a tsunami is coming shortly. You should RUN!!
11: How fast does the tsunami wave travel? Why is this different than a “surfer’s wave”?
Tsunamis usually travel at 1,000 kilometers per hour.
12: What does a boat in the open ocean feel during a tsunami wave?
Almost nothing, the tsunami is passing under them.
13: What warning sign often occurs at the beach during a tsunami? What is
Amplification?
Before a tsunami reaches the shore, the water recedes, almost a mile!
Amplification is when the back of the wave is traveling faster than the front.
14: Is there usually only one wave in a tsunami?
Is there a pattern to the waves? Explain.
No. There are usually mulitiple waves in a tsunami, with no pattern.
15: Where is greater damage likely, on a gently sloping beach or a steeply sloping beach?
Explain why.
There is more damage likely on a sloping beach
16: True or false, you are safe as the tsunami wave is passing back out?
FALSE!
17: How did the quake affect the earth’s day?
The quake made the earth's day shorter and made the earth wobble in it's orbit.
18: What area of the United States is at risk for the same type of earthquake?
Hawaii.
19: What are the four causes of a tsunami?
How many people on Earth are at risk of a tsunami?
- Volcanoes
- Earthquakes
- Meteorites
- Landslides
20: What is happening in the Cascadia Subduction Zone? What could happen?
It is a zone similar to the Sumatran zone with plates that could snap like the ones there.
21: What is being done to help prepare for future tsunamis?
Buoys are being added, and warning systems are becoming more accurate.