Filosifa

also called a tsunami wave train,[3] and at one time incorrectly referred to as a tidal wave, is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually anocean, though it can occur in large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded.[4] Owing to the immense volumes of water and the high energyinvolved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions.
The Greek historian Thucydides was the first to relate tsunami to submarine earthquakes,[6][7] but the understanding of a tsunami's nature remained slimuntil the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing research. Many early geological, geographical, and oceanographic texts refer to tsunamis as "seismic sea waves."

Characteristics

When the waveenters shallow water, it slows down and its amplitude (height) increases.

The wave further slows and amplifies as it hits land. Only the largest waves crest.
Tsunamis cause damage by two mechanisms:the smashing force of a wall of water travelling at high speed, and the destructive power of a large volume of water draining off the land and carrying all with it, even if the wave did not looklarge.
While everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about 100 metres (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2 metres (6.6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about200 kilometres (120 mi). Such a wave travels at well over 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph), but owing to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to completea cycle and has an amplitude of only about 1 metre (3.3 ft).[22] This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water. Ships rarely notice their passage.
As the tsunami approaches the coast andthe waters become shallow, wave shoaling compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) and its...