tsunami

How are tsunami early warnings issued?

In the U.S., tsunami early warnings are issued by two warning centers operated by the National Weather Service. The National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) monitors for earthquakes and issues tsunami advisories, watches, warnings, and information statements for Alaska, the U.S. mainland, U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, Canada, and U.S. interests in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)[1,2,3].

EARTH Magazine: Tsunamis from the Sky

The Great Lakes, along with the Mediterranean, Japan and many other parts of the world, have a long history of such waves, which have characteristics similar to tsunamis triggered by earthquakes or landslides. Only recently, however, have scientists unraveled how a storm can create and propagate these far-traveling waves — called meteorological tsunamis or meteotsunamis. The waves, which arise out of a complex interplay of storm speed, wave dynamics and ocean-bottom bathymetry, may be less common than seismic tsunamis, but they can still be destructive and deadly.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - tsunami