Till the very end of the twentieth century tsunami waves (or ‘waves in a harbour’, translated from Japanese) were considered an extremely rare and exotic natural p- nomenon, originating in the ocean and unexpectedly falling upon the seaside as gigantic waves. The 26th of December 2004, when tsunami waves wiped out, in a single day, more than 250,000 human lives, mourned in many countries, turned out to be a tragic date for all mankind. The authors of this book, who have studied tsunami waves for many years, - tended it to be a systematic exposition of modern ideas concerning • The mechanisms of tsunami wave generation • The peculiarities of tsunami wave propagation in the open ocean and of how waves run-up beaches • Methods for tsunami wave registration and the operation of a tsunami warning system • The mechanisms of other catastrophic processes in the ocean related to the se- mic activity of our planet The authors considered their main goal to be the creation of book prese- ing modern knowledge of tsunami waves and of other catastrophes in the ocean to scienti?c researchers and specialists in geophysics, oceanography, seismology, hydroacoustics, geology, geomorphology, civil and seaside engineering, postgr- uate students and students of relevant professions.

"In the open ocean, tsunamis seem small and harmless. But a whole column of water is moving, measuring many miles to the ocean floor. By the time a tsunami reaches the shore it transforms into a monster! ... Learn all about the world's deadliest tsunamis and what to do to keep safe if you ever encounter one!"--Page [4] of cover.

Describes what causes a tsunami, what makes them so big, nature's warnings, preventing future disasters, and more surprising facts.

estimate tsunami potential by computing seismic moment. This system holds promise for a new generation of local tsunami warning systems. Shuto (Japan) described his conversion of !ida's definition of tsunami magnitude to local tsunami efforts. For example, i l = 2 would equal 4 m local wave height, which would destroy wooden houses and damage most fishing boats. SimOes (Portugal) reported on a seamount-based seismic system that was located in the tsunami source area for Portugal. In summary, the risk of tsunami hazard appears to be more widespread than the Pacific Ocean Basin. It appears that underwater slumps are an important component in tsunami generation. Finally, new technologies are emerging that would be used in a new generation of tsunami warning systems. These are exciting times for tsunami researchers. OBSERVATIONS TSUNAMI DISPERSION OBSERVED IN THE DEEP OCEAN F. I. GONZALEZl and Ye. A. KULIKOV2 Ipacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA 7600 Sand Point Way, N. E. , Seattle, W A 98115 USA 2State Oceanographic Institute Kropotkinskey per. 6 Moscow 119034, Russia CIS The amplitude and frequency modulation observed in bottom pressure records of the 6 March 1988 Alaskan Bight tsunami are shown to be due to dispersion as predicted by linear wave theory. The simple wave model developed for comparison with the data is also consistent with an important qualitative feature of the sea floor displacement pattern which is predicted by a seismic fault plane deformation model, i. e. the existence of a western-subsidence/eastern-uplift dipole.

On April 1, 1946, shortly after sunrise, the town of Hilo on the island of Hawai'i was devastated by a series of giant waves. Traveling 2,300 miles from the Aleutian Islands in less than five hours, the waves struck without warning and claimed 159 lives. Fourteen years later, on May 22, 1960, a massive earthquake occurred off of the coast of Chile. The earthquake generated giant waves that sped across the Pacific at 442 miles per hour, reaching Hilo in just fifteen hours. The first wave to hit the town was a modest four feet higher than normal, the second nine feet. Before the third wave could arrive, a tidal phenomenon known as a bore smashed into the Hilo bayfront, with thirty-five foot waves that wrenched buildings off their foundations. That day several city blocks were swept clean of all structures and 61 people died. The first edition of Tsunami!, published in 1988, provided readers with a complete examination of the tsunami phenomenon in Hawai'i. This second edition adds many eyewitness accounts of the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960 and expands its coverage to include major tsunamis in the Mediterranean and off the coasts of Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Fiji, Alaska, California, Newfoundland, and the Caribbean, as well as the 1998 devastation in Papua New Guinea. Dramatic photographs and accounts of experiencing a tsunami firsthand are placed within the framework of the how and why of tsunamis, our scientific understanding of these phenomena, and the current status of the Tsunami Warning System, which is widely used to forecast and measure tsunamis and prepare coastal areas for potentially deadly tsunami strikes.

The world's foremost experts write about the dynamics of geophysical processes involved in tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation, along with the statistical and geophysical properties of tsunami recurrence, and their application to tsunami forecasts and warnings.

This Special Publication examines tsunami hazard and risk, with particular focus on using the geological record. With Earth’s growing population clustered increasingly on coastlines, tsunami hazards are of concern worldwide. The papers explore the sedimentological and dynamic traces of recent and prehistoric tsunamis globally – from Europe to the Pacific – as well as looking at historic records and how the information can be used to characterise the scale of impacts and areas that are most susceptible to tsunami hazards. Armed with this information, scientists can begin to quantify risks, both to populations and in economic terms. This volume is aimed both at scientists working in this field and at a wider community, interested in tsunami science and natural hazard assessment.