A tsunami is a long-wavelength, gravity-driven water wave phenomenon typically generated by large, sudden displacements of the seafloor due to subduction-zone earthquakes, but also by submarine landslides, volcanic eruptions, or impact events. In deep ocean, tsunamis travel at jetliner speeds with low amplitudes and very long periods (minutes to an hour), behaving as shallow-water waves whose phase speed depends on water depth. As they shoal on continental shelves, energy conservation forces rapid increases in wave amplitude and reductions in wavelength and speed, producing highly nonlinear run-up, strong nearshore currents, and complex inundation patterns that are central to hazard assessment and numerical modeling.
New research led by the University of New England's Dr. Timothy Chapman has uncovered the trigger behind slow earthquakes, providing valuable answers for those living in disaster-prone areas. The research has been published ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 29, 2026
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As earthquakes struck from California to Venezuela to Japan, millions of people received warnings on their mobile phones, providing critical seconds to seek protection.
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2026
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Life on Earth took a long evolutionary journey that eventually created us, the purportedly intelligent species that dominates the planet. But there was no grand plan or design, only happenstance, nature and luck. Life on ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 24, 2026
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In 2011, Japan reeled from the effects of a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake. But unnoticed in the chaos resulting from the quake, its major aftershocks and the tsunami it caused, something strange happened. About 16 ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 19, 2026
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An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 shook eastern Japan, including Tokyo, on Tuesday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the meteorological agency said.
Environment
Jun 16, 2026
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A 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook part of central Indonesia's Sulawesi island Tuesday, injuring at least eight people, causing scattered damage and rattling residents of a city devastated by a quake and tsunami eight years ...
Environment
Jun 16, 2026
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An offshore earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 hit the southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 35 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in ruined buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby ...
Environment
Jun 8, 2026
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On the evening of Aug. 9, 2025, passengers on the Hanse Explorer finished taking selfies and videos of the South Sawyer Glacier, and the ship headed back down the fjord. Twelve hours later, a landslide from the adjacent mountain ...
Earth Sciences
May 10, 2026
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Not all earthquake faults behave the same. Some stick and snap, causing earthquakes. Others move slowly over time.
Earth Sciences
May 4, 2026
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On July 29, 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was so powerful that it ranks as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded by modern instruments. Using this giant earthquake as a learning ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2026
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