Tsunamis are long-wavelength, low-amplitude sea waves generated by large, impulsive disturbances of the ocean, most commonly co-seismic seafloor displacement along subduction zones, but also volcanic eruptions, landslides, or submarine mass failures. They propagate as shallow-water gravity waves with phase speeds governed primarily by ocean depth, enabling rapid trans-oceanic travel with minimal energy loss. In deep water they exhibit small surface amplitudes and long periods (minutes to tens of minutes), amplifying dramatically through shoaling, refraction, and resonance effects on continental shelves and in coastal basins. Scientific research focuses on source characterization, wave propagation modeling, inundation mapping, and hazard assessment for early warning and coastal risk mitigation.
Improving tsunami hazard assessments depends on understanding what happens at the moment an earthquake ruptures beneath the seafloor, especially near deep-ocean trenches where measurements are often scarce. When a powerful ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 26, 2026
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A new data visualization illustrates how an experimental NASA technology can provide extra lead time to communities in the path of a tsunami. Called GUARDIAN (GNSS Upper Atmospheric Real-time Disaster Information and Alert ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 23, 2026
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In April 2012, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was found on Graham Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of British Columbia. It belonged to Ikuo Yokoyama, a survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern ...
Environment
Mar 15, 2026
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The Mediterranean Sea is widely perceived as having a low tsunami risk. History and recent modeling technology have demonstrated that destructive waves have already hit the French coast and could do so again. The results ...
Environment
Mar 14, 2026
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People living on the low-lying shores of the Bristol Channel and Severn estuary began their day like any other on January 30, 1607. The weather was calm. The sky was bright.
Earth Sciences
Jan 29, 2026
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For decades, researchers thought that an October 1843 earthquake on the small Greek island of Chalke caused a powerful tsunami and led to the deaths of as many as 600 people. But a new analysis of primary accounts of the ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 22, 2026
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Geologists from Heriot-Watt are part of an international research team that has confirmed why the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake off northeast Japan behaved in such an extreme and destructive way.
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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A 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan and caused small tsunami waves but no apparent damage Friday, days after a stronger quake in the same region.
Environment
Dec 12, 2025
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A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan late Monday, injuring 23 people and triggering a tsunami in Pacific coast communities, officials said. Authorities warned of possible aftershocks and an increased ...
Environment
Dec 9, 2025
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Sometime between 1381 and 1391, an earthquake exceeding magnitude 8.0 rocked the northeastern Caribbean and sent a tsunami barreling toward the island of Anegada.
Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2025
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