HW_Tsunami Atlantic Ocean
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0836
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Astronomy
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Apr 3, 2024
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EES 0836
Tsunami in the North Atlantic Ocean
Disasters: Geology vs. Hollywood
Introduction
Following the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004
that killed an estimated 300,000 people,
NOAA updated its tsunami warning systems.
Are tsunami buoys in the Atlantic Ocean
necessary? In this assignment, we will
investigate the tsunami hazards of the North
Atlantic Ocean with regards to both major
population/economic centers. With the help of
Dr. Ilya Buynevich’s reaction to a clip from
the movie Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997) we
will also be able to infer what the wave might
look like if it hit the coast of New Jersey,
given the different trigger events from this
activity.
Learning Objective
●
Identify the potential hazards
associated with tsunamis in the
Atlantic Ocean. (1, 5, a, b)
●
Discuss the role science plays in helping to shape tsunami-specific policy. (1, 2, 5, b, c)
Part 1
: Identification of major ports and population centers. Below is a list of six major ports or population centers that border the Northern Atlantic Ocean.
Major Ports and Terminals of the Atlantic
LI Lisbon (Portugal)
DA Dakar (Senegal)
NY New York (US)
CA Casablanca (Morocco)
HA Halifax (Nova Scotia)
RK Reykjavik (Iceland)
Looking at the map, you can see there are several coastal population centers. Think back to the lecture on tsunami generation. What are the triggers for tsunamis on the east coast
? For each trigger event you come
up with, explain how that event could trigger a tsunami.
Your list of possible tsunami triggers and explanation of how it could produce a tsunami:
-
Earthquakes: Most tsunamis are caused by earthquakes that occur on the ocean floor.
-
Meteorites: Larger meteorites could potentially land in the ocean, causing mass ripple effects in the water and forming a tsunami.
-
LI
NY
DA
CA
HA
RK
EES 0836
Part 2
:
Calculate travel times for each location.
For the purposes of this part of the assignment, we will concentrate on three distinct locations where the conditions to produce a catastrophic tsunami exist. Canary Islands
: volcanic collapse of the west coast of La Palma (28.7 N, 17.9 W)
Antilles Trench
: megathrust earthquake (17.9 N, 61.0 W)
Maritime Continental Shelf
: catastrophic landslide (44.5 N, 57.0 W)
Of concern is the time it would take for a tsunami to reach each of the important ports. We will assume straight lines to calculate distance. We will also simplify by 1) assuming constant travel velocity, 2) ignoring effects of seafloor bathymetry or wave refraction, and 3) assuming tsunami waves radiate out equally in all directions. Using a constant open-ocean tsunami velocity of 700 kilometers / hour and the equation: Time = Distance / velocity
, calculate the time in hours for tsunami waves to reach each port.
Tsunami Travel Times
Canary Islands
Antilles Trench
Maritime Shelf
Location
Distance (km)
Hours
Distance (km)
Hours
Distance (km)
Hours
CA
1,120
1.6
5,550
7.9
4,130
5.9
DA
1,530
2.2
4,640
6.6
4,490
6.4
HA
4,350
6.2
2,970
4.2
510
.73
LI
1,370
1.9
5,530
7.9
4,030
5
NY
5,250
7.5
2,840
4
1,430
2.04
RK
3,970
5.6
5,920
8.5
3,100
4.4
Questions:
1.
Which city averages the closest to all three danger zones?
-
Canary Islands
2.
Which city averages the farthest distance?
-
Antilles Trench
3.
What is the minimum time recorded on your chart?
-
.73
4.
For which city? -
Halifax Nova Scotia
EES 0836
5.
Would you support the idea that more tsunami buoys are needed in the Atlantic Ocean? Why or why not? (
2-3 sentences
)
-
I believe that more tsunami buoys are needed to help with safety. These could be essential in reporting activity that could leave to tsunamis and ultimately keeping people safe.
Part 3
: The impact of Deep Impact
Watch the following clip from the movie Deep Impact
(1998). In this scene, a bolide has entered Earth’s atmosphere and eventually impacts the Atlantic Ocean. When this happens in the clip, pause the clip and note the time in the table below. The impact produces a rather large tsunami that, within seconds, approaches and destroys the eastern coast, including New York City. Again, when this happens, pause the clip and record the time.
Time (sec)
Bolide hits ocean
4
Tsunami hits land
6.45
Difference between
2.45
Convert time in seconds to hours
0.000278
Now that you have the time (in hours) between the impact and the resulting tsunami, you can now calculate distance. With all constants from the previous section, calculate the distance using the earlier equation, albeit slightly changed: Distance = time x velocity. Calculate distance:
2.6 km
Convert to miles:
1.6 miles
Part 4
:Reaction video
For this assignment, watch the reaction video from Ilya Buynevich where he watches a video clip from the movie: Tidal Wave: No Escape (1997). In the video, he addressed how tsunami waves approach land and how you can infer the processes that produce them by looking at how the wave approaches. In this activity, we looked at 4 possible ways in which a tsunami could happen in the Atlantic Ocean. In a brief paragraph, explain how the wave would approach the coast of New Jersey for each of the possible trigger locations. -
If a tsunami were approaching New Jersey, the water level all along the Jersey shore would decrease. Then, the water would build up into a massive wave closer to the middle of the ocean, moving as a giant body of water and not breaking apart until it hit the shore and causing mass destruction.
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