Animations

Wave Simulator

Text, animations, and videos of the following are included in this link to PBS Hawai’i “Savage Seas”. The simulator lets you create small, medium, and large waves by selecting how fast, how far, and how long the winds have travelled. (Note that these are wind waves, not tsunami waves.) 

Other animations include the “Deep Sea”, “Triest Submersible”, “Satellite Viewer”, “Back to the Crow’s Nest”, “Captain’s Bridge”, and “Weather Factory”. Other subjects include “Power of Waves”, “Freak Waves”, “Tsunamis”, “Trade Winds”, “Deep Sea”, and “Weather phenomena”.

Videos on associated topics are also available to view

Tsunami Detection and Warning

Hazard mapping programs are generated for disaster preparedness. Scientists launch computer-simulated tsunamis at a digital representation of coastlines. This enables them to predict when the tsunami waves will hit the coast, how high they will be, and how far inland they will reach. The maps are used by local officials to plan evacuation routes and make zoning decisions.

Tsunami Generation Animation

Earthquakes that generate tsunamis most often happen where Earth’s tectonic plates converge, and the heavier plate dips beneath the lighter one. Part of the seafloor snaps upward as the tension is released. The entire column of seawater is pushed toward the surface, creating an enormous bulge. As the water flattens out, giant ripples race outward.

Survivor Recount with Video

Hear Kapua Heuer’s story. She was at home at Hilo Bay, Hawai’i, when the 1946 tsunami struck.

Tsunami & Earthquake Research at the USGS

Simulations from various tsunami events are given on this web page.