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Dec 11, 2012

Deadly Caribbean Tsunami Risk Overlooked

SAN FRANCISCO — Deadly tsunamis threaten Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the rest of the Caribbean and are an overlooked hazard in the region, geologists reported at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union here last week. The Caribbean's beautiful tropical islands and coral reefs are strung along...

Dec 12, 2012

Freak 'Meteotsunamis' Can Strike On a Sunny Day

SAN FRANCISCO — A freak wave killed seven people in Chicago on a sunny day on the shore of Lake Michigan nearly 60 years ago. At the time, no one knew what set off the monster wave. Researchers now know the wave was a pressure-driven tsunami, stirred up by storms...

Jan 17, 2013

Japan Tsunami Left Behind Huge Underwater Dunes

The giant earthquake that devastated Japan in 2011 reshaped the seafloor, forming unexpectedly large underwater dunes and possibly dramatically influencing Japan's marine ecosystem, researchers have found. The new findings, detailed online Jan. 1 in the journal Marine Geology, hint that clues about past tsunamis could be found on the sea...

Jan 17, 2013

Photos: Tsunami Debris & Trash on Hawaii's Beaches

Plastic trash (Image credit: Nicholas Mallos)Plastic trash marred by bite marks from birds, turtles and sharks collected from a beach on the island of Maui in Hawaii. A joint survey by the Ocean Conservancy, the Japan Environmental Action Network (JEAN), the Oceanic Wildlife Society and the Japan Ministry of Environment...

Jan 17, 2013

Fridge & Other Tsunami Debris Wash Ashore in Hawaii

Oyster buoys and refrigerator parts set adrift by the 2011 Japan tsunami are now rolling in with the tide on Hawaii's beaches, a new field survey reveals. Black oyster buoys and refrigerator parts — and even a full refrigerator — that trace back to Japan have shown up on the...

Jan 18, 2013

Fisheries Another Victim of Japan Tsunami

The devastating earthquake that ravaged Japan in 2011 may have also wreaked havoc on vital fisheries, researchers say. The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki temblor in 2011 was the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history, and set off a tsunami that lay waste to the country's northeastern coast, claiming...

Jan 29, 2013

Ancient Caribbean Tsunami Likely Altered Ecosystems

An ancient tsunami caused dramatic long-term ecological changes in the Caribbean more than 3,000 years ago, new research suggests. Scientists investigated sediments from a coastal lagoon on the Caribbean island of Bonaire about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the Venezuelan coast. The Caribbean is highly vulnerable to coastal hazards...

Feb 19, 2013

Tsunami Debris Litters Alaska Coast; Clean Up Funds Insufficient

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. The beaches of Alaska are piled with debris from the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, but restoration to their once pristine condition has slowed, as funding remains scarce. The amount of debris washing ashore has vastly exceeded most people's expectation..., said...

Mar 10, 2013

2 Years On, Japan Tsunami Debris Still Washing Ashore

Two years after a deadly tsunami swept ashore in Japan, killing more than 15,000 people, solemn reminders of the disaster are still washing ashore in Hawaii and along the Pacific coast of North America. The tsunami debris, sometimes identifiable by serial numbers, includes boats, docks, appliance parts and fishing buoys....

Mar 29, 2013

10 Tsunamis That Changed History

Destructive change The tsunami of April 1, 1946 broke over Pier No. 1 in Hilo Harbor, Hawaii. The man in the foreground (lower left) became one of the 159 deaths on the islands. (Image credit: NOAA)A new focus on tsunami hazards since the 2004 Indonesia earthquake and its killer waves...

Mar 29, 2013

Killer Waves: How Tsunamis Changed History

In a jumbled layer of pebbles and shells called the Dog's Breakfast deposit lies evidence of a massive tsunami, one of two that transformed New Zealand's Maori people in the 15th century. After the killer wave destroyed food resources and coastal settlements, sweeping societal changes emerged, including the building of...

Apr 4, 2013

Images: Tsunami Boat Ecosystem

Tsunami Debris Fish (Image credit: Travis Haring (WDFW))A small fish found aboard a boat that washed ashore in Washington state on March 22, 2013. The boat was a Japanese skiff that may have been set loose by the 2011 Japan tsunami. Boat Organisms (Image credit: Allen Pleus (WDFW))The small boat...

Apr 4, 2013

Live Fish Found In Likely Tsunami Debris

The strangest stowaways yet have arrived on U.S. shores via debris possibly from the 2011 Japan tsunami: Live fish. The fish, which live off the coast of Japan and Hawaii, apparently made their way across the Pacific in a drifting 18-foot (5.5 meter) skiff. Of the five fish that made...

Apr 9, 2013

Possible Tsunami Debris Washes Up In California

A possible piece of tsunami debris from the 2011 Japan earthquake was discovered Sunday night (April 7) on a Northern California beach. The skiff has several numbers and Japanese writing hiding under the massive pile of tubular gooseneck barnacles encrusting the top and sides. It washed ashore about a mile...

Apr 19, 2013

Earthquakes Are East Coast's Biggest Tsunami Threat

The U.S. East Coast's biggest tsunami threat lurks just offshore, according to research presented today (April 19) at the Seismological Society of America's annual meeting in Salt Lake City. Recent earthquake swarms off the Massachusetts coast highlight the threat of tsunamis from nearby earthquakes, rather than faraway islands, said John...