A tsunami (pronounced su-nah-me) is a wave train, or series of waves,
generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically
displaces the water column. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic
eruptions, explosions, and even the impact of cosmic bodies, such as
meteorites, can generate tsunamis. Tsunamis can savagely attack
coastlines, causing devastating property damage and loss of life.
How do tsunamis differ from other water waves?
Tsunamis are unlike
wind-generated waves, which many of us may have observed on a local
lake or at a coastal beach, in that they are characterised as
shallow-water waves, with long periods and wave lengths.
The wind-generated swell one sees at a California beach,
for example, spawned by a storm out in the Pacific and
rhythmically rolling in, one wave after another, might
have a period of about 10 seconds and a wave length of 150
m. A tsunami, on the other hand, can have a wavelength in excess
of 100 km and period on the order of one hour.