How can science attempt to prevent tsunamis

The best way to tackle this could be to somehow harness the AGWs created naturally by tsunamis, Kadri says. Essentially, we need to figure out how to fire some the energy created by a natural disaster back in the other direction. For the time being, Kadri's calculations are just a proof-of-concept, but if we can get the idea to work, there's the potential to save many lives, and lessen the risk of large-scale chaos. Friday, Nov The Latest. World Agents for Change. Health Long-Term Care. For Teachers.

NewsHour Shop. About Feedback Funders Support Jobs. Close Menu. That way, if a tsunami is generated by the earthquake, you get the measurement right away. Not only that, but you know that it is headed out to sea and you can warn communities across the ocean that a tsunami is heading toward them. See also: How does the Tsunami working system work?

Tsunamis are detected and measured by coastal tide gages and by tsunami buoys in the deep ocean. The tide gages measure the tsunami wave directly. In the deep ocean, sensors on the ocean floor detect the pressure signature of tsunami waves as they pass by. Sometimes by chance a satellite that can measure water levels passes over a tsunami and detects it; this was the case during the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

For improved tsunami warning systems, the data collected immediately after a tsunami is generated will be used as input into computer models to forecast the heights of the tsunami when it reaches the shore.

In a post-tsunami survey, geologists measure a number of factors. Scientists are particularly interested in the inundation and run-up features after the waves strike land. Inundation is the maximum horizontal distance penetrated inland. Run-up refers to the maximum vertical distance above sea level that the waves reached. Inundation and run-up are often determined by measuring the distance of killed vegetation, scattered debris along the land and eyewitness accounts of the incident.

Scientists have made great strides in monitoring and predicting the ongoing threat of tsunamis. This center is of particular importance because submarine earthquakes in this region have created waves that moved throughout the Pacific Ocean before striking elsewhere.

Tsunamis are detected by open-ocean buoys and coastal tide gauges , which report information to stations within the region. Tide stations measure minute changes in sea level, and seismograph stations record earthquake activity. A tsunami watch goes into effect if a center detects an earthquake of magnitude 7.