what are the links between an earthquake an a tsunami?

Answer 1

the earthquake is the event that happens on the sea bed, ie, the sea floor shifts upwards, and this causes a surge in water upwards, hence the tsunami (ie a surge of water). that's how I understand it anyway.

Answer 2

A tsunami is caused simply by displacing water in a sudden, rapid event. When an earthquake happens under water, sometimes the plate shifts and displaces the water above it, and that water has to go somewhere. So it pans out, like if you drop a rock into a pond. This is what happened in Asia a couple of years ago. That said, all earthquakes under water do not cause tsunamis, because the mere rumbling of the ground is not what causes it. The water has to be displaced by rock or land.

That said, earthquakes are not the only thing that causes tsunamis. A large rock slide into the water from a mountain can also cause a tsunami. In 1964, for example, a small earthquake caused a massive rock slide to happen in Prince Edward Sound. This caused a tsunami that did well over $100 million in damages and killed 122 people all along the western coast of North America. The rock slide displaced the water, and a tsunami was born.

To better understand how all of this works, take a large bowl and fill it with water. Not hold a large stone above the water and let it go. Where does the water go? That is how a tsunami is formed.

Answer 3

The earth is made up of what is called techtonic plates. Like a jigsaw basically. Every now and then, these plates move. Where these plates meet with another plate, they are called fault lines. The most famous being the San Fransisco fault line.

An earthquake is cause when two of these faults move in opposite directions. Earthquakes are measured by The Rickter Scale. The higher it measures, the more of a movement of the plates and more devestation.

Some of these fault lines lie in the middle of the oceans and when these move, they upset the ocean. Have you ever had a glass of water on the table and knocked the table? It upsets the water in the glass and causes it to sway from side to side. If you imagine this is what is happening in the ocean, you can begin to imagine how it creates a tsunami.

Answer 4

The whole off the earths surface is made of large plates. When the plates vibrate this causes an earthquake. If this happens under the sea then huge waves will occur which build up and cause a tsunami.

Answer 5

A tsunami is caused by a specific type of earthquake that takes place under the sea

Answer 6

Next time you run a bath let the water settle, place your hand on the bottom of the bath, the `Sea bed` now have your hand make a sudden movement `Earthquake` watch the surface of the water, `Tsunami`.

Answer 7

Although I'm sure you know the answer to your question from the above answers I will also try to explain it.

When an earthquake occurs under a large body of water due to plate tectonics, if it has a certain strength on the Richter scale (I believe I misspelled that, apologies)...then the result is often times a tsunami.

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 8

earthquakes r caused by the movement of earth's plates.
when this occurs in seas it causes tsunamis

Answer 9

They are directly related. Think about sound. When you speak sound wave's travel thru' the air until they bounce off objects and run out of energy. Now replace your voice with an earthquake and the air with water. Think about how much more vibration an eathquake will produce than your voice. Chaos!!

Answer 10

in simple terms

an earth quake causes large vibration, now if you vibrate a jug of water the surface will break into little waves. this is what happens with the oceans in a tsunami, but obviously on a larger scale.