http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070325/ap_on_re_as/japan_quake
I mean, isn't the idea of a tsunami largely centered around, well, the *largeness* of it? I mean, to me it sounds about like calling a 5 minute thunderstorm a hurricane. What classified it as a tsunami?
2007-03-24 15:14:08 · 3 answers · asked by tagi_65 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
A tsunami is caused by the displacement of water after an earthquake in the ccean. These earthquakes are usually caused by the subduction of a plate on a converging plate boundary. Their waves can travel hundreds of km. an hour and can strech out over 100 km. However these waves are not noticable at sea in deep water as they appear to be normal waves. As it approaches land it becomes compressed and grows in height because the water is becoming shallower than the ocean where it previously travelled. This is why the tsunamis we know about are massive. If a wave hitting Japan is caused by the displacement of water due to an earthquake it is classfied as a tsunami. The size of the earthquake does not matter, just that the water was displaced. If it is a wave caused by forces such as wind then it is not a tsunami.
2007-03-24 19:33:19 · answer #1 · answered by kldaku 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It was caused by a seismic event. Technically, that makes it a tsunami. And while it may be 6 inches high, it's several miles long; that can pile up a bit and make low-lying coastal areas a little soggy.
2007-03-24 22:22:35 · answer #2 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a tsunami is when the weather changes like windy and stuff u noe that japan is made out of 3 diferent very big mountains so the wind is powerful and just makes it kool
2007-03-24 22:34:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋