Tsunami Visualizations
Compiled by John McDaris and Monica Bruckner at Carleton College.
Japan Tsunami - 11 March, 2011
Tsunami Event - March 11, 2011 NOAA Modeling Animations (more info) This website, from NOAA, hosts a collection of links to images, animations, and videos related to the 2011 tsunami in Japan. The graphics display forecast results, showing qualitative and quantitative information about the tsunami, including tsunami wave interaction with ocean floor bathymetric features, and neighboring coastlines. Tsunami model amplitude information is shown color-coded according the scale bar.
How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan (more info) This page features USGS visualizations including a slide show of the sudden movement of the Pacific tectonic plate under the North American plate caused a massive earthquake and a tsunami. It also contains maps of the magnitude of shaking and predicted tsunami wave heights from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (more info) Satellite images, taken by GeoEye, from before and after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Science Behind the News: Tsunamis (more info) This article, from the Why Files, uses images, diagrams, and video to explain the causes of tsunamis and how we might lessen their cataclysmic potential. It includes information and video of the 2011 Japan tsunami.
Tsunami Movement (more info) This map, from ESRI, shows an animated model of tsunami movement throughout the Pacific Ocean following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan. Users can choose from street map, topographic map, and satellite imagery. There is also a layer that shows populated areas on the map.
CNN - Tsnumani Waves Strike Japan video (more info) CNN video of the 11 March 2011 tsunami that hit Japan after the magnitude 9 earthquake.
The Maddow Blog - Tsunami Links Kit (more info) A collection of links from MSNBC's Maddow blog related to the March 11, 2011 tsunami that stemmed from the 9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan.
BBC - Japan earthquake: Footage of moment tsunami hit (more info) This video footage shows the force at which the tsunami struck Japan's coast.
In the fishing port of Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, boats were overturned, while video from Kamaishi city shows cars being dragged down city streets by the water.
The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages. Powerful aftershocks are continuing to hit the region.
Footage courtesy of TV Asahi and TBS
BBC - Tsunami Hits Japan article (more info) A BBC article with maps related to the 11 March 2011 8.9 Japan earthquake and the tsunami that followed the quake.
CNN - Earthquake rocks Japan (high resolution images) (more info) High resolution images from the aftermath of a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March 2011
CNN - Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis (more info) CNN video and articles related to the aftermath of an 9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami and whirlpool.
Maps: Where the Japan earthquake and tsunami hit (more info) Several maps from the March 11, 2011 tsunami, including earthquake intensity, where the tsunami hit, historical Japanese earthquakes, and tsunami wave travel times.
NPR - Hundreds Dead as Quake, Tsunami Rake Japan (more info) Photos, maps, and an article of the devastating tsunami that hit Japan following a magnitude 8.9 earthquake on 11 March, 2011
Expected wave heights (more info) A map of the expected tsunami waveheights from the Japan earthquake 11 March 2011
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Indian Ocean Tsunami - 26 December, 2004
Quicktime animation (more info) This Quicktime animation, by Dr. Steven Ward at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at the University of California - Santa Cruz, shows the tsunami's progress across the Indian Ocean. It also shows some water level graphs and wave run-up heights throughout the region.
visualization (more info) This visualization from Kenji Satake at the Active Fault Research Center in Tsukuba, Japan, highlights the crests and troughs of the tsunami waves as they travel across the Indian Ocean and refract around islands and interfere with each other. The red color means that the water surface is higher than normal, while the blue means lower.
Indian Ocean (more info) This NOAA visualization tracks the tsunami waves until they reach the East African coast of Somalia.
East African coast of Somalia (more info) Movie of tsunami waves at Somali coast
world-wide picture (more info) NOAA has rerun the tsunami model used to generate the two previous visualizations to generate a world-wide picture of the wave's propagation. This is a very large file.
special report (more info) This special report from The Guardian uses imagery from #2 above and uses a stepwise progression to show when waves reached particular points throughout the Indian Ocean area. This animation helps pull together the phenomenon, the timing, and the consequences for a more general audience.
Before and After Tsunami Photos ( This site may be offline. ) Before and After Tsunami Photos: This series of 14 sets of before and after photos was taken via satellite of the tsunami-ravaged city of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. The images are very dramatic and the ability to see before and after in the same scale and field of view in rapid succession is extremely powerful.
Before and After Photos of Tsunami Destruction of Aceh Province in Sumatra ( This site may be offline. ) Satellite photographs os Aceh Province post-tsunami
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Other Historical Tsunamis
How Do Tsunamis Differ from Other Water Waves? (more info) How Do Tsunamis Differ from Other Water Waves?: This page from a site from the University of Washington includes a Quicktime movie that shows the propagation of the earthquake-generated 1960 Chilean tsunami across the Pacific Ocean.
Papau New Guinea, 1998 (more info) This is a USGS visualization of the 1998 tsunami that struck Papua New Guinea. There are also medium-(4.7 Mb) and high-resolution (16.8 Mb) versions.
Cascadia Tsunami (more info) A model of the wave propagation from the 1700 Cascadia Tsunami, created by the Geological Survey of Canada.
Peru, 2001 (more info) This is a medium-resolution (4.3 Mb) animation from the USGS of the June 23, 2001 tsunami that struck Peru and the west coast of South America. There is also a high-resolution version (24 Mb).
Tsunami and Earthquake Research at the USGS (more info) This portal provides access to information on United States Geological Survey (USGS) research and resources on tsunamis and earthquakes. Materials include news and events in USGS tsunami research, an overview of the program, and basic information on the life of a tsunami. There are also links to individual research projects. The site also features an extensive set of tsunami animations of real and hypothetical events, and links to VRML models of real and hypothetical events.
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Hypothetical Tsunami Visualizations
Pacific Northwest, North America (more info) Stochastic model for future tsunamis
resource 12331 'Tsunami Generation (more info) This animation by Prof. Miho Aoki from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Art Department provides a very nice look at how a tsunami can be generated by a subduction zone earthquake. The visualization is large, so be prepared for lengthy download.
Coastal Inundation (more info) This animation by Prof. Miho Aoki from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Art Department shows how a coastal town can be inundated by a tsunami.
Tsunami and Earthquake Simulation (more info) Three Shockwave animations demonstrating how earthquakes, waves, and tsunamis are generated.
Formation of a Tsunami (more info) This Flash animation, by McGraw-Hill, illustrates the steps involved in producing a tsunami. First, motion along a submerged fault plane causes a column of water to rise directly above the epicenter. As the wave approaches the shore, it slows, wave height grows, and wave crests grow closer together. The heightened wave then reaches the shore and can extend far inland, destroying everything in its path. Tsunami-like waves can also be caused by underwater landslides.
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