Rebecca Boyle
Popular Science
11 March 2011
Ocean-Wide Waves/ This model from the Center for Tsunami Research at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory shows the expected wave heights of the tsunami as it travels across the Pacific basin. NOAA. Click on the image for full view
Seismologists are putting together some impressive computer models of the devastating earthquake that struck Japan Friday. As the tragedy continues to unfold, it’s pretty breathtaking to see the Earth’s destructive power in action.
The map above is a model of wave heights, generated at the Center for Tsunami Research at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Wave energy dissipates over longer distances, so Hawaii and the west coast didn’t see the devastating waves that inundated Japan already, but the scope is still incredible — the entire Pacific Ocean is impacted. Waves were lower in areas where the ocean floor is deeper.
The animation below shows the tsunami as it propagated from the earthquake’s epicenter, about 80 miles off the Japanese coast at a depth of around 15 miles. The ripples’ calm, slow spread belies their destructive force.
The article, with an additional graphic, continues at Popular Science.
