1. Introduction On Friday March 11th, 2011 at 2:46 pm, the fifth largest earthquake recorded since 1900 with a magnitude of 9.0, 1.7 Richter scale points greater than the devastating Vancouver Island earthquake of 1946, struck the coast of Japan, 231 miles northeast of Tokyo1, causing a devastating regional and global catastrophe.
1.1 Megathrust Earthquakes Megathrust earthquakes are defined as interplate earthquakes caused by one tectonic plate being forced under another in a subduction zone. During the lifetime of a subduction zone, two plates are constantly moving towards each other, and due to the great amount of friction, these plates get “stuck” in various areas 2 (fig 1). Due to the build-up of stress in these areas, the plates eventually unlock and release a great amount of energy, resulting in a megathrust earthquake2.
1.2 Tsunamis Since these earthquakes are caused by tectonic plate movement therefore displacing the ocean floor they are almost always accompanied by massive ocean waves, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 ft and reaching speeds of 500 mph, known as seismic sea waves or more commonly known as Tsunamis4. Alongside the catastrophic events that megathrust earthquakes ensue on an affected region these colossal Tsunami waves further destruct costal lines in their path, sometimes reaching many miles inland.
1.3 Report Aim This report will outline the environmental and societal impacts of the Tohoku
Tsunamis occur when there is sudden movement in an extensive body of water such as earthquakes, landslides on the sea floor, major volcanic eruptions or meteorite impacts. The most common source of a tsunami is earthquakes, which are another type of geomorphic hazard that is caused by the friction and stress that tectonic plates put on each other. Tsunamis primarily occur in coastal or island regions where there is a tectonic border or what is known as the ring of fire. As shown in the diagram below the ring of fire is located along the coastal and island regions of the world.As a result of the Pacific Plate diving beneath the Eurasian plate, on March 11, 2011, there were 2 geomorphic hazards, a magnitude-9 earthquake struck north Japan, which caused a deadly tsunami that reached heights of 39 meters. The destructive dilemma was dubbed ‘The Great Sendai Disaster’. The earthquake was caused by multiple centuries of stress on the tectonic plates surrounding the island. The earthquake caused a tsunami that reached the height of 39 meters (128 feet). Japanese scientists had previously discovered that there was another tsunami just like the one in 2011 that took place in 869 AD. But their warning was unhindered. The tsunami, which occurred in 869 AD, was caused by the same tectonic fault as the 2011 tsunami. The epicenter of the earthquake was off the northeast cost of Japan leading to a devastating tsunami that killed many and left many wishing they were. The massive earthquake caused an upward wave that headed towards the city of Sendai. Researches have recently uncovered a thin layer of clay that lubricated the fault zone causing the deadly tectonic slip, thus creating a tsunami that could wipe out an entire city as it did in 2011.The aftermath of the 2011 tsunami and earthquake was not pretty; it caused many deaths, injuries, traumas, financial difficulties, destruction of property, health bills and the destruction of the landscape as a whole. The natural disaster caused nearly 16,000 casualties and there are an estimated 2,500 people still reported missing. Although drowning caused most deaths others include, crushed by debris, suicide and diseases caused by nuclear radiation (cancer) spilled from nuclear
March 11, 2011-- Japan experiences one of the most devastating earthquakes recorded. The epicenter, located at 38.297 N, 142.372 E, produces a magnitude 9.0 earthquake at a depth
The subduction zone is when a plate goes under another, shifts and moves, violently pushing up the plate above it, causing devastating effects. When the earth’s crust breaks due to rocks and shifting plates, it causes a tectonic earthquake, which is the most common earthquake. A volcanic earthquake is any earthquake that happens due to volcanic activity. A collapse earthquake are small earthquakes in underground caves and mine shafts when seismic waves effect it. An explosive earthquake is an earthquake that happens due to the detonation of nuclear or chemical
Megathrust earthquakes are the most powerful earthquakes in the world and can produce tsunamis through a variety of structures. The Valdivia earthquake, in theory, is a convergent the earthquake was caused by the Nazca plate releasing tension and descending underneath the South American Plate.The Great Alaska earthquake also appears to be a convergent boundary earthquake as the Pacific Plate lurched underneath the North American Plate causing the earthquake.
Tsunami are commonly often associate with an earthquake but not all earthquakes generates tsunami. It depends on the movement of earth's plate. If earth's plate moved vertically much damage from tsunami would occur. For example, on December,26, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami shook Indonesia and killed an estimated 230,000 people, most due to the tsunami and the lack of aid afterward. (Live Science
Tsunami is a Japanese term meaning, "harbour wave". Large waves produced by an earthquake can affect nearby coastal areas in minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across the ocean and cause mass destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake created them. Most tsunami are caused by large earthquakes on the seafloor when rock move past each other suddenly, causing the overlying water to move. Tsunamis happen when slabs of rock move past each other suddenly, causing the water on top to move. The resulting is severe waves moving away from the earthquake.
A megathrust is the world’s largest type of earthquake, often nine in magnitude or higher. These earthquakes only occur on subduction zones, which are where the borders of major plates overlap one another. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is located along the coast of the northwest, starting in Vancouver, British Colombia and ending in northern California. There has not been a megathrust earthquake in the last 300 years or so in the Northwest. The last megathrust earthquake occurred on January 26, 1700. According to Holden, while there are no written records of the earthquake, the tsunami it caused was recorded by villages in Japan. The
The Earthquake took place on Tuesday 17th January 1995, at 5:40 am. Japan has a population of 124 million people and a population density of about 310 per square metre! The people of Japan would have no doubt in their mind s
An earthquake is the shaking of the earths surface causing huge amounts of damage and a lot of lives lost in some cases. Earthquakes are caused by the tech tonic plates shifting causing massive vibrations, those vibrations are the earthquake, tsunamis are also a product of earthquakes. A Tsunami is caused by earthquakes under the sea causing huge destructive waves that destroy city’s and take lives
A tsunami is a series of waves that are produced by large oceanic earthquakes or volcanic eruptions at tectonic plate boundaries. These waves may reach 100 feet and cause extensive damage in areas that are densely populated, especially if proper warning systems are lacking. Reaching speeds of up to 500 miles/hour, the waves can travel across the Pacific Ocean in less than 24 hours (Ramalanjaona, 2011). Tsunamis that are caused by a magnitude 7.5-7.8 earthquake are relatively local in nature and will not damage regions that are distant. However, secondary effects can still cause trigger events such as submarine
The Great Chilean Earthquake was what scientists call a Megathrust earthquake. Megathrust earthquakes occur at subduction zones at destructive convergent boundaries and are the most powerful earthquakes in the world that can generally create tsunamis (Subduction Zone: Tsunami Generated by Megathrust Earthquake n.d.). This megathrust earthquake occurred where the Nazca Plate is subducting underneath the South American Plate and in doing so it produced a 500-mile-long rupture zone from Talca, Chile to the Chiloe Archipelago (World’s Largest Recorded Earthquake, n.d.). The Nazca Plate and South American Plate are an example of ocean-continent convergent boundary plates. The Nazca Plate is subducted underneath the
A tsunami is described as a sequence of ocean or any large body of water waves caused by a natural disaster such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide or meteorite. Tsunamis bring waves that are different from waves you at the coast or lake since their generated by powerful winds and are minute when compared to a tsunami. These waves can span over 100km wide and travel at approximately 700 kilometres an hour.
In the year 2011, tectonic plate movement approximately 70 kilometers off the coast of the Oshika Peninsula in Japan caused an earthquake with a 9.0 magnitude on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquake was the most powerful one to have ever hit the coast of Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded. The earthquake itself lasted about six minutes, and damage from the earthquake itself was not substantial, due to being active far from the coast. However, the earthquake triggered a powerful tsunami which was capable of travelling approximately ten kilometers inland, destroying numerous homes and buildings, and killing thousands.
Tsunami (also known as tidal wave or seismic sea wave) is a series of waves created by the displacement of water, unlike normal ocean waves which are created by
During this specific kind of earthquake that happens beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its original equally weighted position. Then, in an attempt to regain its equilibrium, waves form as the displaced masses of water, which act under the influence of gravity. Because such large areas of the sea floor elevate and move, a tsunami can be created as a result. Another type of a specific earthquake that has the possibility of causing a tsunami is known as subduction earthquakes. These distinct earthquakes occur at plate boundaries when there is large vertical movements of the earth’s crust. The plates that engage with each other at these plate boundaries are called faults. Usually these earthquakes are caused when a denser oceanic plate slips under a less dense continental plate in a process known as subduction; hence where the name subduction earthquakes came from. These earthquakes are particularly effective in generating tsunamis compared to most other types of earthquakes.