Is there a difference between a Tidal Wave and a Tsunami? If so, what is it?
Strictly speaking Tidal waves are the regular waves caused by the tidal action of the moon and the sun. Tsunami, Megatsunami are different in that they are caused by some event where vast volumes of water are displaced suddenly. This causes a displacement wave or Tsunami. Mega Tsunamis occur when very sudden, very large displacements occur in relatively confied spaces or when very large displacements occur. Most Tsunami are between a few inchs and a couple of feet high, however as we saw during the 2006 devisation, that even when they are “only” a few feet high (10-15feet) they are still catastrophic. Megatsunami would be dozens of meters or hundreds of feet in height and caused by some extraordinary event such as a catastrophic volcanic event (like a coastal Akoteri, or Krakatoa) an aquatic version of the Toba event would be devistating on a planetary level. Causes for Megatsunami include but are not limited to – Asteroid impact (KT Event, wiped out the Dinosaurs) – Seaborne Volcanic
