Tsunamis and Rogue Waves: What Are They?
Tsunamis and “rogue” waves have been in the news recently, seemingly come out of the blue, damaging a ship, and destroying and traumatizing far-flung coasts. This week has brought an example of each type of wave, as the Chile earthquake produced a minor tsunami that hit Hawaii, Japan and the U.S. West Coast. Meanwhile, a 26-foot rogue wave slammed into a cruise ship on the Mediterranean Sea that killed two and injured fourteen others. While these oceanic monsters both consist of large, crashing waves, they have very different origins. A tsunami is a set of ocean waves that is caused by a large disturbance of the sea or sea floor. Often, this disturbance is caused by an earthquake, could also be the result of a massive object, such as a meteor, hitting the sea, or even a large submerged landslide. After the ocean is disrupted, the water and waves move away in all directions at equal speed of 400 to 500 mph, and with wave heights of just a few feet. However, as the water approaches land,
