Great Pacific Tsunami Threat
Monday, 20. July 2009, 19:02:06
Research suggests that future tsunamis could reach a scale far beyond that suffered in the tsunami generated by the great 1964 Alaskan earthquake. The 1964 Alaskan earthquake – the second biggest recorded in history with a magnitude of 9.2 – triggered a series of massive waves with run up heights of as much as 12.7 metres in the Alaskan Gulf region and 52 metres in the Shoup Bay submarine slide in Valdez Arm.
(See also my post on Largest Earthquake Ever Recorded - with a magnitude of 9.5)
The study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews shows that the potential impact in terms of tsunami generation, could be significantly greater if both the 800-km-long 1964 segment and the 250-km-long adjacent Yakataga segment to the east were to rupture simultaneously. The data indicate that two major earthquakes have struck Alaska in the last 1,500 years, and according to the findings a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future.
The two mentioned earthquakes ca. 900 and ca. 1500 years ago simultaneously ruptured adjacent segments of the Aleutian megathrust and the Yakutat microplate, with a combined area ca. 15% greater than 1964, giving an earthquake of greater magnitude and increased tsunamitriggering potential.
Reference:
Shennan et al.
Multi-segment earthquakes and tsunami potential of the Aleutian megathrust
Quaternary Science Reviews: Volume 28, Issues 1-2, January 2009, Pages 7-13
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.09.016
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=8306
• http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=071709-1
• http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1723347/pacific_tsunami_threat_greater_than_expected/index.html?source=r_science
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720083421.htm
• http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/du-ptt072009.php
• http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/tsunami/
In Danish:
• http://politiken.dk/videnskab/article755056.ece
• http://ing.dk/artikel/100164-forskere-har-undervurderet-tsunami-risiko-for-usa?utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nyheder
(See also my post on Largest Earthquake Ever Recorded - with a magnitude of 9.5)
The study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews shows that the potential impact in terms of tsunami generation, could be significantly greater if both the 800-km-long 1964 segment and the 250-km-long adjacent Yakataga segment to the east were to rupture simultaneously. The data indicate that two major earthquakes have struck Alaska in the last 1,500 years, and according to the findings a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future.
The two mentioned earthquakes ca. 900 and ca. 1500 years ago simultaneously ruptured adjacent segments of the Aleutian megathrust and the Yakutat microplate, with a combined area ca. 15% greater than 1964, giving an earthquake of greater magnitude and increased tsunamitriggering potential.
Reference:
Shennan et al.
Multi-segment earthquakes and tsunami potential of the Aleutian megathrust
Quaternary Science Reviews: Volume 28, Issues 1-2, January 2009, Pages 7-13
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.09.016
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=8306
• http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=071709-1
• http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1723347/pacific_tsunami_threat_greater_than_expected/index.html?source=r_science
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720083421.htm
• http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/du-ptt072009.php
• http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/tsunami/
In Danish:
• http://politiken.dk/videnskab/article755056.ece
• http://ing.dk/artikel/100164-forskere-har-undervurderet-tsunami-risiko-for-usa?utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nyheder
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