tsunamis Archives - State of the Planet

researchers sitting on toadstools on the beach

Observations While on Quarantine in Newport, Oregon

Before embarking on a 6-week voyage to scan for Cascadia’s megathrust fault, the research team had to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel.

by Madeleine Lucas |June 30, 2021
people on ship using long stick to pull a device out of the water

Using Sound to Study Underwater Volcanoes

To find out how volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean influence earthquakes and tsunamis, a team of scientists listens for ‘echoes’ from under the sea.

by Lindsay Key |July 7, 2020

Alaskan Coast at Risk of Catastrophic Landslide and Mega-Tsunami

Geoscientists estimate that a mountain slope could collapse into Prince William Sound within a year, and likely within 20 years, triggering devastating waves.

by |May 29, 2020

Shifts in Deep Geologic Structure May Have Magnified Great 2011 Japan Tsunami

A new study looks at why the 2011 Tohoku tsunami off Japan was unexpectedly huge.

by |March 16, 2020

Ocean Sediments Off Pacific Coast May Feed Tsunami Danger

Tightly packed sediments help the Cascadia Subduction Zone generate large earthquakes, and could boost its ability to trigger a large tsunami.

by |November 20, 2017

New Images From Under Alaska Seafloor Suggest High Tsunami Danger

Scientists probing under the seafloor off Alaska have mapped a geologic structure that they say signals potential for a major tsunami in an area that normally would be considered benign.

by |July 31, 2017

Lamont to Develop New Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System

A new pilot program led by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory aims to provide earlier and more accurate warnings of damaging ground-shaking from earthquakes and the imminent arrival of tsunamis.

by |January 17, 2017

Undersea Clues to Haiti’s Earthquake History

For all of its violent destruction, the earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, hardly scratched the surface of the island. But scientists now say they have found some of the best clues to understanding the quake under water.

by |July 21, 2011

Crisis in Japan: Earth Institute Reactions

The largest ever recorded earthquake in Japan’s history has triggered a sequence of events that have killed thousands, crushed and submerged cities and towns and left a financial toll that will take years for an already struggling economy to recover. Videos and stories slowly began to emerge as the sun rose in Japan the day… read more

by |March 14, 2011