NEES Tsunami Wave Basin

El Transito Tsunami
El Transito Tsunami,1992, Nicaragua
[courtesy of Dr. Harry Yeh, Oregon State University]

Tsunami (pronunced soo-NAH-mee) is a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave." Tsunamis have been mistakenly called "tidal waves," but tsunamis are not single waves and they're not caused by the tides or the wind. A tsunami is a series of waves caused by violent movement of the sea floor. An underwater landslide, volcanic eruption, or even a meteorite impact, can cause drastic movement of the sea floor. The most common cause is an earthquake.

A tsunami is so powerful that it can travel across very long distances while retaining a great deal of stored energy. When the tsunami reaches shallower water close to land, the waves become higher, sometimes resulting in monstrous waves that crash into the shoreline. Entire villages and seaports have been destroyed by tsunamis, often without even feeling the earthquake that triggered the disaster.

Tsunamis have been known to reach a vertical height of 10, 20, and even 30 meters (about 100 feet, or the height of a 10-story building)!


Tsunamis in the Laboratory
Wave Basin, Oregon State University

The Tsunami Wave Basin located at Oregon State University is the world's largest facility for studying the effects of large waves. As part of the NEES Program, it will provide testing capabilities and experimental data to tsunami researchers around the world.

The lab's state-of-the-art information technology allows remote researchers and students to use the Internet to share the research experience, instead of having to travel to Oregon. Experiments can be viewed as they happen, but also using replay and "post-game" analysis of interesting moments.

By understanding how tsunamis behave, we can predict with greater accuracy when and where they will strike, so that coastal populations can be evacuated inland when necessary. Even more important, we can learn how to build structures that will withstand or help dissipate their force.


Why Is NEES Needed for Tsunami Research?

NEES is a collaboratory. This means that it's a distributed laboratory located all over the United States. Scientists now don't just have to depend on facilities located at their own institutions; they can make use of facilities at 15 institutions. Each of these equipment sites is networked to the others for easy sharing of data and resources.

Tsunami researchers located all around the country can run experiments using the NEES Tsunami Wave Basin. Other researchers, professional engineers, and students will have access to the data generated during the experiments. This close networking and sharing of facilities, data, and research results will allow scientists to understand tsunamis much better and to devise new ways of protecting coastal communities from tsunami damage.


More about Tsunamis

See Tsunami Wave Basin website at Oregon State University.