What is "tsunami"

Tidal wave \Tid"al wave\, n.

1. an unusually high wave from the sea, sometimes reaching far inland and causing great destruction, and usually caused by some event, such as an earthquake, far from the shore. In Japan, such a wave is called a tsunami.

2. [fig.] an unusually large quantity of items or events requiring attention and causing strain on the capacity to handle them; as, a tidal wave of orders for a new product; a tidal wave of tourists.

1896, in reference to the one that struck Japan that year on June 15, from Japanese tsunami, from tsu "harbor" + nami "waves."

n. A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption.

n. a huge destructive wave (especially one caused by an earthquake) [syn: tidal wave]

A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from , lit. "harbor wave";

English pronunciation:

Entry: "tsunami")

, also known as a seismic sea wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves which are generated by wind or tides which are generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water.

Tsunami waves do not resemble normal undersea currents or sea waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves, although this usage is not favored by the scientific community because tsunamis are not tidal in nature. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called " internal wave train".

Wave heights of tens of meters can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with at least 230,000 people killed or missing in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

Greek historian Thucydides suggested in his late-5th century BC History of the Peloponnesian War, that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes, but the understanding of a tsunami's nature remained slim until the 20th century and much remains unknown. Major areas of current research include trying to determine why some large earthquakes do not generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do; trying to accurately forecast the passage of tsunamis across the oceans; and also to forecast how tsunami waves interact with specific shorelines.

Ao Nang, Krabi Province, Thailand, during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Thailand

"Tsunami" is a song by Manic Street Preachers, released as a single on July 5, 1999 through Epic. It was the fourth and final single to be released from the album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours All three members of the band - James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore and Nicky Wire - share the writing credits. The single managed to peak at number 11 in the UK charts.

Tsunami was an imprint of Marvel Comics founded in January 2003.

A tsunami is an unusually powerful series of water waves. The word may also refer to:

Tsunami is an album released in 1999. It contains ten tracks picked by Tsunami Tranceport, and was released under the Kinetic Label.

Tsunami was a roller coaster designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and located at the San Marcos National Fair. The coaster was previously located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom as Zonga, Six Flags Astroworld as "Texas Tornado", and operated for 10 years on the German travelling funfair circuit as "Thriller" After its time at Marine World, it was sold to the San Marcos National Fair in Mexico, where it last operated.

Tsunami, in comics, may refer to:

• Tsunami (DC Comics), a character
• Tsunami (Marvel Comics), an imprint

Tsunami was an American indie rock band from Arlington, Virginia, formed by housemates Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson in late 1990 to play at New Year's party. They enlisted former housemate John Pamer to play drums and Andrew Webster from Bricks and Jenny's previous band Geek to complete the line up.

"Tsunami" is a song by the Southern All Stars, released as their forty-fourth single on January 26, 2000.

"Tsunami" is a song by Canadian electronic music duo DVBBS and American DJ Borgeous. It was released as a single in September 2013 on the Dutch label Doorn Records.

Tsunami is a heavy metal band formed in San Jose, CA in the early 1980s. They were originally signed to Enigma Records, which released their self-titled debut album in 1983. Their first single “The Runaround” hit the Billboard charts at number 60 and was played on heavy rotation on almost 200 radio stations nationwide. The band also received radio play of several other songs from their first album such as “Fade to Black” and “Firewater”.