Tabletop Wave Container Investigations
This activity investigates factors that affect how tsunami waves interact with submarine and shoreline topography. In a 5-minute computer simulation, learners discover how coastal topography dramatically affects how far a tsunami wave can travel. The 15-minute hands-on activity allows learners to explore several topographic features using a container to model tsunami waves. The 45-minute activity allows learners to compare and measure how two related landforms affect how far a tsunami wave travels inland, discovering the importance of tsunami wave inundation for community preparedness.
Why is it important to learn about earthquakes and their effects, like tsunamis? Over 100,000 people along the Pacific Northwest and Northern California coastal areas could be affected by a major tsunami. An understanding of the size of an earthquake and its potential to cause a tsunami is fundamental to tsunami hazard preparedness. The ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning system for the West Coast of the U.S. detects significant earthquakes quickly, so that alerts can be delivered to people and automated systems.
Learners will be able to:
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