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Pacific Coastal & Marine Science Center

Tsunamis & Earthquakes

USGS PCMSC Tsunami and Earthquake Studies

 

Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the March 11, 2011 M=9.0 subduction zone earthquake offshore of Honshu, Japan

Viewpoint looks to the north. Simulation shows first 2 hours of tsunami propagation.

Please note that this Quicktime simulation may take several minutes to load. Also, the program used to create these simulations does not model nonlinear and breaking effects as waves travel into shallow water (e.g., Sendai Bay).

computer generated tsunami animation; if video does not play within web page, please click the download link below

download* .mov file (74.7 MB)

*DOWNLOAD: Mac: click and hold mouse button; Windows: right-click

NEIC event page:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/

NEIC Finite Fault Model used to create the tsunami generation:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/finite_fault.php

Notes:
• Movies are a non-standard part of the internet and may not load for all viewers. If you do not have QuickTime please download the QuickTime Player here.
• Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

 

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URL: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/sendai11/sendaiNlarge.html
Page Contact Information: PCMSC Web Team
Page Last Modified: 23 March 2011 (lzt)