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| Scientists warn of new tsunami threat which could strike coastal cities such as San Francisco with little warning | Scientists warn of new tsunami threat which could strike coastal cities such as San Francisco with little warning |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Researchers have identified a new tsunami risk posed by strike-slip faults located menacingly close to major population centers around the globe, warning that there would be little to no warning before catastrophe struck. | Researchers have identified a new tsunami risk posed by strike-slip faults located menacingly close to major population centers around the globe, warning that there would be little to no warning before catastrophe struck. |
| Strike-slip faults have long been studied, though the particular mechanics of the tsunamis they can generate have been poorly understood, until now. | Strike-slip faults have long been studied, though the particular mechanics of the tsunamis they can generate have been poorly understood, until now. |
| The latest models produced by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using the supercomputer Blue Waters indicate the risk is far greater than previously anticipated. | The latest models produced by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using the supercomputer Blue Waters indicate the risk is far greater than previously anticipated. |
| Strike-slip faults are subaquatic areas where large blocks or slabs of rock in the Earth’s crust fall along a fault line and can slide horizontally past one another, with truly devastating consequences. | Strike-slip faults are subaquatic areas where large blocks or slabs of rock in the Earth’s crust fall along a fault line and can slide horizontally past one another, with truly devastating consequences. |
| Before now, scientists suspected that tsunamis could only be triggered at strike-slip faults if there was also an underwater landslide which displaced more matter, thus generating more force to propel a giant wave. | Before now, scientists suspected that tsunamis could only be triggered at strike-slip faults if there was also an underwater landslide which displaced more matter, thus generating more force to propel a giant wave. |
| “The physics-based model used in this study provides critical insight about the hazard associated with strike-slip faulting,” said civil engineer Mohamed Abdelmeguid from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. | “The physics-based model used in this study provides critical insight about the hazard associated with strike-slip faulting,” said civil engineer Mohamed Abdelmeguid from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
| “Particularly, the need to account for such risk to mitigate future damage to other bays traversed by strike-slip faults.” | “Particularly, the need to account for such risk to mitigate future damage to other bays traversed by strike-slip faults.” |
| The researchers discovered that, in order for strike-slip faults to generate a tsunami, a so-called 'intersonic' earthquake is required. | The researchers discovered that, in order for strike-slip faults to generate a tsunami, a so-called 'intersonic' earthquake is required. |
| This is a particularly fast type of temblor in which the movement of the Earth’s crust at the fault line outpaces the seismic shear waves rippling through the area around the earthquake. | This is a particularly fast type of temblor in which the movement of the Earth’s crust at the fault line outpaces the seismic shear waves rippling through the area around the earthquake. |
| The list of coastal cities identified by the study as being in close proximity to these strike-slip faults makes for sobering reading: San Francisco and the wider Bay Area in the US, the cities along Izmit Bay in Turkey, as well as the population centers along the Gulf of Al-Aqaba in Egypt. | The list of coastal cities identified by the study as being in close proximity to these strike-slip faults makes for sobering reading: San Francisco and the wider Bay Area in the US, the cities along Izmit Bay in Turkey, as well as the population centers along the Gulf of Al-Aqaba in Egypt. |
| If strike-slip quakes were to hit in these particular areas, the catastrophic events predicted by the supercomputer model would occur in three phases: the initial quake which emits shockwaves through the bay, followed by the displacement of vast volumes of water, and finally the development of the destructive tsunami wave. | If strike-slip quakes were to hit in these particular areas, the catastrophic events predicted by the supercomputer model would occur in three phases: the initial quake which emits shockwaves through the bay, followed by the displacement of vast volumes of water, and finally the development of the destructive tsunami wave. |
| “Unlike the earthquakes and subsequent water displacement that occur many miles offshore, an earthquake and tsunami that occurs within the narrow confines of a bay will allow for very little warning time for the coast,” civil engineer Ahmed Elbanna warned. | “Unlike the earthquakes and subsequent water displacement that occur many miles offshore, an earthquake and tsunami that occurs within the narrow confines of a bay will allow for very little warning time for the coast,” civil engineer Ahmed Elbanna warned. |
| The researchers suspect the 2018 tsunami which struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi may well have been triggered by a 7.5 magnitude slip-strike quake discussed in their recent paper. | The researchers suspect the 2018 tsunami which struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi may well have been triggered by a 7.5 magnitude slip-strike quake discussed in their recent paper. |
| Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! | Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! |