Tsunami Waves

by Samantha Pennino

Submitted : Fall 2017

I calculated the travel time of a tsunami wave to Somalia and Sri-Lanka that occurred from an earthquake in 2004 in the Indian ocean off the coast of Sumatra. This was done by calculating the velocity from the shallow wave equation of the waves and using piecewise integrals to calculate the total time for the wave to reach each location. It took 2 hours to reach Sri-Lank and 9.5 hours to reach Somalia. Predicting the travel time of tsunami waves is imperative to the safety and well-being of possibly affected communities because tsunami waves can happen incredibly fast. So, knowing how long an area has until a tsunami will approach dramatically helps with mitigation strategies.

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