Tsunami and Earthquake Research
Field Studies
Our researchers collect data from sites of recent tsunamis to gain a better understanding of the potential impact on other regions with high probability of tsunamis. Their work helps inform coastal planning, protection, and resiliency.
Field StudiesTsunami Animations
Learn about the earthquakes that triggered recent tsunami events, and watch computer simulations of each tsunami from different angles.
AnimationsLearn more about tsunamis
Background information and links to our other tsunami research projects.
Local Tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest
Cascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards
Science Center Objects
Here you will find general information on the science behind tsunami generation, computer animations of tsunamis, and summaries of past field studies.
The scope of tsunami research within the USGS, however, is broader than the topics covered here. USGS researchers have also provided critical research toward understanding how sediments are transported during tsunami runup and deciphering the geologic record of prehistoric tsunamis. The USGS collaborates closely with the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research.
As part of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, the USGS has also upgraded the seismograph network and communication functions of the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center.
Soon after the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 many people have asked, “Could such a tsunami happen in the United States?” As a starting point, read “Could It Happen Here?”
Starting points:
Tsunami events:
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Date published: March 9, 2021Status: ActiveCascadia Subduction Zone Marine Geohazards
Societal Issue: Uncertainty related to rupture extent, slip distribution, and recurrence of past subduction megathrust earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest (northern CA, OR, WA, and southern BC) leads to ambiguity in earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments and hinders our ability to prepare for future events.
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Date published: March 5, 2021Status: ActiveProbabilistic Forecasting of Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Earthquake Effects in the Coastal Zone
The nation's coastlines are vulnerable to the interrelated hazards posed by earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis. In the marine environment these events often occur in concert, and distant triggers can cause severe local effects, making the issue global in scope. As the population continues to migrate toward the coastlines, the social impacts of these hazards are expected to grow.
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Date published: January 22, 2021Status: ActiveU.S. West Coast and Alaska Marine Geohazards
Marine geohazards are sudden and extreme events beneath the ocean that threaten coastal populations. Such underwater hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
Devastating earthquakes in Japan (2011) and Chile (2010) that spawned pan-oceanic tsunamis sent a sobering reminder that U.S. coastlines are also vulnerable to natural disasters that originate in...
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Date published: June 1, 2020Status: ActiveTsunami Hazards, Modeling, and the Sedimentary Record
Basic research to develop the geologic record of paleotsunamis and improve the ability to interpret that record is needed to mitigate tsunami risk in the U.S.
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Date published: October 4, 2018Status: ActiveLife of a Tsunami
Life of a Tsunami
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: September 28, 2018Status: ActiveLocal Tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest
In the past century, several damaging tsunamis have struck the Pacific Northwest coast (Northern California, Oregon, and Washington). All of these tsunamis were distant tsunamis generated from earthquakes located far across the Pacific basin and are distinguished from tsunamis generated by earthquakes near the coast—termed local tsunamis.
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: September 20, 2018Status: CompletedCould It Happen Here?
The Question: Soon after the devastating tsunamis in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 and in Japan on March 11, 2011, many people have asked, "Could such a tsunami happen in the United States?" This web page summarizes what we know about tsunamis that have struck the U.S. in the past, providing a foundation for estimating tsunami likelihood in the future. Below, we outline the sources of...
Contacts: Eric Geist
The making of the NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18)
The NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18) is a probabilistic hazard model for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. It covers the coastlines of the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and connected seas (NEAM). NEAMTHM18 was designed as a three-phase project. The first two phases were dedicated to the model development and hazard...
Basili, Roberto; Brizuela, Beatriz; Herrero, Andre; Iqbal, Sarfraz; Lorito, Stefano; Maesano, Francesco Emanuele; Murphy, Shane; Perfetti, Paolo; Romano, Fabrizio; Scala, Antonio; Selva, Jacopo; Taroni, Matteo; Tiberti, Mara Monica; Thio, Hong Kie; Tonini, R.; Volpe, Manuela; Glimsdal, Sylfest; Harbitz, Carl B.; Lovholt, Finn; Baptista, Maria Ana; Carrilho, Fernando; Matias, Luis M. A.; Omira, Rachid; Babeyko, Andrey; Hoechner, Andreas; Gurbuz, Mucahit; Pekcan, Onur; Yalciner, A.; Canals, Miquel; Lastras, Galderic; Agalos, Apostolos; Papadapoulos, Gerassimo; Triantafyllou, Ioanna; Benchekroun, Sabah; Jaouadi, Hedi Agrebi; Abdallah, Samir Ben; Bouallegue, Atef; Hamdi, Hassene; Oueslati, Foued; Amato, A.; Armigliato, Alberto; Behrens, Jörn; Davies, Gareth; Di Bucci, Daniela; Dolce, Mauro; Geist, Eric L.; Gonzalez Vida, Jose Manuel; Gonzalez, Mauricio; Sanchez, Jorges Macias; Meletti, C.; Sozdinler, Ceren Ozer; Pagani, Marco; Parsons, Tom; Polet, Jascha; Power, William; Sorensen, Mathilde B.; Zaytsev, Andrey Book review of "Tsunami Propagation in Tidal Rivers", by Elena Tolkova
No abstract available.
Geist, Eric L. Catastrophic landscape modification from a massive landslide tsunami in Taan Fiord, Alaska
The October 17th, 2015 Taan Fiord landslide and tsunami generated a runup of 193 m, nearly an order of magnitude greater than most previously surveyed tsunamis. To date, most post-tsunami surveys are from earthquake-generated tsunamis and the geomorphic signatures of landslide tsunamis or their potential for preservation are largely...
Bloom, Colin K; MacInnes, Breanyn; Higman, Bretwood; Shugar, Dan H.; Venditti, Jeremy G.; Richmond, Bruce M.; Bilderback, Eric L.
Recent sandy deposits at five northern California coastal wetlands—Stratigraphy, diatoms, and implications for storm and tsunami hazards
A recent geological record of inundation by tsunamis or storm surges is evidenced by deposits found within the first few meters of the modern surface at five wetlands on the northern California coast. The study sites include three locations in the Crescent City area (Marhoffer Creek marsh, Elk Creek wetland, and Sand Mine marsh), O’rekw marsh in...
Eileen Hemphill-Haley; Kelsey, Harvey M.; Nicholas Graehl; Casso, Michael; Dylan Caldwell; Casey Loofbourrow; Michelle Robinson; Jessica Vermeer; Edward Southwick A combinatorial approach to determine earthquake magnitude distributions on a variable slip-rate fault
Combinatorial methods are used to determine the spatial distribution of earthquake magnitudes on a fault whose slip rate varies along strike. Input to the problem is a finite sample of earthquake magnitudes that span 5 kyr drawn from a truncated Pareto distribution. The primary constraints to the problem are maximum and minimum values around the...
Geist, Eric L.; Parsons, Thomas E. Effect of dynamical phase on the resonant interaction among tsunami edge wave modes
Different modes of tsunami edge waves can interact through nonlinear resonance. During this process, edge waves that have very small initial amplitude can grow to be as large or larger than the initially dominant edge wave modes. In this study, the effects of dynamical phase are established for a single triad of edge waves that participate in...
Geist, Eric L. Introduction to “Global tsunami science: Past and future, Volume III”
Twenty papers on the study of tsunamis are included in Volume III of the PAGEOPH topical issue “Global Tsunami Science: Past and Future”. Volume I of this topical issue was published as PAGEOPH, vol. 173, No. 12, 2016 and Volume II as PAGEOPH, vol. 174, No. 8, 2017. Two papers in Volume III focus on specific details of the 2009 Samoa and the 1923...
Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Fritz, Hermann M.; Tanioka, Yuichiro; Geist, Eric L. Probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis: Multiple sources and global applications
Applying probabilistic methods to infrequent but devastating natural events is intrinsically challenging. For tsunami analyses, a suite of geophysical assessments should be in principle evaluated because of the different causes generating tsunamis (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, meteorological events, and asteroid impacts) with...
Grezio, Anita; Babeyko, Andrey; Baptista, Maria Ana; Behrens, Jörn; Costa, Antonio; Davies, Gareth; Geist, Eric L.; Glimsdal, Sylfest; González, Frank I.; Griffin, Jonathan; Harbitz, Carl B.; LeVeque, Randall J.; Lorito, Stefano; Løvholt, Finn; Omira, Rachid; Mueller, Christof; Paris, Raphaël; Parsons, Thomas E.; Polet, Jascha; Power, William; Selva, Jacopo; Sørensen, Mathilde B.; Thio, Hong Kie Introduction to “Global tsunami science: Past and future, Volume II”
Twenty-two papers on the study of tsunamis are included in Volume II of the PAGEOPH topical issue “Global Tsunami Science: Past and Future”. Volume I of this topical issue was published as PAGEOPH, vol. 173, No. 12, 2016 (Eds., E. L. Geist, H. M. Fritz, A. B. Rabinovich, and Y. Tanioka). Three papers in Volume II focus on details of the 2011 and...
Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Fritz, Hermann M.; Tanioka, Yuichiro; Geist, Eric L.
Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide—U.S. Geological Survey subduction zone science plan
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information and tools to build resilience in communities exposed to subduction zone earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Improving the application of USGS science to successfully reduce risk from these events relies on whole community efforts...
Gomberg, Joan S.; Ludwig, K.A.; Bekins, Barbara; Brocher, Thomas M.; Brock, John; Brothers, Daniel; Chaytor, Jason D.; Frankel, Arthur; Geist, Eric L.; Haney, Matthew M.; Hickman, Stephen H.; Leith, William S.; Roeloffs, Evelyn A.; Schulz, William H.; Sisson, Thomas W.; Wallace, Kristi L.; Watt, Janet; Wein, Anne M.
Reducing risk where tectonic plates collide
Most of the world’s earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are caused by the continuous motions of the many tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s outer shell. The most powerful of these natural hazards occur in subduction zones, where two plates collide and one is thrust beneath another. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) “...
Gomberg, Joan S.; Ludwig, K.A. Book review: Physics of tsunamis
“Physics of Tsunamis”, second edition, provides a comprehensive analytical treatment of the hydrodynamics associated with the tsunami generation process. The book consists of seven chapters covering 388 pages. Because the subject matter within each chapter is distinct, an abstract appears at the beginning and references appear at the end of each...
Geist, Eric L.-
Date published: October 1, 2020Earthquakes, Landslides, and Tsunamis: Mapping Geohazards in the Cascadia Subduction Zone
USGS works with federal, academic, and private scientists to integrate data that will better assess the hazards along the Pacific Northwest coastline.
Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: September 14, 2020National Preparedness Month 2020: Earthquakes and Tsunamis
Natural hazards have the potential to impact a majority of Americans every year. USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency preparedness whenever and wherever disaster strikes.
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Date published: February 28, 2018A Tale of Two Tsunamis—Why Weren’t They Bigger? Mexico 2017 and Alaska 2018
Why do some earthquakes trigger large tsunamis, and others don’t? Learn how earthquakes produce tsunamis, how scientists predict tsunami size and arrival times, and the differences in two recent small tsunamis.
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What is it about an earthquake that causes a tsunami?
Although earthquake magnitude is one factor that affects tsunami generation, there are other important factors to consider. The earthquake must be a shallow marine event that displaces the seafloor. Thrust earthquakes (as opposed to strike slip) are far more likely to generate tsunamis, but small tsunamis have occurred in a few cases from large (i... -
What is the difference between a tsunami and a tidal wave?
Although both are sea waves, a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different and unrelated phenomena. A tidal wave is a shallow water wave caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth ("tidal wave" was used in earlier times to describe what we now call a tsunami.) A tsunami is an ocean wave triggered by large earthquakes... -
Is there a system to warn populations of an imminent occurrence of a tsunami?
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) maintains the U.S. Tsunami Warning Centers , which work in conjunction with USGS seismic networks to help determine when and where to issue tsunami warnings. If an earthquake meets certain criteria for potentially generating a tsunami, the pop-up window and the event page for that earthquake... -
What are tsunamis?
Tsunamis are ocean waves triggered by: Large earthquakes that occur near or under the ocean Volcanic eruptions Submarine landslides Onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water Scientists do not use the term "tidal wave" because these waves are not caused by tides. Tsunami waves are unlike typical ocean waves generated... -
Could a large tsunami happen in the United States?
Large tsunamis have occurred in the United States and will undoubtedly occur again. Significant earthquakes around the Pacific rim have generated tsunamis that struck Hawaii, Alaska, and the U.S. west coast. One of the largest and most devastating tsunamis that Hawaii has experienced was in 1946 from an earthquake along the Aleutian subduction...