Tsunami and Earthquake Research
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?”
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Date published: October 4, 2018Status: ActiveLife of a Tsunami
Life of a Tsunami
Contacts: Eric Geist
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Date published: April 4, 2019Status: CompletedDescriptive Model of the July 17, 1998 Papua New Guinea Tsunami
The tsunami that struck New Guinea on July 17, 1998 was the most devastating tsunami since the 1976 Moro Gulf, Philippines, tsunami and may surpass that event (Lockridge and Smith, 1984; Satake and Imamura, 1995). The high reported runups and the tremendous loss of life are of great concern to all, including the international scientific community. Scientists closely examined this event in...
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: March 20, 2019Status: CompletedPreliminary Analysis of the April 2007 Solomon Islands Tsunami, Southwest Pacific Ocean
The tsunami that was triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake on April 1, 2007, in the Solomon Islands caused significant damage and loss of life. In the hopes that disasters such as this can be avoided in the future, we attempt to understand the mechanism and impact of this tsunami. The information presented here is focused on geologic aspects of the disaster.
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: March 18, 2019Status: CompletedPreliminary simulations of the 2011 Japan tsunami
Preliminary simulations of the tsunami from the March 11, 2011 M=9.1 subduction zone earthquake offshore of Honshu, Japan.
For more information about the earthquake that caused this tsunami:
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: March 15, 2019Status: ActivePreliminary simulation of the 2017 Mexico tsunami
Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the September 8, 2017 M=8.1 intermediate-depth earthquake offshore of Chiapas, Mexico
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: March 4, 2019Status: ActivePreliminary simulations of the 2010 Chilean tsunami
Preliminary simulations of the 2010 Chilean tsunami from the 27 February 2010 M=8.8 subduction zone earthquake, offshore Bio-Bio, Chile
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: December 14, 2018Status: CompletedPreliminary simulation of the 2010 tsunami in Indonesia
Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the October 25, 2010 M=7.7 subduction zone earthquake offshore of the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
Contacts: Eric Geist -
Date published: October 8, 2018Status: CompletedTsunami Generation from the 2004 M=9.1 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake
The December 26, 2004 magnitude (M) 9.1 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake occurred along a tectonic subduction zone in which the India Plate, an oceanic plate, is being subducted beneath the Burma micro-plate, part of the larger Sunda plate. The boundary between the downgoing and overriding plates of the subduction zone is marked by the Sunda Trench above.
Here we provide a brief overview of...
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.
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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...
Contacts: Eric Geist
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 C.; 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; 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. A global probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment from earthquake sources
Large tsunamis occur infrequently but have the capacity to cause enormous numbers of casualties, damage to the built environment and critical infrastructure, and economic losses. A sound understanding of tsunami hazard is required to underpin management of these risks, and while tsunami hazard assessments are typically conducted at regional or...
Davies, Gareth; Griffin, Jonathan; Lovholt, Finn; Glimsdal, Sylfest; Harbitz, Carl; Thio, Hong Kie; Lorito, Stefano; Basili, Roberto; Selva, Jacopo; Geist, Eric L.; Baptista, Maria Ana Introduction to “Global tsunami science: Past and future, Volume I”
Twenty-five papers on the study of tsunamis are included in Volume I of the PAGEOPH topical issue “Global Tsunami Science: Past and Future”. Six papers examine various aspects of tsunami probability and uncertainty analysis related to hazard assessment. Three papers relate to deterministic hazard and risk assessment. Five more papers present new...
Geist, Eric L.; Fritz, Hermann; Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Tanioka, Yuichiro A possible source mechanism of the 1946 Unimak Alaska far-field tsunami, uplift of the mid-slope terrace above a splay fault zone
In 1946, megathrust seismicity along the Unimak segment of the Alaska subduction zone generated the largest ever recorded Alaska/Aleutian tsunami. The tsunami severely damaged Pacific islands and coastal areas from Alaska to Antarctica. It is the charter member of “tsunami” earthquakes that produce outsized far-field tsunamis for the recorded...
von Huene, Roland E.; Miller, John J.; Klaeschen, Dirk; Dartnell, Peter Source characterization and tsunami modeling of submarine landslides along the Yucatán Shelf/Campeche Escarpment, southern Gulf of Mexico
Submarine landslides occurring along the margins of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) represent a low-likelihood, but potentially damaging source of tsunamis. New multibeam bathymetry coverage reveals that mass wasting is pervasive along the Yucatán Shelf edge with several large composite landslides possibly removing as much as 70 km3 of the Cenozoic...
Chaytor, Jason D.; Geist, Eric L.; Paull, Charles K.; Caress, David W; Gwiazda, Roberto; Urrutia Fucugauchi, Jaime; Rebolledo Vieyra, Mario Reconstruction of far-field tsunami amplitude distributions from earthquake sources
The probability distribution of far-field tsunami amplitudes is explained in relation to the distribution of seismic moment at subduction zones. Tsunami amplitude distributions at tide gauge stations follow a similar functional form, well described by a tapered Pareto distribution that is parameterized by a power-law exponent and a corner...
Geist, Eric L.; Parsons, Thomas E.