In the aftermath of thinking about the Great Tsunami of 2004, a question formed in my mind. A terrible thought occured to me. Is it possible to artifically create a tsunami? :eek:
From what I have read, two things may create a tsunami: a large landslide into the water, and an undersea earthquake. Now, I do not think we have the technology (thankfully) of producing an earthquake, but what about a landslide? (The landslide info came from this thread.) Or is the power/force/[insert proper word] needed to create a tsunami so high that no human act could create it?
I should note that I checked with a moderator before posting this, and I ask this out of speculation. I hope and pray this is something no human can do.
WRS/Thû
The San Francisco Chronicle (go to the SFGate.com & search on Hiroshima) today said it was 9.0 on the Richter scale, or “a force equal to that created by 32 billion tons of TNT, or 2 million nuclear bombs the size of the one that destroyed Hiroshima”.
So duplicating this one is impractical. However, triggering an undersea landslide with strategically placed explosives might possibly work.
OTOH, say you bought TNT, took it to the Canaries, hired some workers and boats, drilled holes per your best estimate of what would trigger the landslide, planted the TNT and set it off, even if the explosion failed to make it slide you might have a lot of international law enforcement seriously looking for you. :eek:
Michael Crichton’s latest book, “State of Fear”, ia about this very subject: eco-terrorists creating natural disasters. They use explosives and “cavitation machines” to make undersea earthquakes and tsunamis. It’s interesting, but not a very good book IMO.