The size of tides has changed in the past and will continue to change in the future due to natural and anthropogenic influences on estuaries, coastlines, and near shore regions.
Oceanic
No Place to Flee
The Syrian refugee crisis has had far-reaching consequences for geologic risk in neighboring Lebanon, providing insights into the interplay between forced displacement and natural disasters.
Meteotsunami Spotted for the First Time in the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, a region with high-end resorts and oil-related infrastructure dotting its shorelines, was hit in 2017 by weather-induced waves that rolled roughly a kilometer inland.
Waves of Deadly Brine Can Slosh After Submarine Landslides
Brine pools—hypersaline, low-oxygen waters deadly to many forms of ocean life—can experience waves hundreds of meters high when hit by a landslide, potentially overspilling their deep-sea basins.
How Do Turbidity Currents Accelerate?
Flume experiments show that a self-reinforcing cycle can strengthen the currents responsible for transporting large amounts of sediment to the deep oceans.
Offshore Islands Might Not Shield Coastlines from Tsunami Waves
Rather than offering protection, islands sometimes cause increased wave run-up on shorelines, experiments in a wave laboratory suggest.
Run-Ups of Unusual Size
Not all waves are created equal when it comes to eroding sandy shorelines. Here’s a look at the physics that drives the big ones.
Caribbean Sediment Traced to 1755 Portuguese Quake and Tsunami
Archaeologists digging in Martinique chanced upon the first tsunami deposit from the earthquake found in the New World. The tsunami left a strong trace, it seems, because the wave went up a river.
Indonesian Cave Reveals Nearly 5,000 Years of Tsunamis
Researchers explore a coastal cave containing layers of sand deposited by 11 prehistoric tsunamis and demonstrate that the time period between massive waves is highly variable.
Tsunamis Leave a Telltale Chemical Trail
Researchers follow a trail of organic compounds in soil that reveals the 2011 Tohoku tsunami's path over the Japanese coastline, providing clues to how often tsunamis recur and where they travel.
