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Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis
published by the WNET
This is a set of interactive articles on tsunamis developed to accompany the Savage Earth television series on PBS.  The three articles explain the anatomy of a tsunami and how it differs from typical wind-generated water waves.  Multiple animations and illustrations help users understand how these waves are generated and why they can be so destructive upon reaching a shoreline.  A history of tsunami events is woven throughout the articles, including a Quicktime interview with a tsunami survivor.

Please note that this resource requires Quicktime.
https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Waves and Pendula
- Wave Motion
= Compound Waves
= Transfer of Energy in Waves
- High School
- Middle School
- Informal Education
- Instructional Material
= Tutorial
- Audio/Visual
= Movie/Animation
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Learners
- Educators
- video/quicktime
- text/html
- application/flash
- image/jpeg
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Access Rights: Limited free access
Web-based resources are free; broadcast programming is available for purchase.
Restriction: © 1999 WNET-TV, NY, NY 10001
Has a copyright or other licensing restriction.
Keywords: animation, subduction, tsunami, tsunami animation, tutorial, wave energy, wave generation, wave motion, wave propagation, waves
Record Creator: Metadata instance created March 7, 2009 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated: Aug 10, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:		 March 19, 2008
Other Collections:

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4C. Processes that Shape the Earth
  • 6-8: 4C/M2a. Some changes in the earth's surface are abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) while other changes happen very slowly (such as uplift and wearing down of mountains).
  • 6-8: 4C/M12. The earth's plates sit on a dense, hot, somewhat melted layer of the earth. The plates move very slowly, pressing against one another in some places and pulling apart in other places, sometimes scraping alongside each other as they do. Mountains form as two continental plates, or an ocean plate and a continental plate, press together.
  • 6-8: 4C/M13. There are worldwide patterns to major geological events (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building) that coincide with plate boundaries.
  • 9-12: 4C/H5. Earthquakes often occur along the boundaries between colliding plates, and molten rock from below creates pressure that is released by volcanic eruptions, helping to build up mountains. Under the ocean basins, molten rock may well up between separating plates to create new ocean floor. Volcanic activity along the ocean floor may form undersea mountains, which can thrust above the ocean's surface to become islands.
4F. Motion
  • 6-8: 4F/M4. Vibrations in materials set up wavelike disturbances that spread away from the source. Sound and earthquake waves are examples. These and other waves move at different speeds in different materials.
  • 6-8: 4F/M7. Wave behavior can be described in terms of how fast the disturbance spreads, and in terms of the distance between successive peaks of the disturbance (the wavelength).
  • 9-12: 4F/H6ab. Waves can superpose on one another, bend around corners, reflect off surfaces, be absorbed by materials they enter, and change direction when entering a new material. All these effects vary with wavelength.

11. Common Themes

11B. Models
  • 6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
  • 6-8: 11B/M4. Simulations are often useful in modeling events and processes.
  • 9-12: 11B/H1a. A mathematical model uses rules and relationships to describe and predict objects and events in the real world.

Common Core State Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6—12

Key Ideas and Details (6-12)
  • RST.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
Craft and Structure (6-12)
  • RST.9-10.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (6-12)
  • RST.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity (6-12)
  • RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11—CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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Record Link
AIP Format
(WNET, New York, 1999), WWW Document, (https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html).
AJP/PRST-PER
Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis (WNET, New York, 1999), <https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html>.
APA Format
Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis. (2008, March 19). Retrieved December 1, 2023, from WNET: https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html
Chicago Format
WNET. Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis. New York: WNET, March 19, 2008. https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html (accessed 1 December 2023).
MLA Format
Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis. New York: WNET, 1999. 19 Mar. 2008. 1 Dec. 2023 <https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Title = {Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis}, Publisher = {WNET}, Volume = {2023}, Number = {1 December 2023}, Month = {March 19, 2008}, Year = {1999} }
Refer Export Format

%T Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis %D March 19, 2008 %I WNET %C New York %U https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D March 19, 2008 %T Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis %I WNET %V 2023 %N 1 December 2023 %8 March 19, 2008 %9 text/html %U https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/savageearth/tsunami/index.html


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