A new way to detect tsunamis earlier?

For centuries, tsunamis have been one of the most feared natural disasters. It is indeed difficult to protect yourself when the ocean starts to rage towards the coast. The best we can do is try to spot the signs leading up to the disaster in good time. Against this background, scientists have discovered a signal that could be detected long before sea level rises, and it is the magnetic fields created by giant waves.

Scientists have previously predicted that a disturbance of the magnetic field could be a useful factor in tsunami warning systems. However, this disturbance has never been measured together with a rise in sea level during actual tsunamis. According to geophysicist Zhiheng Lin of Kyoto University in Japan, previous studies had no observational data of the change in ocean level. But in terms of their new study, they were able to get that data, and they found that the observations of those levels matched with the magnetic field data and with the theoretical simulation.

Detecting magnetic fields could save a minute or two during a tsunami, but it could make all the difference when it comes to saving lives.

What Magnetic Field Measurements Showed

During their work, scientists observed and collected data from two real tsunamis. It was a tsunami in Samoa in 2009 and another in Chile in 2010.

According to the information, the measured figures confirmed that the magnetic field generated by the conductive waves arrived before the waves themselves. This field can also be used to predict the height of the wave.

Scientists explain that the detection time of magnetic fields depends on the depth of the water. Thus, for a sea having a depth of 4800 m, the detection time before the arrival of the wave is about one minute. Height changes of just a few centimeters can also be detected.

According to Neesha Schnepf, a geomagnetism researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who was not involved in the study, explained, the practical goal of this discovery would be to be able to get better predictions about which areas should be alerted. There is also information on the severity of the phenomenon in certain places.

Current limits

Even though this is an important discovery, this prediction technique still has some limitations. First of all, there aren’t many observing stations that can record this kind of magnetic field data. In addition, the measurements only work on the high seas where there is little environmental background noise.

The team behind the study says being able to collect more data using more sophisticated stations is needed when considering the devastation left by tsunamis. Let’s hope that this new technique can be exploited in the most optimal way in order to protect as many people as possible against the destruction caused by the giant waves.

SOURCE: Sciencealert