Lit Review - Ryan

Project Title: An investigation of the most cost effective and useful tsunami blockade

Hypothesis: A concave wave barrier will dampen the wave the most.

  Tsunamis are natural disasters that we cannot prevent, and cost a high sum to clean up. It is a devastating force of nature, and the only way we can prevent other innocent people from getting killed, or loosing their homes, is to create barriers to dampen the effect of the incoming wave.

  The main reasons for tsunamis are tectonic shifts on the seabed, or ruptures in the earth’s crust. These geological phenomenon will either suck the sea into the rupture, or propel the water upwards; both causing a tsunami.

  The tsunami is dangerous, as satellite imaging cannot detect the wave when it is moving towards the shore. It is only visible when the bottom of the wave drags along the coast, or beach, which will slow the bottom part of the wave down. This will create the massive wave.

  Tsunamis have been used as weapons before. Some nations have created special division to exploit tsunamis as a weapon, like attach bombs to the waves, or a propulsion system for warships. However, all these attempts have failed miserably.

  Animals have developed a way to escape the tsunami, according to Slate news. Humans can learn from these animals to reduce casualties and escape the wave, as animals can sense the tsunami approaching. Multiple reports of dogs, cats, and birds acting agitated can be a indicator that the destructive wave is coming.

Discovery. (n.a.) What makes tsunamis so dangerous? Retrieved on 8 July 2013, from http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-makes-tsunamis-so-dangerous

Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 736. Entry: "tsunami"

Lit Review - Ming Chuan

Hypothesis
The shape, material, and size of the wave breaker affect the effectiveness of the wave breaker against tsunamis.

Introduction
Tsunamis have been one of the major problems all along. Many ideas have been suggested to protect citizens against tsunamis. However, this topic has not been explored deeply, meaning the problem of tsunamis still plague the world.


Interaction of powerful electromagnetic waves with plasma accompanied by wave breaking phenomena and fast electron generation attracts considerable attention at present as a possible way of strong electric field production and further ion acceleration. In the present paper we describe results of model experiment in which propagation and absorption of strong electrostatic wave pulse in inhomogeneous magnetized plasma is studied and substantial electron acceleration effect is observed under conditions, when the wave breaking should occur according to estimations. The termination of these effects due to reflection from the ionization front caused by intensive wave is as well studied.

As you can see, we already have many ways to solve this problem, just that we need to confirm it with further testing before implementation. We are here to help with that.

Bibliography

Sarpkaya Turgut; Isaacson Michael (1981). Mechanics of wave forces on offshore structures. Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 277. 

V.I Arkhipenko, E.Z Gusakov, V.A.Pisarev, L.V.Simonchik, institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics NASB, Minsk, Belarus Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia - "Dynamics of the Plasma Wave Breaking Phenomen" (17-21 June 2002)

Lit. Review (Ben and Michael's)

Literature Review

Tsunamis are natural disasters which can cause massive destruction. They are very fast and very large series of waves created when a large volume of water is shifted. The only way this can normally happen is a when a major earthquake, underwater landslide, or an equally high energy event occurs.They range from just a few inches to over 30 metres.

Where does the name tsunami come from?

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means “harbour wave” in English. In the past, tsunamis were also called “tidal waves” and “seismic sea waves”, but these terms were proved to be misleading.

What makes tsunamis so deadly?

The energy creating the tsunami travels under the water unlike normal waves which travel above the water. This makes tsunamis hard to detect as they make little appearance above the water. The tsunami will only start appearing when it is closer to the shore, where the water is shallower. This gives the people at the shoreline little time to react to the impending tsunami.  

How are tsunamis formed?

A tsunami can be generated by large disturbance in the ocean that moves and displaces large water mass. Some examples of these disturbances are volcanos, meteorites, explosions, and the most common, earthquakes. The earthquake must be at least a 6.75 magnitude on the Richter scale to cause a tsunami. In the case of earthquake-generated tsunamis, the water column is disturbed by the uplift of the sea floor. The water column will then travel in a ripple formation around the epicentre of the earthquake. The column will travel until it reaches a shoreline or it loses its energy. When the tsunami approaches a coastline, the column will grow in height, as the water get shallower.

Where do Tsunami often occur

Almost 80% of the world's tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis occur most often along countries which border the Pacific "Rim of Fire", or "Ring of Fire'. One end of this region of high seismic and volcanic activity begins at New Zealand, heading northwest to Indonesia (completely bypassing Australia) and then west to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, northeast along the Asian coastline, east to North America and then south along the western North American coastline.

What is a “Ring of Fire”?

A “Ring of Fire” is a roughly horse-shoe shaped, the Ring of Fire extends about 40,000km long. It  is located along the Pacific Rim, surrounding the Pacific Ocean. It runs from the tip of South America, up the coast of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, through Central America and the west coast of Mexico, the United States and Canada. It extends to the southern coast of Alaska and along the Aleutian Islands, going on to Japan and the Philippines, ending in New Zealand. Indonesia is also part of the Ring of Fire, although some of its islands, such as Sumatra, are located in the Indian Ocean rather than the Pacific.

How do we predict a tsunami?

As tsunamis often occur due to underwater earthquakes, you can predict a tsunami when a earthquake strikes. Also, if the water is receding quickly and unexpectedly from a beach, also known as a drawback, there may a tsunami coming.



Bibliography

 [1] University of Washington Earth Space and Sciences, ESS (2013) Tsunami! Retrieved on 7 July 2013, from http://earthweb.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/general/physics/meaning.html

 [2] Oracle ThinkQuest. (2011) How are Tsunamis formed. Retrieved  7 July 2013, from http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01424/how_are_tsunamis_formed.htm

 [3] Curiosity, Discovery. (2011) What makes tsunamis so dangerous? Retrieved on 7 July 2013, from http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/what-makes-tsunamis-so-dangerous

 [4] National Geographic (2012) Tsunami, Killer Waves. Retrieved on 7 July 2013, from
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tsunami-profile/

 [5] Squidoo (2013) The Ring of Fire: Volcanoes and Earthquake, Oh My! Retrieved on 7 July 2013, from http://www.squidoo.com/the-ring-of-fire-volcanoes-and-earthquakes-and-tsunamis-oh-my#module156015629

 [6] Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology (2013) Tsunami facts and information.Retrived on 7 July 2013, from http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/info/

 [7] Enchanted Learning (2010) Tsunami. Retrieved on 7 July 2013, from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/tsunami/

3: An investigation on the effects of different PH levels on the growth of fish

An investigation on the effects of pesticides on earthworms

3 Possible Titles

1. An investigation on the effects of pesticides on earthworms


2. An investigation of the most cost effective and useful tsunami blockade


3: An investigation on the effects of different PH levels on the growth of fish

What is a Scientific Method?

Scientific method is a type of technique or method for the investigation of many different queries or to solve a problem. It can be perceived as a list of steps to follow in order to investigate different questions.