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Introduction

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Tsunami
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Abstract

A tsunami is a wave, or series of waves in a wave train, generated by the sudden, vertical displacement of a column of water. This displacement can be due to seismic activity, explosive volcanism, a landslide above or below water, an asteroid impact, or certain meteorological phenomena. These waves can be generated in oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, or reservoirs. The term tsunami is Japanese and means harbor (tsu) wave (nami), because such waves often develop as resonant phenomena in harbors after offshore earthquakes. Scenarios are presented illustrating the causes of tsunami. As well, the world distribution of events and resulting death tolls historically are summarized.

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Bryant, E. (2014). Introduction. In: Tsunami. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06133-7_1

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