Difference Between Tsunami and Hurricane

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Today I will talk about What is a hurricane and what is a tsunami, and what is the difference?

A tsunami is a giant ocean wave with a wavelength of hundreds of kilometers, which is triggered by submarine earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and underwater landslides and collapses.

Its manifestation in the coastal area is that the seawater suddenly rises, forming a "water wall", accompanied by loud rumblings, instantly invading the coastal land, engulfing fertile fields and towns and villages, and then the seawater suddenly recedes, or first retreats and then rises, sometimes repeatedly Many times, causing huge loss of life and property.

Local tsunami before the arrival of the tsunami wave: It is often accompanied by a strong earthquake or earthquake disaster. my country is also a country with many storm surge disasters.

In all dynasties, storm surges and tidal anomalies manifested by earthquakes and tsunamis have been mixed as tsunamis, sea overflows, or large tides.

difference-between-tsunami-and-hurricane

What is a Tsunami?

A tsunami is a destructive and catastrophic wave. The turbulent waves caused by this wave movement are surging and surging. The waves it rolls up can reach a height of tens of meters. This kind of water wall” contains great energy, and after rushing to the land, it is swept away, often seriously destroying life and causing huge property damage.

A tsunami is usually caused by an undersea earthquake with an epicenter within 50 kilometers of the ocean floor and a magnitude above 6.5 on the Richter Scale. Tsunamis can also be triggered by underwater or coastal landslides or volcanic eruptions.

After a single shake, the shock wave can travel outward in an ever-expanding circle at the surface of the ocean, traveling great distances, just as a pebble falling into a shallow pool creates a wave.

Tsunami wavelengths are longer than the ocean's maximum depth, and orbital motion is not much hindered near the ocean floor, allowing waves to travel regardless of ocean depth.

Shortly after the violent shaking, huge waves roared, crossed the coastline and the fields with a destructive force, and swiftly attacked the cities and villages on the shore, and instantly people disappeared in the huge waves.

Afterward, the beach was a mess, with broken wood and broken boards and dead bodies of people and animals everywhere. Earthquakes and tsunamis have brought huge disasters to human beings.

What is a Hurricane?

A tropical cyclone is a severe storm that occurs over tropical oceans. Different countries have different names for tropical cyclones. They are called typhoons in China and East Asia, hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, tropical storms in the Indian Ocean, and "Willie" winds in Australia.

The World Meteorological Organization's definition and classification standard for tropical cyclones are that tropical cyclones are classified into four categories according to the maximum average wind force near the center of the tropical cyclone:

wind force <8 is a tropical depression;
wind force 8-9 is a tropical storm;
Severe tropical storm;
typhoon or hurricane

What is the difference between a tsunami and a hurricane?

Let's look at the following decomposition:

A tsunami is a giant ocean wave with a wavelength of hundreds of kilometers, which is triggered by submarine earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and underwater landslides and collapses.

Its manifestation in the coastal area is that the seawater suddenly rises, forming a "water wall", accompanied by loud rumblings, instantly invading the coastal land, engulfing fertile fields and towns and villages, and then the seawater suddenly recedes, or first retreats and then rises, sometimes repeatedly Many times, causing huge loss of life and property.

Local tsunami before the arrival of the tsunami wave: It is often accompanied by a strong earthquake or earthquake disaster. my country is also a country with many storm surge disasters. In all dynasties, storm surges and tidal anomalies manifested by earthquakes and tsunamis have been mixed as tsunamis, sea overflows, or large tides.

A hurricane is a "mighty" little guy. Hurricanes often land in coastal areas, and they are often accompanied by violent storms, thunder, and lightning.

There are six levels of hurricanes, generally reaching the level of severe tropical storms (levels 9 to 11), and the destructive power is obvious.

Hurricanes often destroy walls, buildings, trees, and other objects, not to mention people. We all know that earthquakes can cause tsunamis, and that's a shame.

Learn more about the tsunami and hurricanes

Watching TV shows that hurricanes are very harmful, and I think of the tsunami. I am deeply sympathetic, so I want to learn about this knowledge.

In tropical oceans, the sea surface is exposed to direct sunlight, which increases the temperature of the seawater, and the seawater easily evaporates into water vapor and spreads in the air. Therefore, the air in tropical oceans has high temperatures and high humidity.

This air expands due to high temperature, resulting in a decrease in density. The small mass is reduced, and the wind near the equator is weak, so it is easy to rise, and convection occurs.

At the same time, the cooler air around it flows in to supplement it and then rises again. In this continuous cycle, the entire air column will eventually have a higher temperature and a heavier weight. Lighter, less dense air, creates what's called a tropical depression.

In tropical oceans, the sea surface is exposed to direct sunlight, which increases the temperature of the seawater, and the seawater easily evaporates into water vapor and spreads in the air.

Therefore, the air in tropical oceans has high temperatures and high humidity. This air expands due to high temperature, resulting in a decrease in density. The small mass is reduced, and the wind near the equator is weak, so it is easy to rise, and convection occurs.

However, the flow of air is from high pressure to low pressure, just like water flows from high to low, the air in the surrounding area with higher pressure must flow to the lower pressure, thus forming "wind".

In summer, because the direct sunlight area moves from the equator to the north, the southeast trade wind in the southern hemisphere crosses the equator and turns into a southwest monsoon invading the northern hemisphere.

The southwest monsoon and the northeast trade wind have different directions and often cause fluctuations and eddies when they meet.

The convergence caused by the encounter of the southwest monsoon and the northeast trade wind continues with the original convection, and the vortex that has been formed into a low pressure continues to deepen, that is, the surrounding air flows faster to the center of the vortex, and the faster the inflow is. , the greater the wind speed; when the maximum wind speed near the ground reaches or exceeds 17. At 2 meters, we call it a "hurricane".

That is to say: a large amount of airflow rises, the cyclone is generated due to the deflection force of the earth, and the atmospheric flow moves toward the vortex-like flow.

A large scale is a hurricane, and a small scale is a tornado. Note that hurricanes are not necessarily only in summer. As long as they are generated, they are called hurricane Pengpeng.

There are two main conditions for the formation of hurricanes:

one is relatively high ocean temperature;
the other is abundant water vapor.

In the sea area with high temperatures, there happened to be some disturbances in the atmosphere, and a large amount of air began to rise, which reduced the ground pressure. Make the incoming air spin like a wheel.

When the rising air expands and becomes cold, and the water vapor in it cools and condenses into water droplets, it releases heat, which in turn encourages the continuous rise of the lower air, making the ground pressure drop even lower, and the air rotates more violently, which forms a hurricane.

hurricanes are only generated in tropical oceans. There, the sea surface temperature is very high, so the lower air can fully accept the water source from the sea surface.

There is the most abundant water vapor on earth, and these water vapors are the main driving force behind the formation and development of hurricanes.

Without this driving force, a typhoon will dissipate even if it has formed. Secondly, there is a certain distance from the equator, and the deflection force generated by the earth's rotation has a certain effect, which is conducive to the development of cyclonic circulation and the strengthening of airflow convergence in typhoons.

Third, the tropical sea surface conditions are simpler than those at the mid-latitudes. Therefore, the air above the same sea area can often maintain steady conditions for a long time, so that typhoons have sufficient time to accumulate energy and brew typhoons.

Under these conditions, hurricanes will form and intensify in certain tropical seas as long as there is a suitable trigger mechanism, such as divergent airflow at high altitudes or trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres meeting slightly north of the equator.

According to statistics, in tropical oceans, typhoons often occur in areas where the ocean surface temperature exceeds 26-27°C.

The oceans that produce hurricanes are mainly the oceans east of the Philippines, the South country Sea, the West Indies, and the east coast of Australia.

The sea temperature is relatively high in these places, and it is also where the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres meet tropical cyclones in different regions that have different names.

Tropical cyclones along the northwestern Pacific coast (such as the southeastern coast of China, South Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines) and the surrounding oceans are called "typhoons", while tropical cyclones along the Atlantic and northeastern Pacific coasts and nearby oceans are called "typhoons". They are called tropical depressions, tropical storms, or hurricanes according to their intensity.