Ten things you didn't know about tsunamis.

Some notes:

2/3 world - sea

26th December 2004 , earthquake NW of Sumatra, waves 3 miles inland

40 hours, 225,000 lives, 11 countries

Can happen after a landslide or underwater earthquake

cracks ocean floor, one side of fault is pushed up, displacing water, 

waves are hundreds of miles long at sea, nearer the shore they get steeper (taller)

drawback - water receding from the shore

catastrophic geological happening. 

earthquake was different, sheer cliff was thrust out of the sea bed. 

proof that it was formed recently, saw toothed edge.

second cliff - enormous - 'megathrust' - magnitude 9

cliff hundreds of miles long

tectonic plates, pushing for hundreds of years, pressure, breaking point

fault ruptured, cliff made was 40 feet tall, 450 miles long

500mph tsunami wave

created spectacle, lost temples, visible.

lost 6 below waves (pagodas)

sea retreated 1/2 kilometer in India for several minutes

Chixculub - 65 million years ago, meteor size of San Fransisco

struck earth, wiped out dinosaurs

struck water - gulf of Mexico. Crater 122 miles across

meteor 6 miles wide

700 miles/min fireball

vaporised water, blew hole in ocean. sea rushed into crater, sent out wave as deep as the ocean was

chain of waves, 100 miles inland

largest tsunami ever?

volcano - erupted for days, 25 miles into atmosphere

collapsed.

sea rushed into magma mass, debris fell into the sea, causing tsunami

60 feet into air, dragged back out to sea

Hawaii & Japan - tsunami capitals of the world

Pacific ocean most frequent. 4/5 happen there

Britain - first tabloid coverage was 400 years ago

3 in recorded history

Jan 1607, Bristol, fault line Ireland. at dawn

caused by God - retribution

WW2 tsunami bomb, Australian, Thomas Leech

4000 experiments, all failed

2000 tons of explosives - Tokyo bay - similar

Scientists cancelled any further experimenting

Project Seal

Moses - tsunami. Exodus. 3500 yrs ago

600 chariots, God parted the red sea

drowned men

shallow marsh? coast? volcanic eruption displaced body of water

sucked water in as it filled the void

drawback

water returning, drowned the Pharaohs army.

effects of nature unbelievable

Ten things you didn’t know about. 1/3 (2008) Ten things you didn’t know about tsunamis. London, BBC4, January 13, [DVD]

Jason de Caires Taylor

Hombre en Llamas (Man on Fire)

Depth 9m, Cancun / Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

La promesa (The promise)

Depth 6m Cancun / Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

La Jardinera del la Esperanza (The Garden of Hope)

Depth 4m, Punta Nizuc, Mexico.

I want to be in the sea, be the sea, be a rock in the sea.

Available at: http://www.underwatersculpture.com/index.asp [Accessed 29 September 2011]

Anish Kapoor

Why shooting into a corner? Why red wax? Why wax at all? 

This all seems so hopelessly pointless, that I cant help but like it more. Shooting into a corner is futile, the only purpose to create. Every action is a vehicle for the Artists idea, which makes it all the more special in my eyes. The cannon is operated by unknown characters, following an instruction.

Available at: http://www.anishkapoor.com/ [Accessed 16th September 2011]

JMW Turner

The Shipwreck of Minotaur, 1810.

Classic depiction of light in 19thC painting.

Available at: http://www.theslurredword.com/web/img/Web/jmw_turner/selectedworks.html [Accessed 7th September 2011]

I'm too sad to tell you.

 

Bas Jan Ader, 1971.

No words can describe the feeling, only visual representation. Whether this comes from joy, misery or has any meaning at all is something I can only guess at, yet I understand only too clearly.

Bas Jan Ader - In search of the miraculous

The artist who sailed to oblivion

Sailing on the sea, at the hands of God, fate or the hope of a miracle is a chance I wish I was bold enough to take. The sea is terrifying, a power so great it drawfs the land we live on.

Walter De Maria

The Lightning Field, 1977.

The Lightning Field. 1977.

The Lightning Field attracts power. There are several facts Walter De Maria states in an anthology: (The Sublime, Simon Morley, Whitechapel) height of the rods, spacing, every rod is a certain height to retain a uniform level despite the undulating ground. Fact prevails and nature takes over the 'Art' side of things.

Available at: http://www.diaart.org/sites/main/lightningfield [Accessed 7th September 2011]