Mexican quake made small sea ripples.Mexican quake made small sea ripples On land, the effects of the double earthquake that jolted Mexico last September were devasting (SN: 9/28/85, p. 196). But at sea, the earthquake's effects were relatively mild. According to a report in the December Tsunami tsunami (ts  nä`mē), series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides beneath the ocean, or an asteroid striking the earth. Newsletter by George Pararas-Carayannis, director of the International Tsunami Information Center in Honolulu, the tsunamis that rolled across the Pacific after the quake were small. For example, Ecuador reported some of the tallest waves, which were only 60 centimeters high. Along the Mexican coast, from Manzanillo Manzanillo, city, CubaManzanillo (mänsänē`yō), city (1994 est. pop. 98,000), Granma prov., SE Cuba, a port on the Guacanayabo Gulf of the Caribbean Sea. to Acapulco Acapulco (äk'əpl`kō), city (1990 pop. 515,374), Guerrero state, S Mexico. A fashionable resort since the 1920s, it is known for its lavish hotels, deep-sea fishing, and skin diving., scientists estimate that the tsunami ranged from 1 to 3 meters tall. The September earthquake occurred because the Cocos COCOS - Corona Oxide Characterization Of Semiconductors plate is subducting, or plunging, beneath the North American plate. Pararas-Carayannis attributes the relatively small size of the tsunamis to the shallow angle of this subduction and the small vertical motion of the crust during the earthquake. |
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