January 5, 2005

The Tsunami Reaches Brazil

The fact that an earthquake in the middle of the Pacific could have an effect on the Atlantic coast of Brazil is simply amazing to me

CNEWS - Science: Scientists Register Tsunami Effects on Brazil Coast

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - The effect of the tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia was noted as far away as Brazil, some 15,500 kilometers (10,000 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake that generated the massive wave, scientists said.

Monitoring devices on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state detected an abnormal rise in the tides on Dec. 26, the day of the natural disaster, oceanographer Rogerio Neder Candella said Tuesday.

Candella, of the Admiral Paulo Moreira Institute for Ocean Studies, attributed the abnormal rise to the tsunami.

"We saw oscillations in the sea level that resembled tides but with shorter intervals," Candella said. "On the beach it would be hard to have noticed it. There was not at any moment any danger to the population or to property."

The irregular tide was also noticed by the navy's Oceanographic Information Center, which said tides rose about 30 centimeters (12 inches) higher than usual at odd intervals.

"We haven't seen a disturbance like this since we began monitoring ocean levels," navy Commander Marcelo Cavalcante told the O Globo newspaper. "We now know there was fallout from the tsunamis even on the Brazilian coast."

Scientists linked the irregular tides - detected between 9 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Dec. 26 and 11 a.m. (1300 GMT) on Dec. 27 - with the tsunami, by calculating the waves were traveling at a speed of 708 kph (440 mph).

Posted by Andrew on January 5, 2005 4:27 PM.