Asian tsunami caused by meteorite?

Generally, tsunamis are caused by seismic distubances resulting in sudden up or down movement of the earth's crust at the ocean floor and causing displacement of the water column above. This displacement propogates outward in all directions as a giant wave. The epicenter of the earthquake causing the recent asian tsumani is well known and available on the web (second site listed below).

The web sites below should provide you with plenty of information.

www.tsunami.org

http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/tsunamis/2005/index.html

mirco:

Raymon is, of course, a former (?) geologist.  And given my own knowledge of geology (from a mother who is among the top structural geologists in the world), I have to concur; his explanation of what causes a tsunami is spot-on.

True, tsunamis can be caused by a large enough object striking the water from above.  However, there were no reports of meteorites either the day before or that day.  Indeed, in order to create a tsunami of that size, a meteorite would have to be absolutely enormous - certainly large enough to have been spotted by both radar and eyewitnesses, even over the ocean.  By the way, it is estimated that 95% of the mass of a meteor disintegrates in the upper atmosphere, and thus only 5% of its original mass makes it to earth as a meteorite.  Given this, in order to trigger a tsunami that large, a meteorite would have had to have been as large as any that have ever fallen to earth, one of the largest of which left a crater over a mile wide.  Yet meteorites of that size are extraordinarily rare.

Peace.

I was formely a geologist, but I have no particular expertise in structural geology or seismology. I simply took some undergraduate and graduate courses in those areas.

My specialty was recreating the three-dimensional depositional environments of ancient (mostly Paleozoic) limestone formations to formulate paleogeographic models of the environments at that time in geologic history. Present day analogies to those environments would be places such as the great barrier reef, the bahamas, the Florida keys, etc. I know, I digress into very esoteric stuff. I found it interesting though.

The information you appear to need is relatively basic. The earthquake that generated the 12/26/04 tsunami was widely recorded by seismographs all over the world. I would recommend that you simply compile a list documenting all or many of the locations where the earthquake was detected and many of the research centers that located the epicenter of the earthquake off of Sumatra. If I remember correctly, it takes seismographs in three locations to pinpoint the epicenter. In any event, it is my understanding that this earthquake is well accepted scientifically as the cause of the tsunami and you should be able to compile a large list of researchers and research centers that have come to this conclusion. Including the USGS and the Univ of S. California tsunami research center. The sites I listed above and the links, or a google search for tsunami, will lead you to many very scientific considerations.

I have not gone back to any of these sites since late December, but I looked at some at that time. I think the USGS (United States Geological Survey) sites related to the tsunami were very good. Plenty of technical information, perhaps more than you need. I do not believe you will come across anything that reflects a scientific consensus other than that the tsunami was caused by the earthquake having its epicenter off of Sumatra on 12/26/04. You might even try contacting some of these centers where they offer email contact. They may be able to send you pdf files of seismic recordings that pinpointed the center or point you to on-line publications that give you what you need and save you from looking around and compiling lists.

There is no scientific data that I am aware of that supports a meteorite theory as the cause.

Good luck!

maani wrote: It's a little more complicated than I am explaining it.  However, suffice it to say that anyone who thinks they can use the Bible Code to predict events is barking up the wrong tree.

Yeah, either that, or simply basking in undeserved attention, while cynically bilking the credulous masses out of their hard-earned money....

Mirco: If a meteorite was heading for collision with Earth , do you not think we (NASA or ESA or the Russians) would've seen it? And possibly shot it to pieces before it got in our athmosphere?

Now for the debate: I wish there was no sacred texts that could be (mis) used, interpreted and obeyed at all. Organized religions are evil (no attack, Maani or anybody that has religious beliefs) and designed to control one's behaviour by using his fears for the unknown and irrational into laws or guidelines to fit the sacred text's writers. And the worst part is that those texts (they are originally intended to be good) used to prophecy disaster (Apocalypse, Sodom and Gommorrha) "if you keep your sinful ways" make me want to throw up.

peace

Hugues

maani wrote: mirco: Not only am I very nmuych aware of the so-called "Bible Code," but I also took a course in it with one of its "founders."  According to him, the Bible Code cannot be used to predict; only to see if something was predicted.  That is, once an event has occurred, the Bible Code has proven to be amazing at finding numerous things relative to that event within a very small section of text.  For example, supposing that the events of 9/11 were "predicted" (and I am not saying that they were), one might find the words "airplane," "building," "crash," "North America," "Islam" and other associated words within a very small area of text. However, according to this guy, the Bible Code cannot be used to predict events because one would need to know many, many things about such an event.  For example, simply putting "earthquake" or "tsunami" will not help.  One would have needed to put in "Indian Ocean" "earthquake," "tsunami" and at least a handful of other parameters.  Thus, unless already knows the parameters of an event, the Bible Code is useless for predicting it.  And, of course, if one does know the parameters, the Bible Code is unnecessary.  After all, if someone had already had the parameters "building," "plane," crash," "Islam," "North America," etc., one would not have needed the Bible Code, would one? It's a little more complicated than I am explaining it.  However, suffice it to say that anyone who thinks they can use the Bible Code to predict events is barking up the wrong tree. Peace.

Holy crap!!!

Maani-please tell me you dont subscribe to this Bible Code Mystic Mumbo-Jumbo??

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Reed:

As stated, I certainly do not believe that the Bible Code can be used to predict events.  However, there is no question in my mind that such a code exists.  I don't know if there are any Jewish centers anywhere near you, but if there is, go in and ask them if they have any "Discovery" course: that is the course that teaches about the Bible Code.

If not, I'm not sure what to tell you.  I went into the course extremely skeptical, despite my strong "religious" belief.  Yet after a fairly exhausting and comprehensive 7-hour course, I left an absolute believer that the Code itself exists.  It is simply too "perfect" to be anything else.

Sean:

Although it is true that the majority of mainstream, heirarchical, "organized" religion can be, and often is, "controlling" of its flocks, and that, historically, most organized religion has been used to "control one's behaviour by using...fears [of] the unknown and irrational," it is both unfair and incorrect to "broad-brush" this belief onto all faith-based belief and practice.  You make it sound as though no faith-based person has a mind of their own, or can think for themselves, or, indeed, can even be both faith-based and "rationalist" about many things.  If so, you would be very wrong.

As for "fear of an afterlife," you actually have this backward.  We are not "afraid" of the afterlife; if anything, we are "afraid" of this life, with its wars, hatred, poverty, arrogance, strife, pain, disease, etc.  In thisregard, we welcome, not fear, the afterlife.

Peace.