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Researchers Predict Japan Tsunami Debris To Hit Hawaiʻi Shores Twice

Posted on | April 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

tsunami debris map

The huge tsunami triggered by the 9.0 Tohoku Earthquake destroyed coastal towns near Sendai in Japan, washing such things as houses and cars into the ocean. Mānoa International Pacific Research Center Senior Researcher Nikolai Maximenko and Science Computer Programmer Jan Hafner have made projections of where this debris might head.

The researchers predict that the debris will first spread out eastward from the Japan Coast in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. In a year, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument will see pieces washing up on its shores; in two years, the remaining Hawaiian islands will see some effects; in three years, the plume will reach the U.S. West Coast, dumping debris on Californian beaches and the beaches of British Columbia, Alaska, and Baja California. The debris will then drift into the famous North Pacific Garbage Patch, where it will wander around and break into smaller pieces. In five years, Hawaiʻi shores can expect to see another barrage of debris that is stronger and longer-lasting than the first one. Much of the debris leaving the North Pacific Garbage Patch ends up on Hawaiʻi’s reefs and beaches.

See the animated computer simulation.

tsunami debris map

Even before the tsunami, the world ocean was a dump for rubbish flowing in from rivers, washed off beaches and jettisoned from oil and gas platforms and from fishing, tourist and merchant vessels. Marine debris has become a serious problem for marine ecosystems, fisheries and shipping. The massive, concentrated debris launched by the devastating tsunami is now magnifying the hazards.

These model projections will help to guide clean-up and tracking operations. Tracking will be important in determining what happens to different materials in the tsunami debris, for example, how the composition of the debris plume changes with time, and how the winds and currents separate objects drifting at different speeds.

Read the news release.

Category: Research
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Comments

2 Responses to “Researchers Predict Japan Tsunami Debris To Hit Hawaiʻi Shores Twice”

  1. Keith Fong
    April 11th, 2011 @ 11:44 am

    Will any of the debris from Japan be radioactive/hazardous?

  2. Luwella K Leonardi
    May 19th, 2011 @ 10:03 pm

    Aloha Keith Fong,

    Mahalo for sharing your information and model projections. I am concern too about our shores and our children. Fishermen see different things happening in the near shoreline.

    We are all concern over the debris and its plausible harm to our chidlren.

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