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The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga on Saturday that caused tsunami waves of up to around 1 meter to hit parts of Japan’s coast stumped weather experts, as volcanic eruptions are said to rarely cause a rise in tide levels.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, an underwater volcano located about 8,000 kilometers from Japan, erupted around 1:10 p.m. Saturday Japan time, resulting in a plume of smoke reaching a height of 16,000 meters and blanketing the area in a thick film of volcanic dust, according to satellite imagery.
Japan’s weather agency released information at 7:03 p.m. saying slight changes in sea levels were expected but initially denied there was cause for alarm.
But it changed its tune and decided to issue a tsunami warning and advisory after tide levels continued to rise along Japan’s Pacific coast from around 8 p.m.
The tidal changes, which came two and a half hours earlier than expected, did not match the characteristics of a tsunami, the agency said, adding at a press conference later that it “did not know the mechanism.”
Tsunami caused by earthquakes occur when the violent movement of tectonic plates that contain the seafloor creates massive displacement in a body of water.
When a tsunami is generated in distant waters, it passes through several observation points before reaching Japan, enabling its size and arrival time to be estimated.
I put FRUIT in the Woods…What eats it??
Japan Trail Cam – Jan 15
Putting a whole Pizza in front of a trail cam, or putting a Peanut butter covered watermelon melon out in the woods is not responsible and not a good idea. It harms the animals and just not a good idea.
Intestinal bacteria could be behind Japan’s low COVID deaths, study says
Japan Times – Jan 14
The abundance of a specific intestinal bacteria known to suppresses the binding of the coronavirus to human cell receptors is likely to play a role in the low COVID-19 mortality rates seen in Asia and Northern Europe, according to a study led by a team of researchers at Nagoya University.
Twin pandas born in Tokyo zoo make public debut
Nikkei – Jan 12
The twin giant pandas born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens last year made their public debut Wednesday, but will be on view for only three days and to a limited number of visitors amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
Study: Omicron cases double in less than 2 days
NHK – Jan 08
Researchers in Japan estimate that numbers of coronavirus infections in Okinawa, Tokyo and Osaka prefectures are doubling in less than two days amid the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Japan billionaire grateful for Earth after space trip
Reuters – Jan 08
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, newly returned to Japan after a 12-day journey into space in December, said being launched into the cosmos was less scary than riding a rollercoaster and made him obsessed with Earth.
Keeping self-driving cars safe from hackers
NHK – Jan 05
Cars of the future will be heavily dependent on the internet for navigation and other basic operations. But that will also make them vulnerable to hacking attacks capable of causing serious damage.
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