Most people know that tsunami is a Japanese word now widely used in English. Back in August 1957, when 快猫短视频 reported that , few people had come across the term. We explained that because such waves are not caused by tides, oceanographers had decided to adopt the Japanese term, one that literally means 鈥渉arbour wave鈥� 鈥� because the waves can be devastating to boats in a harbour but not those out at sea. The waves 鈥渃an pass unnoticed in deep water but pile up on reaching the shore鈥�, we added.
Waves were still of interest in August 1965 鈥� or at least a way of reducing their effects was. The 300-metre long breakwater that had recently been built at Baie Comeau in Quebec, Canada (5 August 1965, p 335) was built to be porous to prolong the life of the barrier. Designers studied the structure to discover 鈥渢he best size of hole and the number required鈥�. The breakwater had an additional benefit: waves didn鈥檛 bounce back immediately after striking the barrier, meaning that boats attempting to dock alongside did not get washed away from the wall.
The battle between land and sea was on our minds again in 1980, when we pointed out a : 鈥渋f the solid Earth were perfectly smooth, with no valleys or mountains, an ocean 2500 metres deep would cover the globe completely鈥�. Fortunately, the geology of our planet keeps throwing up mountains and carving out ocean trenches, or we鈥檇 all be living in boats nowhere near any harbour.
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