Friday, May 23, 2014

How does a tsunami interact with the geosphere?

Let's start with a working definition of what the geosphere is and what it includes. The geosphere is the portion of Earth that includes the Earth's interior, rocks and minerals, landforms, and the processes that shape the Earth's surface. Depending on which layered model of Earth you are using, the geosphere is going to include layers like the crust, mantle, lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, and core. The geosphere also deals with processes like the rock cycle. Metamorphism, melting and solidification, weathering, erosion, deposition, and burial are all part of the rock cycle and enable the recycling of rocks between sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic states.
The question asks how a tsunami might interact with the geosphere. I see that as meaning that a tsunami can be affected by the geosphere as well as affect the geosphere. First, the geosphere can create the tsunami through plate tectonic movements and the buckling of plates. Once the wave itself is created, it has the potential to reshape land forms. It can level areas of loose soil and sediment. The tsunami continues the natural processes of weathering and erosion. It can create a great deal of runoff, and it can deposit various sediments in locations that wouldn't be possible without the wave's energy.
http://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/geo/geosphere.html

https://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/geosphere

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