[Bikers4Bush]

I'm reading it, but I still don't believe it.

Based on the "few hours" thing the wave would have to be traveling an average of 400 mph to get to the U.S. coast that fast. If a hurricane can't sustain more than 200 mph winds for too long then how could a wave which would be meeting greater resistance sustain 400+mph?

[BushMeister]

Remember, a tsunami isn't like a normal wave. It's more like a shockwave that is transfered through the water. The water doesn't actually move forward (or rise much) until the shallows are reached. Tsunamis can indeed travel at 400+ MPH.

As to the comparison with the recent huge chunk of ice that broke off from Antarctica: the chunk of ice merely split off from the mainland. It did not plunge from a great height and disturb the volume of the ocean, or create a massive shockwave in the ocean.

[Junior]

According to the Discovery Channel, the wave would move at 720 kph (~450 MPH).

[FastCoyote]

Water doesn't travel at 400 mph in a wave, only the wave travels that fast. Water is nearly incompressible, so yes the wave can move damn fast. I'd have to look at my fluid dynamics books to see what determines their speed.

[ArGee]

Based on the "few hours" thing the wave would have to be traveling an average of 400 mph to get to the U.S. coast that fast. If a hurricane can't sustain more than 200 mph winds for too long then how could a wave which would be meeting greater resistance sustain 400+mph?

Hurricans are travelling matter. Waves are travelling energy. Water doesn't actually move (much) when a wave travells through water. The water is the medium. So there is no physical resistance problem until the ocean begins to get shallow. That causes the matter of the water to interfere with the motion of the wave. The wave builds up as it slows down and eventually topples over itself, creating a breaker. Even though the wave is slowed at this point, it still contains most of its energy.

Shalom.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I seem to remember a program about tidal waves, and the speed at which they travel. In this particular program, an earthquake on the west coast caused a tidal wave just a few hours later in Hawaii. Anyone else remember this?