At https://phys.org/news/2025-10-tsunamis-gps-satellites.html … tsunami waves have recently come under investigation. I have a book on the subject – which is basically an early example of the genre. Probably one of the first mainstream studies following the Boxing Day tsunami that devastated SE Asia, Sri Lanka and India, along their coastlines, not so long ago. We now have early warning systems for tsunami waves following tectonic events. For example, the earthquake off Kamchatka a year or so ago. It triggered a tsunami wave that travelled across the Pacific. It seems the system uses GPS to detect such waves. However, GPS is compromised on some occasions by ionospheric activity – the appearance of free electrons. Now, it is claimed, scientists may have a way around this anomaly. During a tsunami the ocean surface rises and falls in a single motion causing ripples in the air above it – even as far as the atmosphere. Now, NASA say they have devleoped a system known as GUARDIAN, to order to get an automated response to changes in the ionosphere. This saves time and human effort and will, it is hoped, get a much quicker response than currently achieved. It was used to detect the ripples caused by the Kamchatka earthquake less than 20 minutes after it occurred. This led to a warning issued to populated areas of the Pacific.
At https://phys.org/news/2025-10-typhoon-alaska-villages-storm-recovery.html … the remnants of a typhoon in the Pacific hit landfall in western Alaska and flooded villages – especially those of native peoples. The storm ran up a river delta and its high water mark ran up rivers as far as 60 miles inland. The land in western Alaska is quite flat, allowing the wave to penetrate much more easily. Lots of ocean water was spread over a wide area. However, what struck me was the similarity to the way Alaskan muck deposits were formed, even as recently as the end of the last Ice Age. In those circumstances the muck has piled up as a result of successive waves of water that pushed deep into interior Yukon and Alaska. The muck is basically a mix of watery sediments with mangled and broken trees and a lot of vegeation and branches, a testimony to the power of tsunami waves in the prehistoric past. The Alaska muck was a formidable barrier during the Yukon gold rush in the 19th century. Even nowadays, mining companies have to remove tons of muck in order to get to the river bed beneath. The river beds of this region, untouched by human gold panners prior to that period, had gold nuggets there for the taking.
At https://phys.org/news/2025-10-satellites-meter-high-power-ocean.html … during a recent storm satellites revealed ocean waves surging 20m in height. The swell from a storm can travel long distances and bring destructive energy to bear on coastal regions. A storm in 2014 caused severe damage from Morocco to Ireland, we are told. These are now seen as a threat to shipping – especially the big container boats.
At https://phys.org/news/2025-10-reveals-superpowers-hidden-nanoscale.html … staying on the watery theme we learn that water has hidden superpowers at the nanoscale. When confined to a very small space water takes on a new dimension, exhibiting properties associated with materials such as ferroelectrics and super ionic fluids. However, confined water loses is ability to respond to an electric field in the direction of perpendicular. This is offset on the parallel direction where water’s electrical content rises dramatically.