Scientists are working to fight against the devastating impacts of tsunamis by turning the destructive wave against itself. 
 
 Researchers from Cardiff University in Wales have proposed firing deep-ocean sound waves at the oncoming mass of water to stop the tsunamis dead in its tracks. 
 
 Usama Kadri, Ph.D., a professor from Cardiff University’s School of Mathematics, proposed that acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs)—naturally occurring sound waves that move through the deep ocean at the speed of sound and can travel thousands of meters below the surface—could be effective against tsunamis that are triggered by earthquakes, landslides and other violent geological events. 
 
 According to Kadri, it may be possible to engineer these waves so they can be fired at an incoming tsunami and react with the wave in a way that reduces its amplitude or height and causes its energy to be dissipated over a large area. However, this concept needs to be studied further. 
 
 By reducing the height of the tsunami, the damage caused to both civilians and the environment would be minimized, said Kadri. 
 
 Continously firing AGWs at a tsunami could completely disperse the dangerous waves. 
 
 “Within the last two decades, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of almost half a million lives, widespread long-lasting destruction, profound environmental effects and global financial crisis,” Kadri said in a statement. “Up until now, little attention has been paid to trying to mitigate tsunamis and the potential of acoustic-gravity waves remains largely unexplored.” 
 
 It is believed that certain lifeforms that are unable to swim against a current, like plankton, rely on AGWs— which can measure tens or even hundreds of kilometers in length—to aid their movement and enhance their ability to find food. 
 
 In 2004, a magnitude 9 earthquake caused a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that resulted in over 230,000 deaths in 14 countries. 
 
 The energy released on the Earth’s surface by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami was estimated to be the equivalent of over 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. 
 
 While Kadri believes AGWs could be effective in the fight against tsunamis, a true method of dispensing the waves has not yet been produced. 
 
 Engineers would first need to devise highly accurate AGW frequency transmitters or modulators, which Kadri said would be a challenge. 
 
 However, Kadri has already shown that naturally occurring AGWs could be utilized in an early tsunami detection system by placing detection systems in the deep ocean. 
 
 Tsunamis come with a high price tag and minimizing the impact could have a huge monetary impact worldwide, he added. 
 
 The study appeared in Heliyon. 

 Researchers suggest acoustic waves could be used to weaken or stop tsunamis. Photo by Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock 
 
 Jan. 25 (UPI) -- New research suggests acoustic-gravity waves, or AGWs, could be used as a defense against deadly tsunamis. 
 
 Acoustic-gravity waves are sound waves that can travel for several miles beneath the surface of the ocean. Tsunamis are massive waves produced by earthquakes, landslides or other major geological phenomena. 
 
 Scientists at Cardiff University theorized the power of acoustic-gravity waves could be harnessed and directed at an oncoming tsunami wave, reducing its amplitude and thus diminishing the magnitude of the damage. Researchers described the strategy in the journal Heliyon. 
 
 A single blast of AGWs, which can stretch several thousand feet, could shorten the height of a wave and spread its power out over a greater area. A series of AGWs fired in succession could dissipate the wave's power and momentum entirely. 
 
 "Within the last two decades, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of almost half a million lives, widespread long-lasting destruction, profound environmental effects and global financial crisis," Usama Kadri, a researcher at Cardiff University's School of Mathematics, said in a news release. "Up until now, little attention has been paid to trying to mitigate tsunamis and the potential of acoustic-gravity waves remains largely unexplored." 
 
 The next step in the battle against tsunamis is developing some sort of underwater cannon -- or modulator -- capable of generating AGW frequency blasts. Natural AGWs are generated in the ocean by geological events; researchers suggest these AGWs could be redirected toward a threatening tsunami. 
 
 Tests show AGW detectors can predict the approach of a tsunami. The next step is to turn those sound waves against the seismic sea wave. 
 
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 "In practice, generating the appropriate acoustic-gravity waves introduces serious challenges due to the high energy required for an effective interaction with a tsunami," said Kadri. "However, this study has provided proof-of-concept that devastating tsunamis could be mitigated by using acoustic-gravity waves to redistribute the huge amounts of energy stored within the wave, potentially saving lives and billions of pounds worth of damage." 

 Indian Ocean (Jan. 2, 2005). A village near the coast of Sumatra lays in ruin after the Tsunami that struck South East Asia. Image: Wikipedia Devastating tsunamis could be halted before hitting the Earth's shoreline by firing deep-ocean sound waves at the oncoming mass of water, new research has proposed. 
 
 Dr Usama Kadri, from Cardiff University's School of Mathematics, believes that lives could ultimately be saved by using acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) against tsunamis that are triggered by earthquakes, landslides and other violent geological events. 
 
 AGWs are naturally occurring sounds waves that move through the deep ocean at the speed of sound and can travel thousands of metres below the surface. 
 
 AGWs can measure tens or even hundreds of kilometres in length and it is thought that certain lifeforms such as plankton, that are unable to swim against a current, rely on the waves to aid their movement, enhancing their ability to find food. 
 
 In a paper published today in the journal Heliyon, Dr Kadri proposes that if we can find a way to engineer these waves, they can be fired at an incoming tsunami and will react with the wave in such a way that reduces its amplitude, or height, and causes its energy to be dissipated over a large area. 
 
 By the time the tsunami reaches the shoreline, Dr Kadri writes, the reduced height of the tsunami would minimise the damage caused to both civilians and the environment. 
 
 Dr Kadri also believes that this process of firing AGWs at a tsunami could be repeated continuously until the tsunami is completely dispersed. 
 
 "Within the last two decades, tsunamis have been responsible for the loss of almost half a million lives, widespread long-lasting destruction, profound environmental effects and global financial crisis," Dr Kadri said. 
 
 "Up until now, little attention has been paid to trying to mitigate tsunamis and the potential of acoustic-gravity waves remains largely unexplored." 
 
 The devastating tsunami that was generated in the Indian Ocean in 2004 after a magnitude 9 earthquake has been recorded as one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent history after it caused over 230,000 deaths in 14 countries. 
 
 The energy released on the Earth's surface by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami was estimated to be the equivalent of over 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. 
 
 In order to use AGWs in tsunami mitigation, engineers will firstly need to devise highly accurate AGW frequency transmitters or modulators, which Dr Kadri concedes would be challenging. 
 
 It may also be possible to utilise the AGWs that are naturally generated in the ocean when a violent geological event, such as an earthquake, occurs – essentially using nature's natural processes against itself. 
 
 Indeed, Dr Kadri has already shown that naturally occurring AGWs could be utilised in an early tsunami detection system by placing detection systems in the deep ocean. 
 
 Dr Kadri continued: "In practice, generating the appropriate acoustic-gravity waves introduces serious challenges due to the high energy required for an effective interaction with a tsunami. However, this study has provided proof-of-concept that devastating tsunamis could be mitigated by using acoustic-gravity waves to redistribute the huge amounts of energy stored within the wave, potentially saving lives and billions of pounds worth of damage." 
 
 Explore further: New theory of deep-ocean sound waves may aid tsunami detection 
 
 More information: Usama Kadri. Tsunami mitigation by resonant triad interaction with acoustic–gravity waves, Heliyon (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00234 
 

– Tsunamis are among the deadliest forces in nature. Look no further than the one in the Indian Ocean in 2004 that killed more than 230,000 people after being triggered by a powerful earthquake, notes a post at Phys.org. But what if tsunamis could be drained of their power before they reach land? A mathematician at Cardiff University in Wales is looking at just that possibility, and he reports in the journal Heliyon that firing acoustic-gravity waves at a tsunami could do the trick by reducing the killer wave's energy and size while it's still far out at sea. AGWs are naturally occurring, deep-ocean sound waves that can stretch for hundreds of miles and move at the speed of sound. "Up until now, little attention has been paid to trying to mitigate tsunamis and the potential of acoustic-gravity waves remains largely unexplored," says Cardiff's Usama Kadri. But as he acknowledges, this is easier said than done, and Kadri does not propose a precise method for generating and dispensing the AGWs, reports R&D Magazine. The trick is "developing some sort of underwater cannon—or modulator—capable of generating AGW frequency blasts," explains UPI. Like tsunamis, AGWs also can be generated by earthquakes, and Kadri has shown that they can be used as an early warning system against tsunamis. He suggests it might be possible to manipulate one of these quake-generated AGWs as a force against a threatening tsunami, essentially fighting nature with nature. (Glacial melting in the Himalayas could trigger a tsunami.)