Stuff I Learned From Podcasts: Issue 5
Stuff You Should Know – How Tsunamis Work
- They can travel at speeds up to 600 miles per hour…woah.
- Tsunami is a Japanese word for harbor wave.
- A tsunami is formed by the huge release of energy from an earthquake on the ocean floor. The wave spreads out like a ripple going in all directions.
- The tsunami stretches from the ocean floor to the surface, sometimes a mile or more in height.
- Tallest tsunami wave ever measured was in Alaska in 1958. It measured 520 meters or 1,710 feet above sea level. That’s taller than most of the tallest buildings in the world.
Science Vs. – Are Polar Bears on the Edge of Extinction?
- Populations are doing pretty well overall, holding steady in total numbers.
- The polar bear was advanced as an at risk species to help Bring about change in climate change efforts due to its overall appeal to the general public.
- Polar bears primarily eat seals which are very high in fat. Polar bears have the highest fat diet of any animal on Earth.
- Melting sea ice will hurt the polar bears ability to hunt, thus pointing to a pretty bleak future scientists say.