Nuclear tsunami?

[rtwngAvngr]

if I were a terrorist, I would detonate a nuclear device at sea and cause a tsunami.

Is this a good idea? Should we patrol open sea better?

 

[pegwinn]

if I were a terrorist, I would detonate a nuclear device at sea and cause a tsunami.

Is this a good idea? Should we patrol open sea better?

I would think that placement of the device would be far more critical and difficult than it sounds. I would also bet that working out detonation commands underwater is tougher than we think. If the towellheads get a nuke, better to let the "dead man walking" bring it into a city.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

I would think that placement of the device would be far more critical and difficult than it sounds. I would also bet that working out detonation commands underwater is tougher than we think. If the towellheads get a nuke, better to let the "dead man walking" bring it into a city.

Is it really that difficult to dump a nuke in the water? Or do you just wish you thought of it?

 

[pegwinn]

Is it really that difficult to dump a nuke in the water? Or do you just wish you thought of it?

I'm gonna assume you are not trying to start a fight today. Dumping a nuke in the water will vaporize about a gazillion gallons and move a lot more. Controlling the movement so it actually creates the tsunami is a scientific issue. Drop a hand grenade into a fish pond and you will see what I mean.

 

[-Cp]

Umm.. I'm pretty sure it'd take a dozen or more nukes to create a Tsunami capable of mass destruction..

 

[rtwngAvngr]

I'm gonna assume you are not trying to start a fight today. Dumping a nuke in the water will vaporize about a gazillion gallons and move a lot more. Controlling the movement so it actually creates the tsunami is a scientific issue. Drop a hand grenade into a fish pond and you will see what I mean.

I don't buy it. I think it's a vulnerability.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Umm.. I'm pretty sure it'd take a dozen or more nukes to create a Tsunami capable of mass destruction..

You sure about that?

We need to patrol the high sea.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Could Nuclear testing create a tsunami?

This is a difficult topic to research, because much of the information surrounding nuclear testing is classified. During the Cold War there was fear of tsunamis produced by the detonation of nuclear bombs on the continental shelf off the East Coast of the US. A nuclear bomb was never detonated on the shelf, however a huge explosion did generate a tsunami during World War I. Any large disturbance that displaces a large volume of water can be a potential cause of a tsunami.

http://www.tsunami.org/faq.htm#Nuclear

Found this right away. Though there still may be other issues that may make it not a possiblity for terrorist attack. I'm open to cases from both sides!

And pegwinn, I'm a lover, not a fighter!

 

[archangel]

see the point to creating a tsunami vs a blast downtown..makes more sense downtown...more damage more shock and awe sorta speak...and if it does happen... unto those who do it...you will never be able to dig deep enough to escape a far greater blast in retaliation!

 

[rtwngAvngr]

see the point to creating a tsunami vs a blast downtown..makes more sense downtown...more damage more shock and awe sorta speak...and if it does happen... unto those who do it...you will never be able to dig deep enough to escape a far greater blast in retaliation!

I think a tsunami hitting new york would be a bit of a newsmaker.

 

[pegwinn]

see the point to creating a tsunami vs a blast downtown..makes more sense downtown...more damage more shock and awe sorta speak...and if it does happen... unto those who do it...you will never be able to dig deep enough to escape a far greater blast in retaliation!

Actually, if you can figure out how far offshore, the underwater obstacles, and the flow path and rate, a tsunami could conceivably be far more destructive than the bomb that makes it. But, figuring out the variables makes learning to fly look easy.

I have an evil mind. IF I were to become a terror monger, I promise that this wouldn't be an option .......

 

[rtwngAvngr]

But, figuring out the variables makes learning to fly look easy.

Still don't buy it. It's just not that difficult.

 

[dilloduck]

Still don't buy it. It's just not that difficult.

What's wrong with a good old magnetic pulse bomb ? That'll result in more terror than anything I can think of.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

What's wrong with a good old magnetic pulse bomb ? That'll result in more terror than anything I can think of.

That'd work too! Those are cool. I saw one on 24.

 

[pegwinn]

Still don't buy it. It's just not that difficult.

Never put it on sale so buying it aint an option. Tell ya what, pick a city on the coast and calculate the yield required to innundate the city, and point out where to place the bomb.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

Never put it on sale so buying it aint an option. Tell ya what, pick a city on the coast and calculate the yield required to innundate the city, and point out where to place the bomb.

Maybe they would just use a big ass charge so they don't have to do a lot of calculation and put it off the coast of new york a few miles. Do you really think that is too "imprecise" to be effective?

 

[pegwinn]

Maybe they would just use a big ass charge so they don't have to do a lot of calculation and put it off the coast of new york a few miles. Do you really think that is too "imprecise" to be effective?

I dunno. Not qualified to answer. I do know that at demo school we learned a buttload of stuff to simply blow shit up. The instructor once told us that the biggest boom doesn't alway get the most bang. I'm sure that dropping a low yield nuke say two miles offshore would cause damage. But I assume that since they are likely shooting one wad with no viagra in sight, they'd wanna get it 100 percent allah certified right.

 

[rtwngAvngr]

I dunno. Not qualified to answer.

then why blithely dismiss the notion?

 

[CSM]

then why blithely dismiss the notion?

Not an expert on the matter by any stretch of the imagination...

I do remember reading about the Bikin1 Atoll detonations in the 50's and it seems to me there were no tidal waves associated with them. Not sure if the detonations were underwater or what.

I do know something of electronics however and detonating the thing underwater does have it's challenges...obviously they are not insurmountable, but you sure as hell cant just light it with a match!

 

[KarlMarx]

if I were a terrorist, I would detonate a nuclear device at sea and cause a tsunami.

Is this a good idea? Should we patrol open sea better?

You would need a nuclear device of immense power, one that is orders of magnitude greater than anything Man has created.

The explosive equivalent of the earthquake that caused the tsunami of December 2004 was about 36 Gigatons (36 billion tons of dyamite). Our nuclear arsenal has 3 and 10 megaton devices (3 to 10 million tons of dynamite). So it would take hundreds of these devices to create a tsunami.

Anyway, you may be forgetting your history. We detonated nuclear devices and Eniwetok and Bikini atolls in the 1950s (dozens, if not hundreds of them) and no tsunamis were reported.

And yes, some of them were detonated underwater, which casused immense damage AT CLOSE RANGE, but not to the observation ships which were located miles away.

If I were a terrorist, I'd use a nuclear device directly on a city rather than at sea.

P.S. Since most of the information on nuclear devices is classified (and for good reason), even if someone on this board were an expert, they would be compelled by law to not say so.