Cape in asteroid tsunami zone

02 July 2015 - 02:16 By Tanya Farber

Cape Town's coastline could be hit by a major tsunami if an asteroid risk map just released has it right. The map, which combines data on population density with data on where asteroids would most likely hit, came about after software was developed at the University of Southampton in the UK.It was developed to predict "impact corridors" of asteroids and the risks posed should they strike.Astronomer Nicola Laoring, of the South African Astronomical Observatory, says the map indicates that Western Cape would be at risk."If an asteroid hits water, which is a distinct possibility given that 70% of the Earth is covered in water, then the impact could result in a tidal wave causing a tsunami in coastal regions."The western coast of South Africa is also a high risk area as it lies along an asteroid impact corridor," she said.So, what does this mean for the west coast, and Cape Town in particular?She says the Earth is "continually bombarded by interplanetary dust grains and small pieces of rock" and that these are called shooting stars, or meteors. Much larger objects are classified as asteroids.While Earth's atmosphere protects us from most asteroids smaller than 40m in diameter, larger ones could cause large- scale devastation.Clemens Rumpf, who developed the software, which is called Armor, told British media he hoped it would be used by international organisations to evacuate communities or intercept dangerous asteroids with spacecraft.He added that about 13000 asteroids had been recorded and about 500 of these have a chance of hitting Earth.But, says Laoring, while "there are more than a million near-Earth asteroids greater than 40m in diameter, a collision with Earth by an object of this size is expected on average only once or twice every 1000 years"...

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