A Deep Dive into Big Waves

If you’re going to study tsunamis, there are few better places to go than Chile. A history of large earthquakes and a very long coastline on the Pacific Ocean have made it a hot spot for scientists, engineers and mathematicians to gather and learn.

So, it’s no surprise that Professor John Carter, PhD, took his Mathematical Models of Near-Shore Phenomena class to spend Spring Break in Chile, where they spent the week learning the science behind tsunami modeling, while also taking in the culture of the South American country.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to learn from wave energy extraction experts, tsunami modeling experts, people who are doing really interesting work,” Carter says. “It’s a great opportunity for the students to see what we’re learning about up close.”

Carter, who began teaching at Seattle University in 2001, went to Chile for the first time in 2006 to review the math curriculum at the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago. In 2008, he spent five months on sabbatical there, doing research and teaching.

"That’s when my love of Chile really grew,” he says.

This was the fifth time Carter has taken a class to Chile to study tsunamis, but the global immersion program has been running for more than a decade. One of the focuses is on wave energy extraction—essentially converting waves into electricity. They also learned about modeling and data analysis, partial differential equations and nonlinear dynamics of waves.

“It’s an incredibly difficult problem,” Carter says. “Anytime you put a device in the ocean, it’s going to get destroyed by waves, saltwater, marine life. It’s challenging from a science standpoint, from an engineering standpoint, from a mathematical standpoint.”

Of course, it was important to mix in cultural experiences with the academics. Prior to the trip the class talks about the culture and history of Chile and students learn some basic Spanish. Upon arrival they instantly start adjusting to the culture, touring the city, learning how to ride the subway and where important buildings and locations are.

They spend 10 hours in class learning, with various Chilean experts teaching them. One area of focus was tsunami inundation, studying where and how flooding from such an event would impact a city. One of the most exciting things about the program is how interdisciplinary it is, with students  exploring mathematics, engineering and physics.

One of the highlights was visiting the Chilean Navy’s Early Detection Tsunami Center. Carter describes it as a large office full of computers and screens showing data from the Chilean coastline and around the world where, in case of an earthquake—and Chile has had some very big ones—experts have five minutes to make a decision on how much danger a tsunami may pose and, more importantly, how to alert the public on what to do.

“It was awesome hearing the mathematics and work that goes into a very complicated situation,” Carter says.

The group also had a chance to explore the country, visiting famed poet Pablo Neruda’s Isla Negra Museum House in Valparaiso and spending time getting to know Chilean professors and students.

“It’s really fun to see the students grow in confidence,” Carter says. “Many of them have barely left the United States so it’s super fun to see them go from following me around at the beginning to by the end of the week just going on their own exploring the city, dancing and interacting with Chileans. Along with it being a great opportunity for them to learn cool science from really experienced teachers.”