A UK-based mathematician has proposed that Tsunamis could be stopped using acoustic gravity waves. These naturally occurring sound waves, if engineered, can be fired repeatedly at an incoming tsunami reducing its height and dissipating its energy over a large area until it reaches the shore, said the researcher.

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According to Dr. Usama Kadri, from Cardiff University's School of Mathematics, acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs) move through the deep ocean at the speed of sound and can travel thousands of metres below the surface, reports Phys.

These waves, sometimes measuring tens or even hundreds of kilometres in length, support movement of certain lifeforms such as plankton that are unable to swim against a current and thus, rely on such waves to travel, enhancing their ability to find food.

In the research published in the journal Heliyon, Dr. Kadri tells that these waves, which when fired at the incoming tsunamis triggered by earthquakes, landslides and other violent geological events, can react with the waves in such a way that their amplitude is reduced and energy dissipated over a large area. By the time the tsunami reaches the shoreline, Dr Kadri adds, the reduced height would minimise the damage caused to both civilians and the environment.

The devastating tsunami that generated in the Indian Ocean in the year 2004 after an earthquake of magnitude 9.0, was 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 planet's surface by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami was estimated to be 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

"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. According to him, this process of firing AGWs at a tsunami could be repeated continuously as well until the tsunami is completely dispersed, reports Mirror.