What is the temperature of a tsunami?

Answer 1

It can any temperature that would would commonly encounter in water on Earth. Tsunamis are not dependent on water temperature and in most cases, the circumstance surrounding them would not affect temperature.

Answer 2

A tsunami is a wave of kinetic energy moving through the ocean. The wave itself is the same temperature as the ocean through which it is passing. It is caused by displacement of a lot of water when a huge amount of soil or rock moves, such as in an underwater landslide or earthquake. The water from near the source of the tsunami does not travel, only the energy generated.

Answer 3

Tsunamis are usually caused by underwater earthquakes (and sometimes underwater volcanic explosions) which make disturbances in the water by pushing it upwards, displacing large volumes of water. This makes a very large wave.

While normal/everyday waves caused by the wind usually have a wavelength of 100 meters (330 feet) and height of 2 m (6.6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength around 200 km (120 mi) and height of 1 m (3.3 ft). This makes it hard to detect tsunamis in the ocean.

However, what is called the "wave shoaling process" means that when a wave enters shallow water, it slows down and gets compressed, meaning shorter wavelength but taller height. Therefore, the tsunami's wavelength is shortened greatly to about 20km (12 mi) but its height increases enormously. This is why they are so huge and destructive when they reach land.