A water vortex created in a tank at Techniquest, Cardiff, Wales. Water vortices have been associated with turbulent tsunami flow. It has been argued that a vortex may act like a 'drill-bit' if armed with pebbles and small boulders at its tip, drilling into bedrock forming a circular erosion scar. See E. A. Bryant (2008) Tsunami: the Underrated Hazard (2nd Edition, Praxis Publishers, Chichester) for further details. An example of a possible vortex eroded hollow occurs in bedrock in the intertidal zone at Ogmore, Glamorgan (UK), as suggested by E. A. Bryant and S. K. Haslett (2007) Journal of Geology.
Less than a month after posting this video, TV footage showed the Japan tsunami of 11th March forming a whirlpool (vortex) in a harbour.
ProfSimonHaslett 11 months ago