Deep Rising (An Outside the Lines Novel) (Entangled Select) by N.R. Rhodes

a tsunami is likely to occur.”
    Jared silently digested this information. CIA intel had detailed the differences among regular tsunamis, rogue waves, and the mega-destructive forces that would be unleashed when enough displacement occurred for a wave to pass through an entire ocean. La Palma was a prime spot for problems of the mega-tsunami variety. Right now though, he was more concerned with the Pacific. Lana’s lovely brother had tipped them off to trouble there. “What about this spot?” he asked, indicating a sixty-mile crack along the Big Island.
    “Hmm. That’s the Hilina Slump. It’s a giant hinge in the Kau district where the island is slipping. It moves a couple of inches every year.”
    “My boss mentioned the Hilina site. Two teams are in place and we have satellite monitoring systems along the trench.”
    “Good.”
    “How about here?” Jared asked.
    Lana leaned over to consider the position. “No. It won’t work. If you look at the existing shape of the island and the way the coast fans out at this point, an explosion here would initiate a wave, but it wouldn’t shear enough land fast enough to generate a mega-tsunami.”
    “What about beneath the water?”
    Lana shrugged. “Most of the lava tubes are collapsed or solidified with lava capping them. There are hollow passages, but they won’t be easy to find. I dove Makaha Caverns, Twin Lava Tubes, and the Land of Oz.”
    “Are they feasible catalyst points?”
    “They could be, I suppose. But I’m no expert on explosives, physics, or underwater lava tubes. I’d have to calculate the force and mass of the water column to determine the possible wave velocity. Standard tsunamis derived from earthquakes—especially when they originate underwater—cause a wave velocity proportionate to the depth from which the wave originated.”
    More sexy science talk. Damn, if his body didn’t twitch. For his own peace of mind, he made sure to talk in layman’s terms. “Deeper origins would move more water.”
    “Exactly,” Lana agreed. “But like I said, not my forte. It’s a job for a geophysicist.”
    “What? You’re frowning.”
    Lana stared at him. “Scientists are debating the dynamics of tsunami origins. A lot of geologists question the amount of energy required to trigger an event.”
    “And?”
    “Some scientists believe a minuscule change or disturbance on the seafloor can catalyze a wave.”
    “A baby earthquake? All right. I’ll bite.”
    “Over hundreds of miles,” Lana explained, “what starts as a tiny disturbance can magnify. The wave, when it finally reaches shallow waters or coastal areas, manifests into a full-blown tsunami.”
    “That isn’t good.”
    “No. I wouldn’t have considered it, but when we started discussing wave origins I began to think about the buoy system used to detect them. The buoys operate on a two-way transmission arrangement. It allows the scientists to monitor any event, even if the amplitude isn’t necessarily strong enough to trigger the threshold and instigate an all-out warning.”
    “That sounds like good news, but you’re getting me nervous with all the talk about small anomalies. If something occurs—be it big or small—is the warning system secure enough to actually pick it up?”
    “Yes…theoretically. Deep water—I’m talking twelve thousand feet or deeper—isn’t affected by waves or wind or tide. Any pressure changes, no matter how diminutive, can immediately be detected, especially if the warning centers are encouraged to watch for them.”
    “I catch your drift. What about in shallow water?”
    “We’re screwed.”
    Jared sighed.
    “Don’t misunderstand. Seismologists would register the event. It isn’t as though the disruption would go undetected. But like I said, it’s the lead time that concerns me when we’re talking about a shallow-water or land-based disturbance.” She pointed to an area on the map. “That’s Ewa Beach.”
    “And why is it