A4 5 Tidal Energy and Thermal Runaway: Fukushima Disaster

Abstract

This paper quantifies two energetic components of the 11 March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. First, modelling the incoming tsunami as a shallow-water gravity wave we estimate an energy transport of ∼ 1.9 × 10¹⁰ J m⁻¹ per wave cycle; over a 1 km shoreline segment this totals ≈ 1.9×10¹³ J, about 4.5 kilotons of TNT. Secondly, we estimate the radioactive decay heat generated by one of the reactor cores in the immediate aftermath of its emergency shutdown. We found that even one day after shutdown, the core still produced over 8 MW of thermal energy, highlighting the critical need for continuous cooling and the catastrophic consequences of its failure.